At MomsRising, we’re building a movement that is reflective of the diversity, contributions, and needs of families in the United States. This means that our membership mirrors the U.S. Census in terms of racial and ethnic composition, that we have a multicultural team, that families with one or two parents, parents who identify as LGBTQ, parents of all races and ethnicities — parents who simply want to make change with us — are all coming together.

 

This Women's History Month, we celebrate the achievements of women across social justice movements, particularly those whose names and stories are often left out of textbooks and the media. It's also an important time to reflect on the future of our work and ensure it always reflects the intersectional nature of the issues our families and communities face. 
 

Audre Lorde, a Caribbean-American lesbian writer and civil rights leader, said it best: “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.”

 

At MomsRising, as a million member multicultural organization working to end discrimination against women and promote family economic security, we prioritize deeply listening to and engaging with our members, volunteers, and audience. There is an organization-wide understanding that the “isms” like sexism, racism, classism, and heterosexism are rarely found alone. We know that where we see the impact of one “ism” like sexism, we will more likely than not find a double impact of another “ism,” like racism.  Because of this, MomsRising has a Raising All Voices Initiative across all programs to listen to, and to follow the lead and priorities of, moms in traditionally underrepresented communities.

 

In addition to working on issues such as fair pay, paid leave, affordable childcare, and healthcare, the Raising All Voices Initiative has meant that MomsRising is working on public policies like advancing immigration policy reform (two-thirds of people impacted by immigration policy in our nation are women and children); and it has also meant that MomsRising takes a strong stand against racial profiling and police brutality. No mother should have to fear that her child could come to harm at the hands charged with protecting them. We have also launched a Spanish language web site, MamásConPoder.org, at the request of our Spanish-speaking members.

 

In the spirit of Women's History Month and in honor of our foremothers whose shoulders we stand on, we hope you'll join us in celebrating their legacy, exploring the issues facing women and families today, and committing to being the best allies possible to one another and in all communities.

 

 

• "What Would an Intersectional Women's History Month Look Like?" Allison McCarthy, Ms. Magazine 
• "Get Intersectional! (Or, Why Your Movement Can't Go It Alone)," Kristin Moe, YES! Magazine  
• "Kimberlé Crenshaw on Intersectionality: 'I wanted to come up with an everyday metaphor that anyone could use'," Bim Adewunmi, NewStatesman 
   

• VIDEO: "The Origin of the Phrase 'Women of Color,'" Loretta Ross
• "Latina Legends," The Adelante Movement
• "Meet the woman who coined #BlackLivesMatter," Jessica Guynn, USA Today
• "A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter movement," Alicia Garza, The Feminist Wire 
• "Lesbian Mom to Head Largest Rabbanic Group in N. America," Mombian
• "Remembering Claudette Colvin: An Overlooked Freedom Warrior," Evette Dionne, Bitch Magazine
• "To Be Young, Gifted, & Afro-Latina: 30 Afro-Latinas You Should Know," Assita Camara, For Harriet 
• "Meet Four Working Moms Who Fought For Higher Wages In 2014," Jillian Berman, The Huffington Post
• "12 Legendary Black Women Who Deserve Their Own Biopics," Raisa Habersham, For Harriet
• En Español: "22 mujeres Latinas que hicieron historia," Daniela Cadena, BuzzFeed Español
   

• "The Unfair Price: Poverty in the LGBT Community," Dr. Laura Durso and Ineke Mushovic, TalkPoverty
• "African American Women & The Wage Gap," National Partnership for Women and Families
• "Latinas and the Wage Gap," National Partnership for Women and Families
• "I’m Not a Person with a Disability. I’m an Disabled Person," Lisa Egan, Everyday Feminism
• "This Women's History Month, remember #translivesmatter," Jaleesa Jones, USA Today
• "Disabled Lesbian Mom Vet Denied Benefits for Spouse and Daughter," Mombian
• "Patricia Arquette Gives Rousing Speech for Gender Equality, Quickly Goes Off the Rails," Jill Filipovic, Cosmopolitan
• "Infographic: Legally Married and Legally Fired," Sarah McBride, Center for American Progress
• "When home care workers can’t care for themselves," Kimberly Thomas, MSNBC
• "A Boob By Any Other Color: On Breastfeeding and Privilege," Sili Recio, MomsRising
• "Black America’s hidden tax: Why this feminist of color is going on strike," Brittney Cooper, Salon
• "7 Actual Facts That Prove White Privilege Exists in America," Zerlina Maxwell, Mic
• "Clean Air and Environmental Justice for All," Vernice Miller-Travis, MomsRising
• "Despite Obamacare Advances, Racial Health Disparities for Women of Color Abound," Julianne Hing, Colorlines
• "The Top 10 Most Startling Facts About People of Color and Criminal Justice in the United States," Sophia Kerby, Center for American Progress
• "Maternal Mortality Review – Each Death Matters," Victoria Kavanaugh, RN, PhD, National Women's Health Network
• "Chemical Injustice: the Unequal Burden of Toxic Chemicals on Women of Color and Low-income Families," Reproductive Health Technologies Project, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
• En Español: "Por qué la desigualdad crece más entre los hispanos de EE.UU." Thomas Sparrow, BBC Mundo
• En Español: "Hispanas son las que peor salario ganan en EEUU," María Peña, La Opinión
   

• "What Are the Issues with Activism today? Intro to Feminist Divides," Clarissa Trevino, MomsRising
• “Which side are you on?”: #Asians4BlackLives confronts anti-black prejudice in Asian communities, Julia Carrie Wong, Salon
• "How White Foundation Leaders Can Promote Racial Justice," Aaron Dorfman, Philanthropy
• "Intent vs. Impact: Why Your Intentions Don’t Really Matter," Jamie Utt, Everyday Feminism
• VIDEO: "5 Tips for Being an Ally," Franchesca Leigh
• "10 Simple Ways White People Can Step Up to Fight Everyday Racism," Derrick Clifton, Mic
• "So You Call Yourself an Ally: 10 Things All ‘Allies’ Need to Know," Jamie Utt, Everyday Feminism
• "When Whites Get a Free Pass: Research Shows White Privilege Is Real," Ian Ayres, New York Times