A Letter from Mass NOW’s President
The world is on fire, our fight for a feminist future has never been more dire and we are not going anywhere. Thank you to everyone who’s reached out to share your support and love for Mass NOW. We’re bringing our intersectional feminist agenda into conversation around the Commonwealth virtually through our events and initiatives listed below. I am so excited to share with you some of what we’ve been up to this summer and have planned for the fall.
We hope to see you at one of our upcoming Town Halls where the Mass NOW board will be available to answer questions and solicit feedback on the future of Mass NOW. Please join us as one or all of the upcoming discussions. You may also share your anonymous feedback, ask me a question directly or request a one on one conversation with myself if these times don’t work for you (sasha@massnow.org).
Wednesday, September 30th 12:00 – 1:00PM
Thursday, October 1st 6:00 – 7:00PM
Saturday, October 17th 10:00 – 11:00AM
Check out the Massachusetts Menstrual Equity Coalition website, look through our Consciousness Raising toolkit on Mass NOW member portal and download curriculum guides for Mass NOW’s 12 priority issue areas and hold your own informal consciousness raising! (password NOW2020!)
And lastly, don’t forget! Electing a strong intersectional feminist leadership for National NOW is more important now than ever! Make sure you register today to vote for the next National NOW board at the upcoming virtual National NOW Conference planned for September 26, 2020. Registration is free for all attendees! Plus, I’m running to represent the Northern District 🙂 (Many details, such as how voting will be done, are still to be announced).
I hope you enjoy the end of summer round up of Mass NOW programming!
In solidarity,
Sasha
WATCH Suffrage100MA’s Centennial Commemoration Film
“The Fight for Women’s Suffrage: Looking Back, Marching Forward!”
Mass NOW is one of nearly 200 non-profit, non-partisan partner organizations in the Suffrage100MA coalition dedicated to commemorating the herstory of the fight for suffrage. This commemoration is a moment of truth and reconciliation for the feminist movement. We stand on the shoulders of generations of feminist activists, TQBIPOC suffragists, and allies and are thankful for all we can learn from our herstory to strengthen our movement.
The film, co-produced and written by our very own Sasha Goodfriend, gives a versatile glimpse into the suffrage movement, from the abolitionist movement in the 19th century that led to the suffrage movement, to the ratification of the 19th Amendment 100 years ago. Learn the dramatic herstory and be inspired to VOTE!
Watch “The Fight for Women’s Suffrage: Looking Back, Marching Forward!” now!
Massachusetts Menstrual Equity Coalition Update
Earlier this summer, the Mass. Senate and House adopted amendments to an EconomicDevelopment Bond bill to fund menstrual products in homeless shelters. This bill has been in Conference Committee for over a month now and with so many competing priorities, we need to keep the pressure on to make sure that the final bill includes allocations for menstrual products in shelters!
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If the amendment moves forward, we think this would be the first statewide menstrual equity legislation passed in Massachusetts! House Ways and Means Chair Representative Michlewitz and Senate Ways & Means Chair Senator Rodrigues are leading the conferencing committee along with Representatives Ferrante & Wong and Senators Lesser & O’Connor.
Please call the legislators listed above and ask that they keep $500,000 for menstrual products for shelters in the Economic Development Bond Bill!
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WATCH: Multiple Truths: Survivorship and the 2020 Election
On August 6, 2020, Jane Doe Inc. (JDI) hosted a forum to explore what civic engagement means for survivors of sexual violence and what is at stake in the 2020 elections. JDI is a non-partisan organization so the conversation was not about specific candidates but rather addressing deeper questions about the impact and choices that survivors have to ensure that the myriad needs of survivors from diverse backgrounds are front and center in elections up and down the ballot.
Guests speakers include Monika Johnso Hostler of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Chastity Bowick of the Massachusetts Transgender Emergency Fund, Sasha Goodfriend of Massachusetts NOW, and Luz Villar of the 7th Congressional District Office.
The 2nd Annual Back to School Ball: Pandemic Edition
Thursday, October 8, 2020, 7:30PM – 12:00AM
You saw it first last year when we partnered with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce for the Fierce Urgency of Now festival. Schools starting late this year but tonight, school is officially in session! Join us in welcoming the 2020 Class of Social Distancing in this one-night-only live digital event. This year we’re back and at the Museum of Science for a special virtual event with Athena’s Ballroom Academy and the Transgender Emergency Fund for a celebration of Ballroom culture in New England. RSVP NOW!
The Legendary Athena West of Athena’s Ballroom Academy, Chastity Boswick of the Transgender Emergency Fund, and Sasha Goodfriend, State President, Mass NOW, invite you to a conversation to learn about the New England Ballroom community, the celebration of Black, Trans and Queer culture that is at its roots, and how its performers are inspired and driven by themes of identity, gender and the shared experiences of Queer communities of color.
Following the conversation, join us for the 2nd Annual Back to School Ball: Pandemic Edition – live from the Museum of Science featuring a fabulous array of Ball performers competing for prizes in categories themed to different STEM fields and beyond. Including a special performance from Teasha Boo and more surprises!
