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:
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
Women may be feeling the ramifications of pandemic for ‘decades to come’
“The pandemic has absolutely impacted the progress women have made and continue to strive for in every aspect of our society, magnifying all existing inequalities and structural issues in our nation,” says Nunes. “The most apparent implication for the future is the way we as a country view health care, paid sick leave and paid family leave.” Read more...NOW Demands Justice for Jacob Blake
Urge the Senate to Pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act Today WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Sunday, Jacob Blake was shot at least seven times in the back by police, while three of his children watched in horror. Yesterday, the whole nation witnessed Read more … Read more...August 13 is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day
NOW Demands that the Road to Racial Justice MUST include Economic Justice for Black Women
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, on Black Women’s Equal Pay Day 2020, NOW reaffirms our commitment to economic justice and racial equity, two of our core issues. Pay equity has been a central demand of feminists for years, but we must also recognize that stru Read more … Read more...
NOW Salutes the Historic Choice of Kamala Harris as the Democratic Nominee for Vice President
Senator Kamala Harris is a feminist champion and is a bold, forward-thinking, progressive choice for vice president. The more women of color, like Senator Harris, that are in positions of power, making decisions – the better off women will be. NOW’s g Read more … Read more...Resources
ISSUE ADVISORY: Despite House Action, Senate Republicans Refuse to Consider Racial Justice Legislation
The tragic police-involved murder of George Floyd this spring and a succession of tragic police-involved fatal shootings that followed prompted a historic public outcry by tens of millions in the U.S. and elsewhere.
NOW’s Long History of Working for Racial Justice and Equity
As we are approaching a historic anniversary with the Centennial Anniversary of the 19th Amendment, recognizing women’s fundamental right to vote, it seems appropriate to take stock of the important work for equality that NOW has undertaken.
Juneteenth Resources and Celebration
Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday.
A guide to starting anti-racist conversations with friends and family.
To all non-Black people of color — it’s time we speak up against the anti-Blackness in our communities.