Report back from December 2017 NWL Organizers Conference

On Dec 1-3, 2017 NWL organizers met in New York City and over the phone, to strategize on the creation of our next national campaign, and how to work against racism within our group and white supremacy at large. The NWL conference kicked off with a day-long meeting of our Women of Color Caucus, and was followed by two days of meetings of the full group.

To develop our next national campaign, organizers debated campaign proposals developed by each region. The proposals covered fighting for stronger reproductive rights through state constitutional amendments, greater access to the morning after pill and the abortion pill, universal health care, felony voter rights restoration in Florida, and fighting against the double day that women face. Organizers also discussed how to work on a target while spreading NWL theory on why all women are oppressed and theory on how racism keeps women of all races from being truly free.

To come to agreement on what direction the group should take together, we discussed which campaigns we were excited to work on, what our hesitations were, and how the proposal would fit into feminist work within the US. The Women of Color Caucus directed organizers to also discuss: How would a campaign idea reach women of color? Is the campaign relevant to women of color? How does the proposal implicate race or ethnicity or white supremacy?

We also discussed the logistics of each proposal: How would each proposal work across regions with existing NWL chapters? Could it be replicated by women in other areas where we don’t have a chapter? Do we have the resources for the campaign? Could proposals be combined?

Ultimately, we decided that we would take sections of multiple proposals. We want to focus on how the paid and unpaid work that women do is taken for granted and exploited by the men around us, and by the 1%, and how this is connected to the fight for birth control and abortion. We are finalizing the campaign details. Stay tuned to find out how you can get more involved.