Forward Together at 25: #BuildingPower Nationwide

During our 25th anniversary celebration, we focused on the importance of building power so all families can thrive. We know that Forward Together would not be sustainable without the work and support of colleagues from around the country to push for the policy changes and culture shift we need to see. Our Strong Families Initiative, a network of over 120 organizations and thousands of individuals, has bound together to tackle the lack of affordable childcare and afterschool programs, immigration policy, marriage equality, voting access, police accountability and many issues that will make our communities stronger and safer.

A few of our Strong Families friends shared their reflections with us on our 25th anniversary, what Forward Together has contributed to their important work and how we can continue building strong families for the next 25 years and beyond.

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Edith Sargon, Principal, Movement Building; Wellstone:

How did you start collaborating with Forward Together?

I knew Forward Together when it was Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ). I was working at a youth led reproductive rights organization and they were leading the conversation on the importance for intersectionality and the Reproductive Justice framework. I read their white paper, which I still use when I work with individuals and organizations who are working all of this out, and made sure our students and youth got access to it, made curricula from it and led discussions from that incredible tool. I continued to work with them as they transitioned from ACRJ to Forward Together. In that transition I saw them become this amazing unifying force in the reproductive rights/reproductive health/reproductive justice movements. They were bringing so many of us together, helping organizations and leaders see the potential for power we have when we work together, painting a real vision for what collaboration and collective power looks like, all while making it so doable and realistic and not asking anyone to be something they aren’t. I haven’t really seen that model of collaboration before. I haven’t seen that ability to bring so many different kinds of groups together and yield the best possible work from everyone. Where everyone has their time and place and can bring their unique strengths. It was inspiring. I didn’t want to walk away from that when I left my job, and that’s how I became a board member. Forward Stance was a big part of that work and that collaboration. It was and still is so powerful.

How has this collaboration impacted you personally and professionally?

Eveline and Moira are incredible leaders and I feel like I learn from them every time I’m around them. They model really thoughtful, strategic, nimble and intentional leadership. I think that’s part of what draws so many organizations to want to work with them. Working with Forward Together has given me a vision of what reproductive justice in motion looks like. It has also given me hope that we aren’t just a movement that calls people out and names all that’s wrong in the world, but that stands for things that will make real differences in people’s lives.

What is your vision of how we can build power together for next 25 years?

This is a big question! My vision is that we will move from defense and play offense. That communities of color and poor people will be leading on this offensive game and that they will be prioritized. And that looks like winning local, state and national fights – elections, ballot measures, and legislation.


Zach Norris, Executive Director, The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights:

How did you start collaborating with Forward Together?

The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights is proud to be a leader in Forward Together's Strong Families Network. We have partnered with Forward Together on Towards a Caring Economy, a national participatory research project to capture and uplift the voices and experiences of families most impacted by incarceration and our nation's punishment economy. We are working together with organizations and families across the country to develop public safety solutions that invest in communities so that we can thrive. This partnership has brought together groups that work on gender justice, economic justice, racial justice and criminal justice reform to build up a family led movement against mass incarceration. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship and collaboration with Forward Together.

How has this collaboration impacted you personally and professionally?

I couldn't think of a better organization to partner with. Alicia and Eveline bring a high level of energy and expertise to our work and are a joy to work with. We have enjoyed the opportunity to work together to reframe what makes a strong family through media education and campaign work connected to Mama's Day and Papa's Day. Our work together in conjunction with Justice for Families has helped shift the perception of families of incarcerated youth from pariahs to partners i.e. toward families being recognized as central partners in the success in their of children and loved ones. Personally, I always look forward to sending out the beautiful Mama's and Papa's day cards each year. Professionally, I love being able refer other organizations who work with families to Forward Together/Strong Families and know that they will find a powerful and supportive staff and network there.

What is your vision of how we can build power together for next 25 years? 

We can be powerful together over the next 25 years by continuing to support each other as we build our movement for strong families and communities!


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Aimee Thorne-Thomsen, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Advocates for Youth

How did you start collaborating with Forward Together?

I first met Eveline as part of the Women’s Health Leadership Network organized by the Center for American Progress. I had heard of and known of Eveline for years but never been in space with her. Being in that network together allowed us to learn more about each other and each other’s work (I was at Pro-Choice Pubic Education Project at the time) and build a strong friendship over the years. That beginning gave us the grounding to begin collaborating together first through EMERJ and then through Strong Families.

How has this collaboration impacted you personally and professionally?

Oh wow! Where do I begin? Professionally, everything changed for me when Forward Together (then ACRJ) released “A New Vision” in 2005. I was at a reproductive health, rights and justice conference at Smith College at the time the paper was released. The paper caused such a stir, that the conference ran out of copies! Every day another FedEx box arrived and within minutes, all the copies were snatched up. I hold on to that moment because I witnessed how the thought leadership of Forward Together could change the movement seemingly overnight. The power of that analysis holds true to this day. When I introduce activists to Reproductive Justice, I always go back to that paper as a cornerstone of the movement, not because FT originated the framework or even the movement itself (which they would never claim they did), but because they captured the work of women of color and Indigenous women in fighting reproductive oppression in a more holistic way.

Now, I had to read “A New Vision” 5 or 6 times to really understand the differences between reproductive health, rights and justice, and the importance of the relationship between the three sectors. But that analysis and the relationships I developed with Forward Together staff (at the time) including, Eveline, Dana, Aparna and Maria, changed my work and life forever. The articulation of Reproductive Justice resonated so deeply with me that it shifted the way I did the work, the direction of the organization I ran at the time, and how I identify my activism. Forward Together used that particular movement moment to bring people together to strategize how best to build power and movement for our communities (EMERJ). And it was the years spent building trust, strength and power that laid the foundation for what is now Strong Families.

What is your vision of how we can build power together for next 25 years?

We cannot build power in isolation from each other. We have to continue to build relationships across individuals, communities, issues and movements and use those relationships to learn from each other and explore new ideas for building power. To move forward, we also have to center young people in our movement work and lift up their voices, ideas and leadership. Achieving reproductive justice will take all of our skills, dedication and talents, and it’s critical that we continue to develop future generations of movement leaders. by continuing to support each other as we build our movement for strong families and communities!

Forward Together at 25: The Power of Reproductive Justice

The following post is part of our 25th anniversary blog series, and is written by Eveline Shen, Executive Director of Forward Together. 

When I first came to Forward Together, then Asians and Pacific Islanders for Reproductive Health, I stepped into our 600 square foot office in Oakland's Chinatown brimming with excitement. I came to help develop a comprehensive framework to understand and address problems impacting the reproductive lives of Asian women and girls. I also came because I knew that I could bring my whole self—Asian, queer, progressive.

Most organizations back then did not look through an intersectional lens; we were among the handful in the country looking at how gender, race, sexuality, and class controlled the lives of women of color. Our communities wanted more than just the right to abortion—we wanted the well-being of women and girls and through their own empowerment to make healthy decisions about our bodies, sexuality and reproduction. We sought reproductive justice in all areas of our lives.

Through this prism, we linked up with other struggles for social justice, like when our youth joined the environmental justice fight to shut down a medical waste incinerator in East Oakland to inform their mothers, aunts and sisters how these toxins impacted their reproductive health.

As more and more saw the power of reproductive justice, we felt the need to distinguish it from reproductive rights and health, which we did through a collaborative process with leading reproductive justice activists. Today, when you google “reproductive justice,” you’ll find on Wikipedia the definition we created in our 2005 report, A New Vision for Advancing Our Movement for Reproductive Health, Reproductive Rights, and Reproductive Justice.

You know we’ve made progress when you can read a recent article by Dani McClain in The Nation on how the murder of Mike Brown is a reproductive justice issue. It’s a sign of how reproductive justice has grown in terms of its acceptance in the social justice community.

Over the last 15 years in my tenure at Forward Together, I have seen the chasm of inequality grow for millions of low-income women of color, youth, LGBT folks, and their families who face greater challenges to accessing reproductive health care, living wages, and safe communities free from sexual violence and police brutality.

But in the face of these grave challenges, I am inspired by the growing number of organizations and national initiatives uniting across sectors and issues to build power and make change together.

At Forward Together, we have found that transformation happens when we can see beyond our own silos and unite under a shared vision for our families. Through our Strong Families Initiative, we have seen the power of LGBT, youth, reproductive, environmental, and racial justice groups coming together to move proactive policies on the local, state and national levels. By empowering families that have been pushed to the margins to come together and organize together, we are changing the terrain of how decision makers think, feel and act in support of families.

This fall, our Strong Families network is leading civic engagement work like you have never seen before. By supporting our allies on the ground, we are helping them bring historically marginalized communities—low-income, people of color, and rural—to come out and vote for a progressive platform that impacts multiple issues affecting our families. From ensuring the right of immigrants to have driver’s licenses to increasing access for reproductive health to removing barriers to voting, we’re helping our communities see how these policies don't solely impact us individually but our entire families. And once the election is over, our community partners aren’t left with just clipboards and pens but leadership and infrastructure so they continue to build power in the long run.

Who knows what that will mean for how social justice is meted out in years to come, but we’re in the game now. And as the country shifts demographically, our communities will be better poised to advocate for a progressive platform so that all our families can thrive.

Eveline Shen is the Executive Director of Forward Together. Since Eveline's leadership began in 1999, Forward Together has become widely recognized for its innovative role in the Reproductive Justice Movement—working with grassroots communities; providing thought leadership; developing effective tools and resources for evaluation, training, and documentation; and organizing for long-term systemic change. Eveline serves on the board of the Movement Strategy Center and is a member of the Bay Area Social Justice Funders Network advisory committee. She has also served as Principal Investigator for two National Institutes of Health grants that explore the intersection between environmental justice and reproductive justice. Women's eNews named Eveline one of their 21 Leaders for the 21st Century. She was a 2009 Gerbode Fellow and holds a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley in Community Health Education.

Forward Together at 25: Black-Asian Collaboration and Interracial Solidarity

This post is part of our 25th Anniversary blog series and is written by Echoing Ida's Cynthia R. Greenlee.

When I first joined the black women's writing collective Echoing Ida, I wondered why an organization such as Forward Together (which started as Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice) would start a program to amplify black women's voices in media. Much to my chagrin, though I often write about intersectionality, my questions about black-Asian collaboration showed the limits of my ideas about interracial solidarity.

I didn’t spend a lot of time wrestling with this question but I started to make mental notes about convergences between black and Asian communities. I knew that, in the last decades of slavery in the United States, some Americans thought that immigrant Asian workers would be the best replacements for the enslaved once the "peculiar institution" ended. I knew that Asian-Americans and African-Americans alike fought segregated schools despite their different vantage points in a race-obsessed nation. The 1927 U.S. Supreme Court case, Gong Lum v. Rice, which upheld a Mississippi court's decision that a young girl of Chinese descent could not attend a white school, was important for reinforcing the segregation that so harmed African-Americans. Throughout the twentieth century, blacks and Asians faced restrictive covenants that determined where they lived and their very mobility. And I knew that Asian-American activists like Richard Aoki, Grace Lee Boggs and Yuri Kochiyama bridged gaps between our communities, though their stories have often been drowned out among stories that foreground black-Asian conflict.

Knowing all these things, I somehow still thought of Asian-American and African-American freedom organizing as entirely discrete movements. But working with Forward Together — and observing the countless Twitter debates about #antiblackness and the ways in which communities of color often haven't helped each other — I made a point of discussing black-Asian convergences and differences in the classroom with my students.

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In a seminar called “Race, History and Television,” my students watched early film and television that used blackface and relied on hateful stereotypes of black Americans. My students — mostly black and Latino students whose parents emigrated from Cuba, Eritrea, Jamaica, and Barbados — were shocked at the unvarnished racism of “The Birth of a Nation,” “Amos and Andy,” and even those playful Little Rascals. But they weren’t surprised; they understood how central anti-black racism and rhetoric are to the American story, though some believed such blatant on-screen white supremacy was a relic from past ages.

But what they found much harder to understand was that media racism is a many-headed hydra — and a beast that is alive and well. Soon after we discussed blackface minstrelry, the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” drew fierce criticism for outfitting characters in “yellowface” (including Fu Manchu moustaches) as well as portraying Asians as martial arts masters, enigmatic sensei and geisha. I asked Asian-American Twitter activist, Suey Park, to Skype into class to talk about why she led the critique of CBS, and the students peppered her with questions about the lines between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation, humor and mockery, and growing up Asian-American where there were few people on TV who looked like you.

I turned the class back to this question: Did they see any similarity between controversies over blackface in the early twentieth century and this latest fracas over yellowface? There were a few moments of silence before students began to cautiously discuss how black and Asian Americans are both “others” sidelined in beauty norms and media representations, albeit different kind of “others.” As my students talked out their thoughts, I thought back to what had once seemed incongruous: Forward Together’s broad and inclusive mission of reproductive justice. Finally, my students filed out and I heard one say to another pupil: “I had never thought about black people and Asians at the same time. Imma have to think on that.”

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Although Forward Together started working primarily in Asian communities 25 years ago, I'm thankful it's expanding to cover more issues at the intersection of race, gender and sexuality. I'm especially glad to be part of the Echoing Ida project, which has given many of us writers, thinkers and activists a larger platform to tell our stories. Please help us continue cultivating our voices and connecting our communities for stronger families.

Cynthia R. Greenlee is a historian and writer. Follow her on Twitter @CynthiaGreenlee.

Forward Together at 25: We are Echoing Ida!

This post is part of our 25th anniversary blog series, "Forward Together at 25." 

Echoing Ida exists to support and amplify the voices of Black women – encouraging them to tell their stories and propose solutions to the issues they see in their communities. With 15 Idas and plans to expand over the next year, we are developing generations of thought leaders and skilled communicators for the social justice movement.

Each “Ida” has a unique voice and story. Every Ida is engaged in work to transform our communities. It was this time two years ago that this project began as a pilot program of Forward Together. Now during our 25th anniversary and with over 100 pieces under our belt, we thought it would be a good time to reflect on some of our Ida favorites. We hope our namesake, Ida B. Wells-Barnett would be proud. We hope you are, too.

Alex Moffett Bateau: Chronic Pain, and the Denial of Care for Black Women, RH Reality Check, March 2014.

“Women of color should not have to prove the legitimacy of their illnesses in order to get treatment. Perhaps this can only happen with the dismantling of racism, but for the sake of my sisters in chronic pain, I hope it doesn’t take that long.”

Alicia M. Walters: Policing African American Motherhood from Every Angle, RH Reality Check, January 2013.

“…there is a systemic movement hell bent on our incarceration, the separation of our families, and ultimately, our loss of humanity. Whether the right is attempting to culturally shame and legally prevent our access to abortion or target us for incarceration, above all, they seek to police Black bodies and criminalize Black motherhood thereby limiting our power of self-determination and autonomy.”

Amber J. Phillips: Love Thy Self Fiercely: How Self-Love Makes for Better Health Care, RH Reality Check, March 2014.

“Being my mother’s daughter, even down to carrying her diva gene, I’ve had to actively fight my own fear of proactively making doctor appointments. This is an issue that is so common in Black communities and yet is being ignored as the health care and Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment conversations continue to take place in the media. In all the frenzy to get people to enroll, the president paints a rosy picture for some while ignoring that this health-care discussion is particularly important to historically marginalized multicultural communities, specifically Black women, whose health goes far beyond whether we have insurance coverage.”

Annika Leonard: I Am Annika, I Am All, Strong Families Blog, October 2012.

“I am a child witness to domestic, sexual and community violence.
I am a survivor of sexual assault.
I am but if you love her how could you hurt her?
I am a man of God, but I’ll beat the sh*t out of your mom Monday through Saturday when no one’s looking.
I am forgive but don’t forget, yeah he touches little kids but he’s safe to be in the church unattended.”

Bianca Campbell: The Resilience of Black Breastfeeding, The Root, May 2014.

“Formula was, and continues to be, pitched as empowering for women—a promise that they could return to work sooner. It is a promise that my mother and millions of parents believed in. It provided a way for parents to continue supporting their families without having to worry about loss of pay…[but] what is pitched as empowerment can actually restrict the choices of families.”

Cynthia Greenlee: What Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta Can Teach Us About Repro Rights, EBONY.com, August 2013.

“…regardless of how you feel about the show's creator Mona Scott-Young, she has done one thing right. With abortion storylines involving self-proclaimed “Puerto Rican princess” Joseline and underground rapper Rasheeda, the show is the rare television show tackling this divisive social and political issue.”

Elizabeth Dawes Gay: Do We Love Black Mothers Enough?, Huffington Post, May 2014.

“Maybe it's that trope of the strong Black woman that makes people believe we don't need special care or attention when we are pregnant. People -- including Black women -- expect that we should and will handle whatever comes our way, keep it all together, and take care of everything ourselves -- pregnant or not. This Superwoman Syndrome is detrimental and potentially deadly.”

Gloria Malone: Teen Moms Win Too: Why I'm Glad I Had My Daughter at 15, Vitamin W, March 2014.

“I like to think that being a teenage mother has made me more human to myself and my daughter. While society is focused on the negative outcomes of teenage parenting, I am certain that if hadn’t been a teenage parent, I would not be the person that I am proud of and love being today. I have accomplished my goals in life and continue to strive to improve because I was a teen mom, not in spite of it.”

Jasmine Burnett: The Media’s Role in Attaining Justice for Black and Missing Persons, RH Reality Check, August 2014.

“[The] lack of regard for the safety of Black people and the protection of our rights is symptomatic of the established order of white supremacy in this country, which must be dismantled. Dismantling white supremacy is a tall order, and one way to start is through equity in media exposure as an entry point for re-education.”

“When the media neglects to cover these stories, it is omitting the fact that people care about missing Black women, and permitting the conditions for this toxic environment of invisibility and violent actions with no recourse to thrive.”

Jazmine Walker: What Happened to the ‘Affordable’ Part of the Affordable Care Act? RH Reality Check, July 2014.

“While I am happy to play my part in making affordable health insurance accessible for all Americans, young people like me also need some support. And through a combination of political grandstanding, lack of foresight, and poor implementation, federal and state governments have failed to hold up their ends of the deal to make health care available and affordable for all Americans.”

Malika Redmond: Improving Health Equity in Georgia, The Atlanta Voice, February 2014.

“Today, while our leaders find ways to pass the buck on Georgians’ health, we the people are gathering for a day of action to demand that they accept federal funding to increase health coverage for the low-income uninsured. We believe that how much one does or does not earn for their work should have no impact on whether they are able to see a doctor or get the care they need.”

Renee Bracey Sherman: How to Listen When a Loved One Says ‘I Had an Abortion’, EBONY.com, January 2014.

“We all face challenges in our lives. We all have that secret that we’re afraid our family and friends will judge us for, and we crave connection and acceptance. You’ll never know how many of the one in three women who’ve had abortions are in your family or circle of friends unless you open the space for conversation and show that you can Stop, Drop, and Listen.”

Samantha Daley: Lessons From the Kitchen, Strong Families Blog, April 2014.

“What strikes me now about this unique and yet universal way I was raised is how far American culture has strayed from it. Obsessed with parenting perfectly and trying to do it all on our own, modern mamas must remember what our foremothers knew—that mothering happens in community and is far too much for one woman alone to bear. All these women taught me the importance of breaking bread, and how powerful of a tool that can be for learning and growth, laughter, and helping to move forward.”

Shanelle Matthews: When Sexual Harassment is on the Menu, EBONY.com, June 2014.

“Because the restaurant industry is the largest employer of people of color, and women make up half of the people working in this business, we are disproportionately subjected to this type of workplace harassment. At the same time, the restaurant industry is the largest low wage employer with millions of women dependent on tips to survive. Therefore in many cases earning a living requires us to have to put up with predatory behavior.”

Taja Lindley: Exam Rooms and Bedrooms: Navigating Queer Sexual Health, RH Reality Check, March 2014.

“Indeed, people are having all kinds of sex, regardless of how they identify their orientation; we need a health-care system that is prepared to address everyone’s questions, issues, and concerns about sex, sexuality, and sexual and reproductive health. Unfortunately, sex education and sexual health services remain within a hetero-normative context. This must change.”

Guest Posts:

Leajay Harper: Life’s Unexpected Journeys, Strong Families Blog, January 2013.

“Following my termination, I was faced with explaining to my girls that it was going to be hard for us for a while, but we had each other and we would stay strong. We packed up a suitcase with our clothes and boxed everything else to take to our storage unit. We said goodbye to a place that we called our home for so long and the memories we created together as a family.”

L. Michelle Odom and Naimah Johnson: When Zero Tolerance Makes Zero Sense, Strong Families Blog, June 2013.

“So many young Black girls identify with the images in mainstream media and have little promise to rest on for their future, because society has presented to them with a world where success, fame and media attention comes from criminalized activity, rather than educationally, spiritually sound practice, which can uplift them and their communities.”

Thoughts on Ferguson

On August 9th, 2014, unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot to death by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. In the weeks after his death, protests ensued and a national dialogue began about police brutality, the over policing of communities of color, the militarization of our police forces, and the right to parent your child in a safe environment, free from violence. In response, Echoing Ida writers spoke out to elevate the voices of Black women and the impact of the killings on our communities.


In a ThinkProgress article, Jasmine Burnett and Gloria Malone shared their thoughts about how the killing of Michael Brown is a reproductive justice and feminist issue.

“We look at the right to have a child, to not have a child, and to parent your child in a safe and sustainable community free from violence,” Jasmine Burnett, a black feminist activist, told ThinkProgress. “If you aren’t safe in your community because you’re racially profiled by the police, and you can’t walk from your home to a clinic or to a hospital to access the services you need, then that’s not really a full articulation of reproductive justice.”

“Reproductive justice is about the whole person — their mental, physical, and economic well being. And when you live in an area that is over policed and dealing with police brutality, that absolutely affects your mental health,” Gloria Malone, a Latina activist who organizes around issues facing young mothers, added. “The killings of these children leave a huge emotional scar.”

Jasmine reminds us that talking about the issue is never enough, we must demand action and changes in society's behavior.

“People are talking about it — that’s great,” Burnett added. “But it means nothing if your interactions with people of color, and your politics around people of color, don’t change. It will take society really building the power of people of color, because all I see is us being tortured and violated in our communities.”

In a piece for RH Reality Check, Riots and Research: What a 1968 Report on Urban Unrest Has to Do With Ferguson, Dr. Cynthia Greenlee ties the 1968 Kerner Commission Report to today's protests.

The report didn’t mince words about how police actions inflamed tense situations. Many of the report’s recommendations concerned changing the police-community dynamics in the nation’s cities—establishing more and better channels for community grievances about police misconduct, the recruitment and promotion of more Black officers, increased patrols to increase resident security, and even a junior “Community Service Officer” corps to attract Black males 17 to 21 years old to police work.

But the report’s authors knew that an expanded police presence on the streets could mean more surveillance, more violence, and less trust.

Cynthia points out that when it comes to inequality and community policing, much hasn't changed since 1968.

 Change a few words here and there, and we could re-issue the Kerner Report today; inequality is a fixture of American life, and history doesn’t repeat itself gently or always arc toward justice. Sometimes, history boomerangs with a vengeance.

For her RH Reality Check piece, The Violence Happening in Ferguson Is More Than Physical, Dr. Alexandra Moffett Bateau, examines the impact of the Ferguson protests, police responses to the protest, and police brutality on communities - and show us that there are many ways it impacts the body.

We may miss the violence of the police officer who said something to a young woman that completely destroyed her spirit prior to hitting her in the face. We may miss the destruction of a young man’s spiritual altar in his home prior to being beaten brutally in the street after he reacted. We may miss that a woman’s children were suddenly taken from her home a week before she was raped by a social worker.

While these examples are somewhat extreme, I am using them to get at a central point: Physical, emotional, spiritual, and even bureaucratic harm can all enact different modes of violence, both on the community and the individual.

The violence our communities, like Ferguson, experience all across the country, at the hands of the state, have a deep impact. An impact not only felt by our bodies, but also our future generations and history. The Echoing Ida writers have demonstrated the complexity of reproductive justice and why we continue to fight.

Forward Together at 25: #BuildingPower with Forward Stance in New Mexico

The following post is by Denicia Cadena, Communications and Cultural Strategy Director at Young Women United in New Mexico, and is part of our 25th anniversary blog series.

From my first introduction to Forward Stance, I was hooked. Forward Together explains that the technology of Forward Stance as a “powerful way to learn and gain new insight through physical movement and by reconnecting our bodies with our minds.”

The staff of Young Women United

My name is Denicia Cadena and I am proud to be the Communications and Cultural Strategy Director of Young Women United. At Young Women United, we lead community organizing and policy initiatives by and for young women of color in New Mexico. We work so that all people have access to the education, information and resources needed to make real decisions about their own bodies and lives. By integrating the practice of Forward Stance into what we do as individuals, as Young Women United, and as leaders in our shared movement for reproductive justice, YWU is better grounded and positioned to make positive changes our families need.

As I had the opportunity to further learn and practice Forward Stance I began to share the concept with young women through our teenage organizing circle. As we walked through the elements of a forward stance, including holding a big awareness, being relaxed while ready to move, and deep breathing down to our core, we did more than talk, we got moving. Our young leaders love Forward Stance because it helps them to be more confident in their everyday lives. They always have a great time playing ninja---a competitive but fun-natured game that allows them to show off Forward Stance skill! We also started incorporating Forward Stance activities into all of YWU’s campaign areas and programmatic spaces. Forward Stance has been especially useful in our Sister Sharing Circles-facilitated conversations on pregnancy, birth, and parenting. During Sister Sharing Circles focusing on breathing exercises gives our mamas and other organizers a way to feel connected to the practice and a way to feel safe and centered while sharing personal and sometimes difficult experiences.

At YWU, Forward Stance has been an important way that we explore, expand and as needed, take up space. Moving our organization to downtown ABQ last year we painted, put up artwork and began to practice Forward Stance throughout our new office. Using exercises in which we generated rhythm and movement we continued growing YWU and our structure with a new energy that matched our location. When Forward Together Policy Director Kalpana joined us for Forward Stance she asked in disbelief, “THIS is where you practice Forward Stance?!” as we often practice Forward Stance on the sidewalk, amid the morning crowd headed for coffee, rumbling buses, and our ABQ city scape. We are proud to use Forward Stance as a way to build up our presence in our downtown surroundings.

As Forward Together celebrates their 25th anniversary I am thankful to be part of the Forward Stance practice that has created a common language across movements reclaiming organizing with mind, body, and spirit. We live a world where Black boys and men are being murdered by state sanctioned police forces, where women and children are being deported after fleeing extreme violence, and where trans* women of color are being murdered and incarcerated for defending their lives. The time to collectively organize for justice has never been more apparent. At its core, Forward Stance is a way to practice how we work together, weaving diverse leadership and movements for justice. Though we may have different rhythms, energy, and stances, when we come together to practice Forward Stance we have increased capacity to move and advance collective power. I’m ready to move with Forward Together for another 25 years!

Denicia Cadena is a queer chicana born and raised in Mesilla, New Mexico. Denicia is the Communications and Cultural Strategy Director of Young Women United (YWU), an organizing and policy project by and for young women of color in New Mexico. She leads YWU’s communications strategies so that our efforts reflect the lived experiences of our communities. Rooted in cultural organizing, Denicia develops media and messaging alongside YWU’s members, leaders and activists to move community based policy change and culture shift. Denicia has deep experience working on issues of reproductive justice, racial justice, and queer justice. A proud sister, aunt,daughter, and friend–Denicia couldn’t imagine herself without all the strong women that have shaped her. As a welder and sculptor, Denicia knows that some ways of knowing and understanding can only be expressed through art. Denicia holds a BA in History with a concentration in Diaspora Studies from Amherst College.

Forward Together at 25: New Mexico Youth Lead The Way For Net Neutrality

The following post is by Alanna Offield, Campaign Coordinator at the Media Literacy Project in New Mexico, and is part of our 25th anniversary blog series.

Every movement or organization has “their person”: the person they want to move to support their cause and community. For the media justice movement that person is the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a commission of five appointed people that regulate our communications. And here I was this past June organizing an event for Media Literacy Project (MLP) and hosting the chairman at a time when he had recently proposed rules that would destroy the Internet (Let John Oliver break it down for you).

FCC Chair Tom Wheeler with youth organizers

This was the first public event Chairman Wheeler would speak at since he proposed an Internet “fast lane” that would give priority to companies that could pay more for their content to be more visible. All eyes were on us to push him to reject the proposed rules and enact real net neutrality with no paid priority service. We also needed to get real with him about what he will do to get more New Mexican families connected to reliable and affordable Internet and phone service. As campaign coordinator at MLP, I was the lead in organizing this event. No pressure.

We had intentionally focused the event on youth voices as the FCC has no formal youth engagement. Every day people were crawling out of the woodwork to give me some ageist lines about how involving youth was a nice idea but do I really believe youth can understand media policy issues? As a young person myself it was hard to hear this. If people didn’t think youth could pull off an event like this, what about me?

Throughout the month of June MLP had been working flat out with limited volunteer support. We were expecting almost 300 people, and we needed more helping hands. I can’t even count the amount of times I had cried with the stress of wanting to do something that would make my community feel and be heard. With only a few volunteers on board I had become convinced that I was doing it all wrong. One night it was 7:30 p.m. and I was still at my desk running through the program for the 100th time and refreshing the volunteer signup sheet over and over hoping more people would help us. I was just about to pack up and go home when I heard my email notification. All of the staff of Strong Families New Mexico had signed up to volunteer with the added note “available to help anywhere I can.” I sat at my desk and cried. Just this one small act made a huge difference in my attitude and from that moment on I knew it would be okay.

This act is just a small example of how Strong Families New Mexico supports not only MLP but all the other organizations they work with. They understand how important it is for us to support each other in this work. They saw that we were trying to provide a space for dialogue between New Mexican youth, their families, and the FCC. They got on board with us and helped to plan and promote the event. They were there the night of the event helping to prep young people who wanted to give testimony to the chairman and tell their story. During the event, an older man rushed up to the microphone and took time away from the young people who had worked so hard to put the event together. This man didn’t ask a unique question, but felt that because a young person had addressed his issue, it hadn’t really been asked yet. Most of the youth were able to speak that night and before I knew it the event was over.

I was getting the post-event organizer blues playing mind games about what I should have done differently. I walked outside the event venue and the Strong Families New Mexico team was there telling me how great the event was and even if everything didn’t go to plan they could see that the community was engaged. It was exactly what I needed to hear after weeks of hard work.

Strong Families always has the Media Literacy Project’s back and makes the connections between media justice and thriving families in our community. That night and so many other times I saw how we really are stronger together. The staff of Strong Families New Mexico has supported me in some of the biggest projects I have ever taken on professionally. They take time to ask us how we can be supported and provide constructive feedback so we can come out strong. They truly understand that our issues are connected and that media justice is something we need for all of our families.

Alanna Offield is a community organizer and activist from Northern New Mexico. She has worked on a range of issue-based campaigns dealing with human rights, racial justice, gender justice, and environmental justice. Since her early teenage years she has been active in various social justice and human rights organizations including serving as the New Mexico Student Activist Coordinator for Amnesty International and as Program Coordinator for the Railyard Park Stewards of Santa Fe. As a queer chicana and single mother, Alanna feels drawn to social justice work as a way to protect the rights of her community and to make sure their voices are heard. She works within a solidarity framework and believes that the power to create lasting change comes from the grassroots. Alanna is a student at the University of New Mexico focusing her studies on the intersections of race, class, and gender in American society through an American studies degree with a minor in Chicano/ Chicana studies. She is on a new journey as a parent to her daughter, Hickory, and is dedicated to creating a more equitable world for her to grow up in.