NWL Joins Day Without an Immigrant Strike
2017-05-01
Join Cosecha’s Day Without an Immigrant Strike
On May 1st we are joining the “Day without Immigrants” strike for liberty and justice for all in the U.S.—no matter our religion or ethnicity or where we were born—and for an end to deportations and anti-immigrant attacks. We stand with International Women’s Strike US/ Paro Internacional de Mujeres EUA and all other signatory organizations to say: No Ban. No Wall. No ICE. Solidarity is our weapon! Read the full statement here.
From Cosecha: “Immigrant Rights Organizations, Workers Centers and Unions launch a national strike billed as a “day without immigrants” to demonstrate that the country depends on the labor of immigrants and working class people of color. Hundreds of thousands of workers have already pledged to strike in what organizers expect to be the largest national strike since the Megamarches of 2006.” Sign up to strike here.

Gainesville May Day Celebration
2017-05-01 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Join labor and immigrant groups in a celebration of International Workers’ Day and immigrants’ rights. There will be a march followed by live music, speakers, and tabling by social justice organizations. To march with NWL, meet us at 4:15p.m. at the corner of University and 13th to Bo Diddly Plaza. After the march, stop by the NWL table at Bo Diddley Plaza. More information available here.

Grassroots Feminist Theory Meeting
2017-05-17 13:00 - 15:00
Sunday, May 21, 2017 at 1:00pm-3:00pm
NWL office: 200 NE 1st St, Suite 200 (enter from back garage)
Topic: The Pro-Woman Line & The Personal is Political, Part 2 (RSVP here)

What keeps women down? Do we oppress ourselves and other women? Do we have a common struggle? How do we make advances together?

We will dig into ideas raised in the last grassroots theory meeting’s discussion. You are welcome to attend even if you missed the last discussion; you can see the previous readings here.
Please be prepared to discuss:

False Consciousness, by Jennifer Gardner, 1969 (2 pages)
Resistances to Consciousness, Irene Peslikis, 1969 (2 pages)
Editorial by Judith Brown, 1970 (2 pages)
Anger in Isolation: A Black Feminist’s Search for Sisterhood, by Michelle Wallace, 1975 (4 pages)

NWL-Gainesville General Meeting: Showing of La Operación & Discussion
2017-06-13 18:30 - 20:00
Tues., June 13, 6:30-8:00pm
Cyclops Cinema, 10 E University Ave
Join us for a showing of La Operación: a documentary on the social policy of female sterilization in Puerto Rico. The film was directed by Ana María García in 1982; at that time, Puerto Rico had the highest rate of sterilization in the world. Over one-third of its women had undergone what is commonly referred to as “la operación” (the operation).
The film includes interviews with working-class and middle-class women from different racial and ethnic backgrounds who went through the procedure, discussion on women factory workers being pressured to be sterilized, as well as Puerto Rico functioning as a testing ground for U.S. pharmaceutical companies working on the effectiveness of the birth control pill.
Discussion to follow.

Tallahassee Organizing Committee Monthly Meeting
2017-07-10 18:30 - 20:30
Our NWL Tallahassee Organizing Committee monthly meeting will be Monday, July 10th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at The Plant, 517 W. Gaines St, Tallahassee, Florida. RSVP here.
In this meeting, we will discuss the topic the ideology of “False Consciousness” and reading “False Consciousness” by Jennifer Gardner and “Resistance to Consciousness,” Irene Peslikis.
Please read ahead and come with your thoughts, questions, and experiences.
Please note that NWL Monthly meetings are now the second Monday of each month. We took a survey and based on results concluded weekdays may work best for members. We will see how this adjustment works and welcome your feedback!

Campus Committee: Roots of Plan B in Gainesville
2017-07-17 17:45 - 19:15
Monday, July 17th, 5:45 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
Little Hall Room 117 – on UF campus, plenty of free parking in the lot behind Tigert Hall

Did you know that NWL was foundational in getting Plan B over the counter? Come to campus committee to learn about the decades long fight and important milestones as we move toward a Plan B vending machine on UF’s campus! This meeting is open to women who are interested in mobilizing women in higher education, not just students.
Here are some readings to get familiar with NWL’s past work and be ready for discussion. There are very short and easy to read. Don’t stress too much about reading it all and/or reading it in great detail.

Victory! A flier showing an overview of the morning after pill (MAP) work.
UF pharmacist protest in 1997
MAP Conspiracy Pledge, 2004
National NOW Conference speech by one of NWL’s attorneys during this process, Andrea Costello, 2013
Miami Herald article – “Florida women play key role in emergency birth-control case”, 2013

Grassroots Feminist Theory Meeting
2017-07-23 13:00 - 15:00 | NWL-Gainesville Office, 200 NE 1st St, suite 201, Gainesville, FL, 32601
Topic: National Health Care and the Social Wage, Part 1
Sunday, July 23, 2017, 1pm – 3pm (RSVP here)

NWL office: 200 NE 1st Street, Suite 201 (entrance from the back garage). Gainesville, FL 32601
Does America have the best health care system? Why is health care a feminist issue? What can we learn from other countries that have universal health care?

This will be the first in a series of discussions on the topic of national health care. Please read ahead and come with your thoughts, questions, and experiences.
Also we will get some National Women’s Liberation chapter work done in the meeting and help you figure out a role organizing in NWL if you are looking to get more involved.

Readings we will discuss:
“Myth America, Women’s Liberation & National Health Care,” Lecture by Jenny Brown from April 1999 Gainesville Area NOW meeting. Excerpted from Women’s Liberation & National Health Care: Confronting the Myth of America A Redstockings Organizing Packet, pp. 1-20. (20 pages)
Jenny Brown, Remarks on Health Care, from Left Forum panel: Turning the Tables: How the Attempts to Repeal the ACA are Strengthening the Medicare for All Movement, 2017. (3 pages)
___________
Note on the readings: Brown’s “Myth America, Women’s Liberation & National Health Care” is excerpted from Redstockings Organizing Packet, Women’s Liberation & National Health Care: Confronting the Myth of America which is available to download from Redstockings Women’s Liberation Archives for Action. www.redstockings.org

Community Meeting for Women of Color
2017-07-31 19:30 - 21:00
At this month’s Women of Color Caucus meeting, join us as we continue last month’s discussion on how to move our work forward as activists and as a woman of color think tank. During last month’s meeting, WOCC advisory board member Zoharah Simmons presented on her experience at the Words of Fire Conference: Sex, Power and the Black Feminist Call for Social Justice. If you missed last month’s meeting, it is not too late to join in this discussion. We will provide a highlight of the discussion points from our last meeting so we can continue and dive deeper into some of the points raised.

We will continue discussing two readings from “Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought,” ed. by Beverly Guy-Sheftall:
1. “A Feminist Statement,” by The Combahee River Collective
2. “Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference”, by Audre Lorde

Crisis Pregnancy Center Protest & Prep
2017-08-05 17:00 - 18:00
Women facing an unintended pregnancy deserve information that is medically accurate, comprehensive, and unbiased. Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) are not health clinics and use misleading tactics to lure women in. Join us in warning our community about the misinformation that these “clinics” provide, and to protest that our tax dollar are used to lie to women.

Sign Making Meet-up for the Protest

Sat., August 5th, 5:00-6:00pm
NWL Office, 200 NE 1st St, Suite 201 (enter from back garage)

Crisis Pregnancy Center Protest

Tues., August 8th, 12:00-1:00pm

For additional information or to rsvp for the sign making or protest, visit us on Facebook.

National Consciousness-Raising Training Call
2017-08-27 20:00 - 21:30
National Women’s Liberation is expanding our Consciousness-Raising (CR) initiative to learn from women across the country and use what we learn to guide future actions. CR is a powerful tool used throughout the Women’s Liberation Movement, and on September 10 we hope to use it to raise consciousness around health care and to build momentum for women’s liberation and a single payer health system.
We’re leading training calls for women who want to host a Consciousness-Raising session with friends and family about health care in their hometowns.
Upcoming training call: Sunday, August 27, 8PM EDT / RSVP to Call In and Spread the word on Facebook!
What is Feminist Consciousness-Raising?
Consciousness-Raising (CR) is a tool that the Women’s Liberation Movement adopted from the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement’s practice of “telling it like it is.” In a CR, women answer proposed questions using examples from their personal lives. The group draws conclusions based on that testimony to better understand the political root of problems that women face. Learn more about NWL’s use of CR here.
Suggested Reading
To learn more about the history and theory of CR, read Kathie Sarachild, “Consciousness-Raising: A Radical Weapon,” Feminist Revolution (Redstockings, 1975).

Campus Committee Meeting
2017-09-06 18:00 - 19:00
Join NWL for our first campus committee meeting of the semester. The objective of this committee is to mobilize women in higher education.
This month our format is consciousness raising. Please read Kathie Sarachild, “Consciousness-Raising: A Radical Weapon,” Feminist Revolution (Redstockings, 1975). We will continue our work on getting Plan B vending machine on campus. Prepare a response to the following question:

“Have you ever felt embarrassed when buying personal items like birth control, tampons, condoms, etc.? What happened?”

At the meeting we will each have 3-5 minutes to share our responses in order to develop conclusions that reveal similarities and differences in our experiences.
We will also have time to discuss upcoming plans surrounding the potential arrival of Richard Spencer and white nationalists in Gainesville.

National Consciousness-Raising
2017-09-10
On Sunday, September 10, women across the country will gather to answer the question, “How would my life be different if we had guaranteed health care?”
National Women’s Liberation is expanding our Consciousness-Raising (CR) initiative to learn from women across the country and use what we learn to guide future actions.CR is a powerful tool used throughout the Women’s Liberation Movement, and on September 10 we hope to use it to raise consciousness around health care and to build momentum for women’s liberation and a single payer health system.
Interested in hosting a Consciousness-Raising in your community? We developed a CR Tool Kit and Reading Materials to get your started.

Abortion & Birth Control Committee Meeting
2017-09-25 18:00 - 19:00
When: Monday, September 25, 6:00-7:00pm at the NWL Office
Where: NWL Office, 200 NE 1st, Suite 201
Join us to plan our next action against Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPC) in October, and for a report back on first picket at local CPC, Sira, held on August 8.
We are picketing CPCs because they are impostor clinics that attack women’s self-determination by lying to women about their options to scare them away from choosing abortion, using birth control, and if they are unmarried – having sex. These fake clinics are also funded by our state. If you’re angry, join us to push back. For more information or to RSVP for meeting, visit our Facebook event.

NWL General Meeting
2017-10-25 18:30 - 20:00 | NWL-Gainesville Office, 200 NE 1st St, suite 201, Gainesville, FL, 32601
Wed., Oct 25th, 6:30pm-8:00pm
at the NWL office, 200 NE 1st St, Suite 201 (enter from garage)
Join us this month for a discussion on what should be done at UF to combat sexual assault, in response to Betsy DeVos’ announced changes to federal policy on campus sexual assault, including now allowing accused perpetrators to cross-examine sexual assault survivors.
We will also provide an update on budding work to advocate for the Morning After Pill in vending machines at UF; work that can be done in coalition with current effort by Gators Matter, Period which is demanding that UF provide free tampons and pads to students and staff as a Title 9 school. (Click here to sign the petition to demand that UF provide free tampons and pads to students and staff at the UF.)

Reading we will discuss:

Blame The Rapists and Those Who Protect Them- NWL News Spring 2013- by Kendra Vincent
Emergency Contraceptives Now Available in Old Union- The Stanford Daily, 09/25/17
Students Look to Vending Machines for Better Access to Morning After Pill- NY Times, 09/28/17
Betsy DeVos, Title IX, and the “Both Sides” Approach to Sexual Assault- The New Yorker, 09/28/17

NWL Roe v. Wade 45th Anniversary Benefit Show
2018-01-20 19:00 - 2018-01-21 01:00

NWL-NYC February General Meeting
2018-02-05 19:30 - 21:30
We will answer these CR questions:

What parts of the reading resonate with you and why?
What are your reasons for wanting children or not wanting them?
Has your thinking changed?
If you do care work (care for the young, old, or sick or injured) when does this work feel like an individual responsibility? When does it feel like a collective (community, society-wide, national) responsibility?

For the general meeting, please read Florence Rush’s Woman in the Middle.

Meeting Location: Commons Cafe – 388 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217

NWL believes that women should lead the fight for our liberation, so our meetings are for self-identified women only.

Joint Meeting of the Abortion and Birth Control Committee & Campus Committee
2018-02-07 18:30 - 20:00
When: Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: NWL Office, 200 NE 1st St, Suite 201 (enter from garage)
This month we’ll be combining the Abortion & Birth Control Committee meeting and the Campus Committee meeting. Join us to plan the next crisis pregnancy center informational picket at #fakeclinic Sira and learn about our work to get Plan B vending machines on campus. We’ll also be discussing the following article, “We need 24-hour access to the UF Infirmary’s $10 Morning After Pill.” For more information or to RSVP for the meeting, visit us on Facebook.

About Crisis Pregnancy Centers:

So-called Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) use misleading tactics and spread misinformation to steer women away from choosing abortion, using birth control, and if they are unmarried – having sex. Help us expose these imposter clinics!

Check out NWL members Kerri and Erica speaking about CPCs on The Straw Hat Podcast
Read about HB 41/SB 444 which seek to appropriate state funds for CPCs

Tallahassee Organizing Committee Meeting
2018-02-09 19:30 - 21:00
The NWL Tallahassee Organizing Committee will be meeting on Friday, February 9, 2018 at 7:30pm at All Saints Cafe, 903 Railroad Ave., Tallahassee, FL. Visit us on Facebook for more information or to RSVP.

Gainesville Monthly Meeting
2018-02-28 18:30 - 20:00
Wednesday, February 28th, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
NWL Office – 200 NE 1st St, Suite 201 (enter from garage)
We will report back on the Constitution Revision Commission meeting, the Roe v. Wade Benefit, and our campus organizing. Come to find out how you can get involved.

Tallahassee Monthly Meeting
2018-03-05 19:00 - 20:30
Join us this month to learn about the history of NWL and the Women of Color Caucus (WOCC) as well as membership and recruitment. We’ll also be discussing our upcoming campaigns, including raising awareness and consciousness both locally and nationally about the hidden war on women’s work and bringing the morning after pill to vending machines at FSU & FAMU! Come see where you can get plugged in, and join us in our fight against white male supremacy and for women’s rights! For more info, visit our facebook event.
Where: Collins Main Library, Magnolia Room, 200 West Park Avenue Tallahassee, FL

Gainesville NWL's Campus Committee Meeting
2018-03-14 17:45 - 18:30
Wednesday, March 14th @ 5:45pm
Little Hall Room 119 on the UF Campus…plenty of free parking outside building

NWL’s campus committee meeting is open to all self-identified women interested in organizing women in higher education. NWL was the grassroots group behind getting the Morning After Pill (MAP) over the counter, and we’re continuing to push for more access to MAP. We’re now demanding a MAP vending machine at UF. Come learn about what we’ve accomplished so far, the work ahead of us, and how you can get involved in this campaign! To RSVP or for more information, visit us on facebook.

Women of Color Caucus Documentary Screening
2018-03-18 15:00 - 17:00
Sunday, March 18th, 3:00pm – 5:00pm
NWL Office – 200 NE 1st St, Suite 201 (enter from garage)
The Gainesville NWL Women of Color Caucus will be hosting a discussion and showing of Aishah Simmons’ No! The Rape Documentary. In light of the the #metoo movement (started by a black woman), along with the exposure of rampant sexual abuses by men in power, the timing seems ripe for women of color to discuss rape and sexual assault. This meeting is open to all people of color who self-identify as women.

Abortion and Birth Control Committee Meeting
2018-04-12 18:30 - 19:30
Thursday, April 12, 6:30pm-7:30pm
NWL Office – 200 NE 1st St, Suite 201 (enter from garage)

Join the Abortion and Birth Control Committee for a recap of the recent counter protest against anti-abortion group Created Equal and help plan our next action. For more information or to RSVP, visit our facebook page.

NYC Health Care Consciousness-Raising Meetings
2018-05-06 14:00 - 16:00
The Abortion and Birth Control Committee is doing a series of Neighborhood Consciousness Raisings.
Women will be gathering to answer questions from our personal experience, and then as a group we will compare the similarities and differences in the testimony in order to study our oppression. Movements have been using consciousness-raising as a tool for examining the political root of our so-called personal problems. We look at who is oppressing us, who benefits, and who pays, and how to fight back. We will use the testimony and conclusions from these CRs to plan our work.
We’ll answer these questions – What are/were your reasons for wanting children or not wanting them? (whether we had them, didn’t, or are still planning to). Has your thinking changed?
Meeting Details

Inwood | May 6th, 2:00 PM *location has cats & stair-only access
Clinton Hill | May 19th, 2:00 PM
Bushwick | May 20th | 4:00 PM *location has stair-only access
Bed Stuy | May 27th, 4:00 PM *location has stair-only access
Upper West Side/Morningside | June 3rd, 4:00 PM *location has dogs/cats
Jamaica Estates, Queens | June 24th, 4:00 PM *location has stair-only access

Click here to RSVP.

Families Belong Together
2018-06-30
We are only as strong as our collective communities.
Join us this Saturday to protest family separation and detention at our southern border, the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Trump’s white supremacist Muslim Ban, the erosion of decades of law that established domestic violence as a reason for women to seek asylum, and ICE’s unrelenting and unrestrained attacks on immigrant communities of color.
During a time when civil and human rights are generally under attack, it is clear that the Trump administration, its courts, and law enforcement agencies are focusing with laser precision on Muslims, Black and Latinx people, and immigrant communities of color. These recent actions by the 1% keep power at the top: the billionaire class dilutes the power of the people by terrorizing marginalized groups and decimating our communities.
Even those of us who aren’t targeted directly suffer from the government’s actions; we are being divided when we need to be fighting together for our freedom. Trump’s opportunity to appoint another justice to the Supreme Court makes it even more urgent for us to stand together against injustice and oppression.
The preservation of all liberation movements in the US hinges on our ability to act together. We must mobilize, organize, and stand with each other at this moment and in the difficult moments that are sure to follow.
We must fight together for our liberation; we must fight together until we win.
Join us this Saturday as we mobilize with our sisters and brothers in struggle. Look here to find a #FamiliesBelongTogether rally and protest near you.
NYC
Families Belong Together Rally and March, NYC
Foley Square @ 10AM
NWL NYC will meet at 9:45AM at the northwest corner of Reade St and Lafayette St (in front of the Municipal Credit Union). Look for the NWL banner and t-shirts!

Gainesville, FL
Families Belong Together Rally and March, Alachua County
City Hall @ 5PM
NWL GNV will meet at 5PM at the base of the clock tower at the corner of East University Ave and NE First St. Look for the NWL banner and t-shirts!

Speakout: We demand a MAP vending machine at UF!
2018-07-18 11:15 - 12:30
Thursday, July 19, 11:15am-12:30pm
Reitz Union North Lawn on UF’s campus
“What was your experience when you needed the morning after pill?” We demand that MAP be available in a vending machine on UF’s campus. Come to our speakout on campus and speak your truth! Your testimony will play a vital role in achieving our demands and your presence will bring power to our message. Women deserve 24/7 access to the morning after pill.
We will meet at 11:15 a.m. for setup on Thursday the 19th at the Reitz Union North Lawn. There is a concrete platform outside the north side of the Reitz Union. Testimony will begin around 11:30 a.m.
For more information, visit the Facebook event page.

Join NWL-NYC for a Fundraiser and Feminist Get-together
2018-07-18 19:00 - 22:00 | Pine Box Rock Shop, 12 Grattan St, Brooklyn, NY
Join National Women’s Liberation NYC for an evening of live music, activist tabling, feminist swag, tarot card readings, and more!
Now’s the time to build a strong women’s liberation movement. To be successful, we need every day women—not corporations and their foundations—to fund it. As Redstockings wrote in 2000, “This means an independent financial base, for an independent women’s liberation movement … The power of “Sisterhood is Powerful” has always meant organized feminism…”
National Women’s Liberation is funded by dues-paying feminists, and we need your support. Help us fight back against male supremacy and win more freedom for women!
Admission: $10 at the door, all proceeds go to NWL. Cash only.

Medicare's Birthday
2018-07-28 17:00 - 19:30
The Alachua County Labor Coalition, and co-sponsors including National Women’s Liberation, celebrate one of the greatest public health triumphs of the 20th century with a Medicare Birthday Party. Please join us on Saturday, July 28th, for cake and shared testimony about improving and expanding Medicare to all residents. This year’s celebration will be at Working Food, 219 NW 10th Ave., in Gainesville from 5:00pm – 7:30pm. For more information, visit the Facebook event.

Campus Committee Meeting: Next Steps to Get a MAP Vending Machine
2018-08-30 19:00 - 20:30
When: Thursday, August 30th, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Where: Little Hall 119 (plenty of free parking behind Tigert Hall)
We are building momentum on getting the Morning After Pill (MAP) into a vending machine on the University of Florida campus. This win would mean that all students could access this birth control at ANY TIME- even when the UF pharmacy is closed- for the reduced student cost of $10.Join us to plan next steps on pressuring the administration to give students greater access to birth control.
For more information, please visit us on Facebook.

September Campaign Planning Meeting
2018-09-12 18:30 - 20:00
Join us Wednesday, September 12th, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
“Dr. Fuchs, why do you oppose a Morning After Pill vending machine on campus?”
Last week, our campus committee confronted UF administration about its refusal to provide 24-hour access to the Morning After Pill (MAP) on campus. We need to keep the pressure on!
September 12th, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
200 NE 1st St Suite 201 (enter through garage)
Join NWL to brainstorm ideas and develop next steps for fall actions on this campaign and others. This year marks the 50th anniversary of many women’s liberation milestones. Learn how you can help our archives committee plan events commemorating this anniversary. Find your place in the movement!
