Greetings!  While we sometimes have to fight defensive battles, the movement also needs to fight for what we want our world to look like. We've been doing both during the past two months, been pushing forward for health care for all (everybody in, nobody out!) and pushing back against white supremacy. We organized a national day of consciousness-raising to answer the question, How would my life change if I had guaranteed health care? We've also been busy in a renewed fight against white supremacists and Nazis, working in coalition with other defenders of democracy and equality.   Based on people power fights from past and present, we know that no matter the strategy, the most effective way to fight back is through organization. As writer and organizer  Shaun King writes , "[W]e often mistake out potential for our power. They aren't one in the same. We have enormous potential, but it isn't power until we organize and use it."   We hope that you are organizing, and are paying dues or regular monthly donations to social justice organizations like National Women's Liberation, Black Lives Matter, Healthcare-NOW! and Dream Defenders.   In solidarity,  National Women's Liberation

In this month's newsletter: First National Day of Consciousness Raising NWL-Gainesville Holds Walk-Up Consciousness Raising NWL-NYC hosts CR workshop with SAGE People Power Brings Confederate Statue Down in Gainesville, FL NWL-Gainesville is Working in Coalition to Fight Back against White Supremacists Picket of Crisis Pregnancy Centers NWL Organizing Committee in Tallahassee, FL Join the NWL Women of Color Caucus Email List Solidarity Highlights: Say Yes to Second Chances, and March for Black Women

Consciousness-Raising Session in New York City, 1970. Photo by Bettye Lane. Courtesy  Schlesinger Library .

First National Day of Consciousness Raising September 10, 2017 · CR, Health Care Women from across the country hosted consciousness raising (CR) sessions with family and friends on the feminist stake in health care, answering the question, "How would your life be different with free and guaranteed health care?" To prepare, many of the hosts participated in NWL's National Consciousness Raising Training conference call and webinar, led by organizers from the NWL-NYC Overthrowing the Double Day Committee. A recording of the training, toolkit, and list of recommended readings are all available for download. We're excited to share conclusions soon. Stay tuned! Did you host? Fill out our survey and let us know how it went.

Didn't get a chance to host a CR on September 10th?   Don't worry, there's still time, and health care is still an urgent matter. Use our  CR planning resources  to prepare and submit  this survey after your session so that we can follow up with you.

Email us to get started.

Post-it notes at the NWL-Gainesville Walk-Up Consciousness Raising, August 23, 2017. Photo by Brooke Eliazar-Macke.

NWL-Gainesville tabling at UF for Women's History Month, March 2017.

NWL-Gainesville Holds Walk-Up Consciousness Raising August 23, 2017 · CR, Health Care NWL-Gainesville went to the streets and gathered testimony in response to the question: How would your life be different with free and guaranteed health care? The responses revealed how our current system is expensive and impacts a multitude of major life decisions. Here are a few responses:

My daughter in France would live here with her children I wouldn't have to choose between my health and food on the table I'd be free to be self-employed I wouldn't have to choose between paying rent and filling a prescription

My daughter might be alive My son might get his hearing back I would get married because I want to, and not because my partner lost his healthcare Freedom to look for another job

Based on the testimony, one of the CR organizers wrote up conclusions.

NWL-NYC hosts CR workshop with SAGE September 13, 2017 · CR, LGBT Building on our National Consciousness-Raising (CR) Training, NWL-NYC and SAGE (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders), held a multi-generational workshop on the history of CR, and how to start and run a CR group. Learn more about SAGE.

NWL-Gainesville sign making to protest local Confederate statute, 2017. Photo by Natalie Maxwell.

Statute's removal in Gainesville, FL, August 14, 2017. Photo by Jeremiah Tattersall,

People Power Brings Confederate Statue Down in Gainesville, FL August 14, 2017 · Anti-Racism "Old Joe," a confederate statute located in downtown Gainesville, FL, was finally removed after a more than year long campaign by local organizers, including NWL-Gainesville. Read local coverage of the campaign to remove the statue here.

NWL-Gainesville is Working in Coalition to Fight Back against White Supremacists Ongoing · Anti-Racism Organizers in Gainesville, FL have been working in coalition to fight back against plans of known white supremacist, Richard Spencer, and other white nationalist groups to come to town. Spencer initially sought to speak at the University of Florida at Gainesville (UF) in August, but people power pushed UF to deny Spencer's initial request. NWL and Women's March Gainesville responded in an editorial in the Gainesville Sun. Despite our opposition, UF is poised to offer Spencer a new date to speak. Organizers are gearing up again to demand that he be barred from the university. NWL is supporting the work of UF students and the Dream Defenders in planning an action and sign making.

NWL-Gainesville activists at the Sira picket, August 8, 2017. Photos by Regan Garner.

Picket of Crisis Pregnancy Center August 8, 2017 · Abortion & Birth Control NWL-Gainesville's Abortion & Birth Control Committee led a protest of Sira, one of Florida's crisis pregnancy centers (CPC). CPCs like Sira are fake health clinics: they do not have medical staff, and they cannot give medical advice. They use misleading tactics, like free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, to bring women into their facilities with the intent of steering them away from choosing abortion or birth control. CPCs in Florida receive funding from taxpayer dollars as well as proceeds from the “Choose Life” license plates. Learn more about the fight against CPCs here.

NWL-Tallahassee Organizing Committee at the Women's March on Tallahassee, January 21, 2017. Photo by Emily Calvin.

NWL Organizing Committee in Tallahassee, FL Announcement We're excited to announce that there is an NWL organizing committee in Tallahassee, FL! They have been organizing since the fall of 2016. Write us if you are in the Tallahassee area and want to get involved.

Join the NWL Women of Color Caucus Email List Announcement Women of Color Caucus (WOCC) Organizers are planning events for October. If you are a woman of color who wants to join the WOCC email list, contact us at nwl@womansliberation.org .

Solidarity Highlight

NWL-Gainesville and the Tallahassee Organizing Committee support Felon Voter Rights Restoration Florida has the highest voter disenfranchisement rate in the country. Florida citizens are gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that would amend Florida’s constitution and restore voting rights to most people who have completed their sentences. We need 700,000 signatures to add the initiative to the ballot. If you're in Florida, add your name and consider collecting signatures.

Build the Feminist Movement! Become a dues paying member of NWL .  Not ready to become a member? Make a one-time donation to support our work . 

About NWL National Women's Liberation  is a feminist group for women who want to fight back against male supremacy and win more freedom for women.  Our priorities  are abortion/birth control, overthrowing the double day, and feminist consciousness raising. Our  Women of Color Caucus (WOCC)  meets separately from white women to better understand how racism intersects with sexism to oppress women of color.  

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