Dear friends,
I went to Borough Hall yesterday to get a look at our new governor and hear what she had to say in defense of reproductive rights. She told us that she did not expect to be fighting the same fight that her mother and grandmother had fought.
Fifteen years ago, with her mother and her aunt, Hochul established
a transitional home for domestic violence survivors, naming it after her namesake grandmother, who left an abusive husband in the 1940s at a time when that simply wasn’t done — especially not by a Catholic woman in rural New York.
Hochul is not a rousing speaker, but her commitment is authentic. She noted that because reproductive rights are secure in our state, we can be a refuge for women across the nation.
I was there, in part, to connect with her staff on behalf of the Caring Majority, since we are still working to identify the players on Hochul’s team.
The staffer I spoke to accepted a letter to the Governor and agreed to help us organize a meeting to discuss the shortage of care workers in New York and the pressing need to pay these essential workers a decent wage.
Amplify the request to put fair pay for home care in her executive budget by calling Governor Hochul today. A script is provided.
Given the national political climate, there’s a lot to be said for working at the state level. The goal is to make NY the greenest, most caring state in the union.
Use this ready-made action to call on the governor to support climate action and to create good green jobs.
Last night I listened to a great discussion with Kate Clifford Larson about her new biography of Fannie Lou Hamer. Karen Hill, the CEO of the Harriet Tubman home, noted that Hamer, like Tubman, embodied a deeply democratic “collective spirit.” She described the two women as servant leaders.
This is not the typical model for leadership, and Cynthia Copeland, who was facilitating the discussion, wondered aloud if we have such leaders today. I believe we do.
Yesterday, I mentioned June Barrett, the leader of We Dream in Black. Hill described Hamer and Tubman as having the same core values — freedom, community, self-determination, equality, and social justice — and loving hearts. She noted also that
they didn’t hide, shy away from, or mute their blackness.
Read about June Barrett and support We Dream in Black.
Have a good weekend!
with love,
L