GWC March 2020 Newsletter

Posted by Stacey Kruckel
April 01, 2020

DAG Frankfurt Chapter Secretary and Co-Chair of the Communications Committee, Global Women's Caucus

Chair’s Corner:

Empowering Women in a time of Pandemic

By Ann Hesse, Chair, Global Women’s Caucus

Our last GWC Newsletter seems light years away. We shared plans, announced upcoming events and commented on the politics of the day. Though we all knew the virus was spreading, it was not yet the all-consuming, life-altering presence in our lives that it has become. What a difference a few short weeks has made!

Now here we are, pivoting, adapting and planning day-by-day, as women do so well. The wonderful thing about our truly Global Women’s Caucus is that we are already very good at social distancing without losing touch!

Our GWC Leaders are now busy shifting in-person events online and cooking up new ideas on how our sprawling caucus, with its thousands of members in every time zone, can “virtually” draw a little closer to each other and empower each other during this very stressful time so that we can carry on with the important work we do.

I will be asking each of our action teams to develop extra remote options for member participation, so keep an eye out for more online member meetings, webinars with expert guests and calls to action.

One of the most powerful ways we can push back against the feeling of helplessness and isolation that this pandemic is generating, is to commit to doing one positive action for a cause we believe in. Follow this link for a whole list of easy ways that you can help out with our efforts to get out the vote. Do you have a particular skill or an issue that is especially close to your heart? Then we would love to have you pitch in on one of our GWC teams as a volunteer. Drop me a line at [email protected] and together we can find something that suits your skill-set, interests and schedule.

One commitment that I am personally making is to pledge that for every live social event that I have to miss with friends and family due to the corona virus, I will donate an equivalent amount of time and/or money to the task of ridding our democracy of the GOP virus that has infected us for what seems like an eternity now. Would you join me in a similar commitment?

The whole world is on a learning curve now. It almost feels like a slow motion 9/11. Nothing will be the same in the “after” time. But perhaps the silver lining will be in the development of a greener, more sustainable, more empathetic society that values humanity over productivity, diversity over sameness and equality over dominance.

It has been said that pandemics change history. As women’s history month 2020 comes to a close, let us embrace this change, and commit to working towards the goal of making a historic change for the better!

In solidarity, and with a warm virtual hug,

Ann

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Making Herstory History

By Clara Dessaint

Women’s History Month – like many of women’s hard-fought civil rights wins – took time and patient lobbying to be officially adopted.

Following the lead of a few US counties and universities, which had successfully hosted weeklong celebrations of women’s important roles in history, President Carter first proclaimed a Women’s History Week (commencing on March 8^th) in 1980. Despite bipartisan, national support for recognizing and celebrating the many contributions of American women in this way, Women’s History Week required annual lobbying until 1987, when Congress declared March as National Women’s History Month.[i]

Feminist Literature 101

By Sheila Malovany-Chevailler & Stacey Kruckel

Are you interested in immersing yourself more in the wonderful world of feminist literature, but don’t know where to start? Here are a few important, thought-provoking and empowering books to recharge your feminist batteries!

Click here for our list. Enjoy!

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Women’s History Month Webinar: Celebrate Intersectionality!

The Global Women's Caucus, the Global Hispanic Caucus, and the Global Black Caucus have teamed up for a Women's History Month webinar called, “Black/Brown Power, Whiteness and Women: The 2020 Election Challenge—Democrats, Be the Light! Save America! (…And the World!)”

In this webinar, Ramona Houston, Ph.D., PMP will explore the historical development of racism and whiteness in America, and how Democrats can build powerful, multi-racial / multi-cultural coalitions and a stronger Democratic Party.

She will discuss the racial politics at the root of Trumpism and argue that Democrats must understand this history and its manifestations to effectively defeat Trump. According to Dr. Houston, women play a vital role in this process. Ultimately, Dr. Houston challenges Democrats to “Be the Light,” especially during the critical upcoming 2020 Elections—both locally and nationally.

Join three Democrats Abroad Global Chairs: Angela Fobbs (Black Caucus), Amerika Garcia Grewel (Hispanic Caucus) and Ann Hesse (Global Women’s Caucus), as they explore with Dr. Houston what it means to “Be the Light.”

If you have questions for Dr. Houston, please send them to [email protected]

This is an online event. RSVP to receive connection information.

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Reproductive Justice Action Team

By Salli Swartz

The Reproductive Justice Action Team is closely watching for the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding the case of June Medical Services v. Gee. This case will test the limits of the Louisiana State law that requires hospital admitting privileges for doctors who perform abortions. It will also decide whether abortion clinics have standing to sue to maintain their existence.

GWC Climate Action Team - Update

By Naomi Ages

Greetings from the Global Women's Caucus Climate Action Team. Throughout the Global Presidential Primary (GPP), we've been hard at work on our 2020 climate project called Go Green, Vote Blue! We need to make climate change THE #1 issue in this election, up and down the ballot. We're kicking-off Go Green, Vote Blue during Earth Week - which starts April 21. To this end, we've created a Toolkit to help you organize your own ONLINE event, wherever you are! Earth Day is going digital, and so can you!

The Toolkit is full of useful content, from shareable graphics to social media sample posts to suggested email messaging for you to use when inviting your chapter. It's super simple. All you have to do is plug in the details specific to your event.

After you've planned your event, please email the details to [email protected] so we can promote them and support you!

If, after reading the directions in the toolkit, you need assistance with troubleshooting an online video/videoconferencing platform, please email [email protected], with the subject line "Help with online conferencing". We will try our best to assist you!

We encourage you to poke around the Toolkit, especially the "Wearables and Shareables" folder, which has online and offline resources you can use all year for Go Green, Vote Blue!

We look forward to seeing all of your Go Green, Vote Blue events!

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Introducing the Candidate Information Action Team

By Kati Newcomb

Welcome to the Candidate Information Action Team of the Democrats Abroad Global Women’s Caucus!

I've taken on the position of Editor of Candidate Information for the Global Women’s Caucus because I truly believe that we're at a crossroads in American democracy and that the results of the 2020 election will have lasting effects on not only our country, but also the global community that we're all a part of.

At a regular cadence, the Candidate Information Action Team will post content on everything from profiles on candidates running in close or crucial races across the country to guides on how to research candidates on your own local ballots.