Racial Justice
NOW Stands in Solidarity to Combat Racism and Discrimination
As one of our core issues, NOW is committed to ending racism and discrimination. Through our work, we are constantly identifying and combating the barriers to equality and justice imposed by structural racism, particularly those that inflict a double burden of race and sex discrimination on BIPOC women and girls, including trans women and girls.
As champions of equal opportunities in all areas, including employment, education and reproductive rights, we recognize that racial justice is a feminist issue and that to achieve equality, our activism must be anti-racist.
NOW activists have taken to the streets to demand that the police, the government, the media and our society finally recognize that BLACK LIVES MATTER. We know that for too long, Black women and girls (including transwomen) have been made to feel devalued, silenced, and held to different standards. Having a thriving and free civil society is fundamental for human rights, and NOW is committed to ensuring that historically excluded communities of color have the freedom to participate at every level.
NOW believes that the lives lost due to our unjust system matter, and we will not stop raising our voices until we see justice.
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NOW and Racial Justice
NOW condemns the racism that inflicts a double burden of race and sex discrimination on women of color. Seeing human rights as indivisible, we are committed to identifying and fighting against those barriers to equality and justice that are imposed by racism. A leader in the struggle for civil rights since its inception in 1966, NOW is committed to diversifying our movement, and we continue to fight for equal opportunities for women of color in all areas including employment, education, and reproductive rights. NOW’s Combatting Racism Committee is working to encourage growth at all levels within NOW of multiracial task forces to combat racism.
Watch the video below to understand why.
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Racial Justice Summits
If you’d like to watch past RJS events, please click here.
Blog
NOW’s Racial Justice Summit Embodies Activism
On Feb. 12, 2020, NOW hosted our Racial Justice Summit and Congressional Briefing, bringing together members of Congress, scholars, authors, and activists. The day-long event facilitated some of the most thought-provoking and intersectional conversatio Read more...Growing up Bilingual
By Roxanna Gutierrez, President’s Office Intern Today I was remembering some of my childhood memories from elementary school; specifically, I remembered how embarrassed I used to get when I would mispronounce a word in English. First, I would blush and Read more...Whitewashed Out: “Ghost in the Shell” and Hollywood’s Problem with Whitewashing Asian Characters
By Andrea Rose, Field Organizing Intern To my disappointment, but not to my surprise, another white actress is playing an Asian character in a major Hollywood film. In April of this year, we got our first glimpse of Scarlett Johansson in costume for th Read more...News
NOW Commemorates Black Feminist Trailblazers This Black History Month
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This Black History Month, NOW is excited to engage our grassroots in efforts that will move the country forward on racial justice issues. With a new administration in place, we know we must prioritize making progress towards ending p Read more … Read more...Socks, step-kids and Sotomayor: An inauguration that breaks barriers is only fitting for Kamala Harris
Being “first” means @KamalaHarris has an opportunity to give other women a seat at the table. More from @ChrisFNunes in @Independent on how our new VP is proving you don’t have to follow outdated norms of what a woman’s role is. Read more...NOW Calls for Donald Trump’s Impeachment and Conviction
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Donald Trump must be impeached now, and for the sake of history. He must stand in judgment before the Congress he defiled, desecrated and made into a target for insurrectionists who answered his call to be “wild” and stop the certi Read more … Read more...NOW Demands Equitable Treatment from Our Justice System
Charge Violent Perpetrators as Domestic Terrorists & Institute a National Day of Apology for Peaceful Protestors Who Were Excessively Policed in the Past WASHINGTON, D.C. – Make no mistake. What we witnessed taking place in our Capitol yesterday Read more … Read more...Resources
White Allyship 101: Resources to Get to Work
A white ally acknowledges the limits of her/his/their knowledge about other people’s experiences but doesn’t use that as a reason not to think and/or act. A white ally does not remain silent but confronts racism as it comes up daily, but also seeks to deconstruct it institutionally and live in a way that challenges systemic oppression, at the risk of experiencing some of that oppression. Being a white ally entails building relationships with both people of color, and also with white people in order to challenge them in their thinking about race. White allies don’t have it all figured out, but are deeply committed to non-complacency.
First, Listen. Then, Learn: Anti-Racism Resources For White People
For white people in America, it is up to each of us to first listen. Then, we must seek greater knowledge about our country’s deeply rooted racism. It is an undue burden on our colleagues and friends of color to teach us about racism and do the mental work for us.
A Detailed List of Anti-Racism Resources
Understanding begins with all of us looking inward, reflecting on our own attitudes, and of course, having difficult conversations with family and friends.
An Antiracist Reading List
No one becomes “not racist,” despite a tendency by Americans to identify themselves that way. We can only strive to be “antiracist” on a daily basis, to continually rededicate ourselves to the lifelong task of overcoming our country’s racist heritage.