Leadership
Choice USA & COLOR: Youth the Vote
September 28, 2010
Last week, Choice USA & COLOR collaborated with NARAL Colorado to bring together activists to defeat Amendment 62, which, if passed on Election Day in Colorado, would redefine a fetus as a legal person and effectively outlaw abortion. Their day-long training, Youth the Vote, covered voter registration and ways to get your community out to the polls. After, Choice USA shared this video on Facebook, showing some of the folks who turned out and why they are passionate about reproductive freedom: [flashvideo file=http://www.thirdwavefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/576190772123_50031.mp4 width=600 height=360 /]
Posted in: Blog, COLOR, Leadership, Movement Building
Congratulations to Brown Boi Project!
May 30, 2012
This year, Echoing Green partnered with Open Society Foundations (OSF) to create a Black Male Achievement Fellowship as part of OSF's Campaign for Black Male Achievement. This fellowship is to be awarded to "visionary leaders who are generating new ideas for black male achievement in the areas such as fatherhood, mentoring, college preparatory programs, community-building, supportive wage work opportunities, communications, and philanthropic leadership"(Echoing Green). There were over 1,000 applicants which were gradually whittled down to 16 finalists, and Brown Boi Project, one of our wonderful grant partners, was a part of this Sweet Sixteen! B. Cole's proposal highlighted the way Brown Boi Project aims to "build the self-sufficiency of young queer, straight, and transgendered people of color to shape a radical new vision of masculinity." All 16 BMA finalists gathered in New York City on May 15th for the final selection event. Congratulations to Brown Boi Project for making it so far! We are glad your potential has been recognized by such high profile foundations as Echoing Green and OSF! To read more about the BMA Fellowship and the 16 finalists, click here.
Posted in: Blog, Brown Boi Project, Leadership, Philanthropy
e-LOLA: Training a new generation of Latina activists nationwide
September 28, 2011
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, a Third Wave grant partner, is training even more young activists through its new initiative, e-LOLA:
Our Latinas Organizing for Leadership and Advocacy (LOLA) trainings have been carried out in 11 cities across the country since 2003, and the new e-LOLA has been designed to accommodate the lives of busy young adults by allowing them access to the materials presented at our traditional, rigorous two and a half day LOLA Reproductive Justice Institutes. This webinar training will provide Latina activists with sessions on: the history of the reproductive rights movement, community organizing models and specific skills building tools to prepare participants with the knowledge and resources for launching a campaign. After the training, e-LOLA graduates will continue to be part of NLIRH’s larger network of Latina advocates and become part of the Alumni Network as well as become leaders on reproductive health issues in their communities. The e-LOLA webinar series will occur on October 25th, October 27th, and November 1st at 7pm EST and is free of charge. More information on how to apply is here.NLIRH's previous LOLA trainings were crucial to developing a reproductive justice network of young Latinas, whose work ranges from securing abortion access to reforming immigration policies. As NLIRH activist Diana Salas writes, “Past trainings provided by the Latina Institute have helped me frame the messages around reproductive health and have connected me with other NYC Latinas working on similar issues. These trainings have been instrumental for someone who does not work in the reproductive justice field.” Through e-LOLA, NLIRH is expanding this vital training to young activists nationwide and strengthening this critical activist coalition. To find out more, check out NLIRH's e-LOLA page and application.
Posted in: Leadership, Movement Building, NLIRH, Reproductive Justice, Youth Organizing
Leadership Revolution Girlstyle Now?
August 8, 2010
Kathleen Hanna, one of the original voices of riot grrrl and third wave feminism, reflects on what a new generation of feminist leadership needs to grow and sustain itself, in this recent GritTV clip:
I want more interesting leaders. I think the thing that um is really hard for feminist women who are also interested in challenging like all kinds of oppression is that we're freaked out about leadership, and so there's not more interesting leaders, and a lot of times we kill off our own leaders. I mean not because I think because we're women but because we're in a culture that you know we create products and then we destroy those products, the same way that we lift people up and it's like the kill your idol syndrome, and then we're like, "They're not good enough, and this is wrong," and we get all picky about everything and I just, I don't know, I just wish there was more feminist leaders to choose from and more variety.Where's that line between pushing back on authority -- even feminist authorities -- and supporting each other by challenging each other? (via Feminist Mom in Montreal)
Posted in: Leadership, Pop Culture
Nominations Open! 2011 Mario Savio Young Activist Award
May 3, 2011
The Mario Savio Young Activist Award is presented each year to a young person (or persons) with a deep commitment to human rights and social justice and a proven ability to transform this commitment into effective action. The recipient/s will receive a $6000 award in recognition of their work. The deadline to submit a nomination is June 30th. Thanks to Dom Brassey at Tides (who is also a proud Third Wave Board member) for her inspiring announcement, complete with videos featuring some powerhouse poets and activists, like this one: If you'd like to nominate a young activist who inspires you, check out the full details (and videos of free speech activist Mario Savio, for which this award is named) over here.
Posted in: Community, Leadership, Philanthropy, Youth Organizing
Part of the solution: youth engaged in sex work & the sex trade
September 17, 2010
Third Wave Foundation supports the work of young people to make powerful change in their communities.
As a progressive philanthropic institution, we are committed to strengthening organizations led by-and-for young women of color and transgender youth in low-income communities. Our grant partners work on a broad range of issues and employ myriad strategies, including challenging violence and gender-based inequity and claiming rights to economic opportunity, education, and health care. Through the work of our grant partners and through our philanthropic advocacy, we seek to shift historic and systemic forms of violence and oppression that are rooted in gender, race, and class inequity. We do not believe that sex work is a cause of that violence or oppression, nor do we believe that seeking to prohibit safe and consensual sex work or the demand for it is the solution to eradicating gender-based inequity or violence. In fact, these attempts to criminalize sex work often have the unintended consequence of leaving young people even more vulnerable. Prohibitions on sex work -- even when targeted at third-parties such as customers and advertising venues -- criminalize young people and force them further underground in order to meet their survival needs. As a result, they are more vulnerable to violence and isolated from one another and from rights advocates.Third Wave supports young people engaged in sex work and impacted by the sex trade as critical partners in ensuring health and justice.
We at Third Wave are deeply concerned about the ways in which young women and transgender youth may be subject to abuse and violence in any aspect of their lives. Over the last decade of supporting this work, we have learned that young people come to sex work and the sex trade through a wide range of experiences that include choice, circumstance, and coercion. Our community of grant partners and allies includes sex workers, people involved in the sex trade and street economies, and people who have been trafficked. Regardless of how young people are involved in or are impacted by the sex trade, they must be considered partners in the work of advocating for rights and achieving justice.We recognize and affirm a difference between sex work and trafficking, and urge policymakers and allies in human rights advocacy to approach these issues with respect for that difference.
These are nuanced and deeply complex concerns. Pursuing a plan of action to address violence, coercion, or trafficking without considering the needs and leadership of young people with direct experience in sex work and the sex trade will result in solutions that do not fully address the harms that young people face. Nor will advocates benefit from the depth of their expertise.With our support, young people engaged in sex work and who are impacted by the sex trade are organizing in their communities and achieving wins.
Across the US, our grant partners are supporting one another to create smart solutions that are rooted in their day-to-day realities.- They conduct research on the needs of their own communities, mapping the complex social service systems that they must navigate successfully in order to seek support.
- They operate their own health care clinics with state and city-level health partners.
- They advocate for and participate in city taskforces that address youth housing needs.
- They have developed their own programs to secure legal advocacy for their communities.
- They organize and train one another to work within criminal/legal systems to advocate for their rights.
We value the full range of experiences of young people who do sex work and are impacted by the sex trade, and support work that builds their power and agency.
It is a step forward for policymakers and advocates to recognize that young people who do sex work or who are impacted by the sex trade are not criminals. We must also recognize that not all young people who do sex work and who are impacted by the sex trade are victims. Partnerships between young people and adult allies must support the vision and leadership of young people. We work in collaboration with young people to secure the resources they need to continue creating a healthy and just world. We urge policymakers who seek to protect young people from violence to include young people’s expertise at every level of their decision-making. We also urge our community partners and allies to center the voices and experiences of young people who do sex work and who are impacted by the sex trade when advocating for their human rights.Posted in: Blog, Criminalization, Different Avenues, Leadership, St. James Infirmary, YWEP
Snapshots from Third Wave Convening in New Mexico
November 9, 2011
Last month, Third Wave joined the Reproductive Justice Network in New Mexico for three days of feminist activism, coalition-building, and social justice fun. Third Wave's External Relations Manager McKensey, Program Director Alex, and Program Associate Rye met up with some of Third Wave's grant partners, including Young Women United, Media Literacy Project, and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. Check out the photos from Convening below!
Simone of Jahajee Sisters, Deesha of SAFER, and Stephanie of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health before a field trip.
Cole (Brown Boi Project), Ashley (Khmer Girls in Action), Andrea (Media Literacy Project), Monie (Young Women United), and La'Tasha (New Voices Pittsburgh) saying goodbye.
Media Literacy Project's Jessica leading an activity.
Rye (Third Wave) and Liz (Young Women United) wrapping up a convening activity.
All Reproductive Health Justice Initiative convening participants at the final farewell!
Posted in: Grant Partners, Leadership, Movement Building, Reproductive Justice
We’ve Launched our 2010 Annual Report to Kick-Off our 15th Anniversary!
February 28, 2012
We're kicking off the celebration of Third Wave Foundation’s 15th Anniversary Year by sharing our most recent annual report, which documents an incredible year of supporting young leaders in social justice.
Thank You! This report shows the ways everyone in our community came together to make this work possible. Because of your energy, commitment and partnership Third Wave was able to:
● Fund 23 feminist youth-led organizations that are developing leaders and organizing young people to transform their communities.
● Support the collaboration of 20 reproductive justice organizations to identify the issues that are immediate threats to the well-being of their communities, and the strategies to confront those threats.
● Provide trainings in financial planning during tough economic times to 25 organizations and blogging for social justice to five grant partner organizations.
● Give funding for emergency abortions to more than 500 young people in need across the United States and Puerto Rico.
Download the annual report here.
Posted in: Blog, Feminism Was Here, Grant Partners, Leadership, Movement Building, Our History, Reproductive Justice, Youth Organizing