The women of I-ARC - and our male colleagues/allies - are incredible people with so much to share (and symbolize) outside the important work we do. In this piece, please find an eclectic collection of insights, anecdotes, artwork, and other examples of everything we are individually and as a collective.
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CAMILLE
I was driving my daughter home from school recently, chit-chatting about all manner of things that happen in a kindergartner’s day, when she went quiet for a minute. As we pulled into the garage, she suddenly announced: “mama, I have a plan”. “Oh?” I said, unclear if we were talking about dinner or some scheme to get a new toy, “a plan for what?”
“The really bad guys who want to hurt people, they need to stay in jail. But the ones who are there by mistake, or who feel bad about what they did, we need to let them out.” This wasn’t what I had expected, but I went along, because isn’t that 90% of parenting anyways? “What about if the bad guys decide to change and decide they don’t want to hurt anyone anymore?” I asked. “We’ll go talk to them every day. And if one day we see they’ve changed, we’ll let them out.” “What if they are scared to change, or don’t know how to?” I followed up, figuring this was a teachable moment on the complexities of human nature. “We’ll talk to them. We’ll tell them to be brave, and we’ll help them by showing them how to be good. That way they don’t have to stay in jail.”
The truth is I’ve spoken to my 5 year old a lot about jail. That’s in large part because last summer, I basically moved into one as a team of lawyers provided legal rapid response services to over 300 asylum seekers transferred from the US Southern Border to the Albany County Jail in upstate New York. So during that time, we spoke a lot about these issues and why we shouldn’t assume only bad people are there.
Continue reading Camille’s powerful piece about her relationship with her work and her daughter HERE.
Photo courtesy of Camille.
MEGAN
While in London last week I saw Sylvia the musical and was inspired by the story of Sylvia Pankhurst. She was a feminist, activist, pacifist, socialist, rebel – the lesser-known Pankhurst at the heart of the Suffragette movement in England, who changed the lives of working women and men across the world. The production had a Hamilton vibe and featured an amazing cast (including a Disco Queen!) and left me wanting to research more about the Suffragette movement in the United States and overseas.
MAHNAZ
Read how Mahnaz went from a Commander in the Afghan National Army to an asylum-seeker in the United States HERE.
Mahnaz and Camille recently meet the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in D.C.
FUNMI
I am thankful that I was raised in an environment that encouraged me to see my potential as limitless. I think of the lineage of women that I come from, who lived through colonialism and war and marvel at their resilience. Some were denied access to education, and raised in poverty and yet they learned trades, raised families, and took risks that I benefit from today. Their example is ever-present in my mind as the standard that I wish to emulate, which has been a great blessing in my life.
KAGIN
Growing up, I always wanted a “cookie cutter family” that I saw in movies. You know, the family that watches movies together, or builds snowmen during winter time, and eats at the table during dinner. This was something that I missed as a child growing up because my mom was a single parent, and was busy working to provide for my sister and me. I told myself that when I have a family, I am going to make sure to have those “Hallmark Family” memories with my family: bake cookies on the weekend just because, or go to the zoo to see the kids’ favorite animals, and sing Christmas carols off tune. I think that my experience as a child has molded me into the mom I am today! I love being a cheesy mom with all my kids. We have candid conversations, I take tons of photos, and I make sure to enjoy every experience with them no matter how large or small. For me, it’s all about the memories and I wouldn't change it for the world!
Photo courtesy of Kagin.
GILLIAN
The first National Woman's Day observed in the United States was held on February 28, 1909 and was organized by refugee and activist Theresa Malkiel, the head of the Woman's National Committee of the Socialist Party of America (SPA).
Theresa Serber Malkiel (May 1, 1874 – November 17, 1949) was a labor activist, anti-segregationist, suffragist, and educator. She was the first woman to rise from factory work to leadership in the Socialist party. Her 1910 novel, The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker, published a year before the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is credited with helping to reform New York state labor laws.
Theresa Serber Malkiel was born in Bar, Russia (now Ukraine), she and her family were Jewish and persecuted in Russia so they fled antisemitism by emigrating to the United States and settling in the Lower East Side of New York City in 1891. At seventeen years old Theresa began working as a cloakmaker in a garment factory.
Theresa spent the last two decades of her life working toward the education and naturalization of foreign-born women.
Credit: Jojo Karlin (https://www.jojokarlin.com/people/)
JOY
I am continually inspired by the writing of Rebecca Solnit. She writes forcefully about the similar ways that misogyny, violence, and authoritarianism function at the level of the family unit and at the level of the state to silence and discredit women. Solnit writes beautifully about the connections between feminism, environmentalism, and other liberation movements. She also argues compellingly that the future is not written and that we have the power to shape the future we wish to live in, as long as we are brave enough to organize and act. I have enjoyed every book and essay by Solnit that I have read, but I would particularly recommend Men Explain Things To Me, Hope in the Dark, and Orwell’s Roses.
NNEKA
A woman I have always been inspired by and will continue to be inspired by is Maya Angelou. I have loved reading literature and poetry since I was a young girl. When I first learned about Maya Angelou, I was in high school, and after reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, I completely fell in love with her and her life story. What I find so inspiring and admirable about Maya Angelou is her complete confidence and self assuredness in her personhood and womanhood. Her journey of growth and realized personal strength–from going to a scared and traumatized child who didn’t speak for 5 years, afraid of the power her voice held to being one of the most renowned and outspoken poets and civil rights activists–is a feat that I find incredibly powerful and awe inspiring. I will never not be in reverence of her.
Also, I am also a lover of photography. I fell in love with photography when I was in high school and have been working to improve my skills ever since. The creative freedom it allows me to feel is something that I cherish. I love all types of styles, but I especially love moody, landscape and street photography, especially NYC street scenes. My hope with my work is that it invokes a feeling in the viewer, as it does me. To view more, you can check out my instagram HERE, where I post every now and then.
Photo courtesy of Nneka.
Photo courtesy of Nneka.
RUMANA
Growing up in India, I only saw flickers of female excellence, and not the fire required to inspire. Till date no one in my family of origin understands what feminist theory is even though it is what gave me my voice and helped me understand who I am. Throughout my journey though, I have come across extraordinary women who have been and continue to be my professors, mentors, and sisters in the struggle. They inspired me to pursue higher education. With their support I have obtained scholarships, gotten jobs and built resiliency as I went on breaking the stereotypical role that I inherited. I met my partner in a Feminist Theory class, and as we raise our son we instill the values of respecting women and understanding equity for a more wholesome tomorrow.
LENNI
When I was in college I took a course called “Women’s History.” One assignment asked us to interview women of two different generations and to ask the same questions of each. I asked my mother, born in 1920, “Are there jobs that women are ideally suited for?” My mother, a woman ahead of her time, veteran of WWII, business woman and the manager of our family farm in Arizona answered, “Women are better at all jobs!”
My grandmother, born around 1894, replied, “What a ridiculous question. Women and men are varied. Sometimes men are better at tasks and sometimes women.” While I side more with my grandmother, I admire my mother’s passion. I am the first attorney in my family and my entire family was proud of me. They were especially proud that from my earliest years in practice I worked for immigrant rights. I am continuously inspired by the women in our field and the bravery and strength of immigrant women. One of my articles talked about the most dangerous woman in the world, Emma Goldman, an anarchist our government deported in 1919. The main reason for her deportation was her conviction for advocating to eliminate a draft in WWI and to allow conscientious objector status. You can read about targeting of immigrant leaders in the Red Scare that lead to Emma Goldman’s deportation in 1919 and risks immigrants face even today HERE.
BETHANY
When I think of women who inspire me I always think first to my maternal grandmother and my mom. They both balanced raising families while working in a multitude of jobs. But more importantly, throughout their lives they have always made sure to make family adventures an important part of growing up. By their definition and example an adventure can be anything that takes you out of the ordinary routine and pushes you a bit out of your comfort zone. Family adventures with my mom and grandma always involved being outside, asking questions, eating food, and so much laughter. Growing up with these spontaneous and adventurous women has given me a great outlook on life and the importance of play and risk taking as a way to grow and learn. I try to continue this tradition of adventure with my three daughters as we continue to go outside and learn together as we laugh.
Photo collage courtesy of Bethany.
LEANNE
My family tree is a real Matriarchy! Yes, there were and are boys and men in my family (including my three adorable nephews!), but women have ruled the roost where I come from. My great-grandmother Geraldine was born in 1899, and as she didn’t pass away until 1999, she helped raise my sister and me (after divorcing her cheating husband and getting her own job and apartment, which was practically unheard of in the 1920s!). My grandmother Joan became a huge advocate for the developmentally disabled after her daughter/my aunt Karen suffered severe brain damage when she was a baby due to seizures. And my mom Lynn single-handedly raised us while working full-time as an executive in the federal government; she herself always said about that time period, “It takes a village,” and I’m incredibly lucky to have been raised by such a female-dominated one.
CARLOS
For this women's day I want to express my admiration to my mother Maria Guadalupe Hernandez; She was a single mother in my country (Honduras) who took care of seven kids on her own. My mother was the person who protected me, who inspired me,
who taught me the value of education. In my country more than 60% of the household is run and maintained by women. My mother is a strong woman with a big heart. My mother represents the story of the majority of women in my country: because of machismo, there is a perception that men are the ones who run everything but in fact it’s women - they move the family, they move communities, they find solutions to solve the communities problems in schools and neighborhoods. They are empowered mothers, they are strong leaders, they don’t have a choice but to protect their children and their communities. Women are the ones that fight to protect and bring positive changes to my country and I am pretty sure, around the world.
For me, International Women's Day is a reminder of the constant struggle that women have maintained throughout the history of humanity for the fight for their rights as human beings, as people, as workers, as individuals, as leaders. International women's day is also a reminder for us men to learn about men's privilege. As men, we have the responsibility to learn about male privilege and thus learn to be allies instead of being oppressors against women.
MAX
I have grown up in a family of women leaders. My grandmother, mother and aunt are all women who have not only broken through the glass ceiling, but always made sure to help other women do the same. They are vocal supporters of women's rights and always taught my sister and I to be conscious of the social biases that exist toward women. They move through the world with strength, and each of them does so uniquely. My mother is powerfully compassionate and knowledgeable. My aunt is shrewd, organized and effective. My grandmother is smart, hilarious, charming and decisive. All of them are driven to do their best to improve their lives and the lives of all around them and do so by making themselves part of networks of people that believe the same as they do and connecting those people to where they need to be. I love them for all these reasons and more.
