Counting Every Win: Period Policy Passes in Massachusetts!
Dear Mass NOW Community,
Last Wednesday the world watched as a mob of white supremacists stormed the Capitol building in DC and interrupted our country’s tradition of a peaceful transfer of power between two presidential administrations. We are not surprised that the President and nearly his entire party have since refused to condemn these actions. We will.
Donald Trump is a white supremacist and we have known this since before he was elected. It is on all of us to continue to push our legislators to impeach him, and interrogate America’s racist history to actively move towards building a better democracy for ourselves and the generations that come after. The coup attempt at the capitol reaffirmed a few things for us:
Our need to continue organizing to dismantle white supremacy at every institution
The importance of celebrating every win
We will not let the act of white supremacist overshadow the tireless efforts of Black organizers in Georgia and across the country. On top of riding the high from the Georgia Senate races (#ThankYouBlackOrganizers). We know we’re all still holding our breath after the coup attempt at the capitol last week, nervous but hopeful about the state of our feminist democracy for our country. Here in Massachusetts, our intersectional feminist community is strong and we believe we have the opportunity to lead the country by example in advocating for preeminent feminist policy in 2021.
We hope wherever you are, you are staying safe and well surrounded by community you love.
In solidarity,
Sasha Goodfriend & Bria Gambrell
Mass NOW Co Directors
Massachusetts Passes Period Policy!
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At 4AM last Wednesday the Massachusetts legislature authorized funds to provide menstrual products to people in homeless shelters and temporary housing!
We believe this is the first time the Massachusetts legislature has made a fiscal commitment to menstrual equity - ever. This small victory was made possible with your help - you did this! Thank you for your advocacy, and please take a moment to thank your legislator, and tell them how much you want to see the I AM bill passed this session to ensure access to menstrual products in all shelters, schools & prisons. Please join us in sharing this exciting news on social media (Instagram, Twitter & Facebook)!
We're looking forward to meeting you at our next coalition meeting, now scheduled for Friday, January 22nd at 12PM. Stay tuned for more updates about the Economic Dev Bond Bill money, refiling the I AM bill and growing our coalition, soon!
Take Action for Maternal Equity
This bill will establish a 1-year commission to investigate, address, and reduce racial inequities in maternal health throughout the Commonwealth.
Members of the commission have expertise and lived experience to address the needs of the communities most affected. The bill is sponsored by Representative Liz Miranda, Representative Kay Kahn, and Senator Becca Rausch. Governor Baker has until January 16th to sign this bill into law - email and call his office today!
Take Action for Climate Justice
Climate justice is gender justice and right now in Massachusetts we have an important opportunity to make a difference in Massachusetts by passing a critical climate justice bill that is currently sitting on Governor Baker's desk. Here are the details:
This landmark environmental justice and climate bill, S.2995, An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy does some really important things, including:
Strengthening environmental justice protections for low-income communities and communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by pollution.
Requiring Massachusetts to gradually reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared to 1990 levels by 2030, 75% by 2040 and reaching net zero by 2050.
The Governor has not indicated whether he will sign the bill – and if he doesn’t sign it in the next two days, the bill will die. Call the Governor today to make sure he signs S.2995 into law: 617-725-4005.
Mass NOW Members: Attend Northern NOW Meet Up
Join NOW members of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine & Rhode Island NOW on Thursday, January 21 at 8:00PM to meet other feminist activists and strengthen our regional collaboration.
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