Women of Color Against Violence Co-Sponsoring Track at Allied Media Conf.

INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence Co-Sponsoring Track at the
Allied Media Conference!

by INCITE Boston
Email: inciteboston@ yahoo.com

18 May 2007

http://boston. indymedia. org/newswire/ display/199492/ index.php

INCITE! is excited to co-sponsor a women of color and trans people
of color track at the 2007 Allied Media Conference in collaboration
with local women of color organizing for media justice. Below is a
list of workshops at the conference led by feminists of color who
are using innovative media strategies to end violence against women
and trans people of color and our communities.
The Allied Media Conference (AMC) is happening in Detroit, MI, June
22-24, 2007. AMC is an annual, weekend-long gathering of influential
alternative media-makers and committed social justice activists.
Media justice is a critical vehicle through which feminists of color
are organizing for peace and justice. Using graffiti, zines, blogs,
films, books, radio and television programs, and other media tools,
we have been telling our stories, making connections, and
strengthening movements.
INCITE! is excited to co-sponsor a women of color and trans people
of color track at the 2007 Allied Media Conference in collaboration
with local women of color organizing for media justice. Below is a
list of workshops at the conference led by feminists of color who
are using innovative media strategies to end violence against women
and trans people of color and our communities.
More info about the Allied Media Conference:
http://alliedmediac onference. org/
More info about INCITE!: http://www.incite- national. org/
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AMC WOMEN OF COLOR / TRANS FOLKS OF COLOR TRACK:
Using Documentary to Organize Against Violence and Colonization
Presenter: Rosemary Gibbons, Boarding School Healing Project
A Century of Genocide in the Americas: The Residential School
Experience is a short but powerful documentary about how Indian
Residential Schools became a haven for institutionalized sexual
abuse. The inspiration for the film comes from the First Nations
survivors who have taken legal action against the institutions that
perpetuated this destructive cycle; these are the very same
institutions whose purpose and mandate was to "provide" for their
well being. This video takes a historical look at how the systematic
removal of First Nations children from their families and community
not only made the them easy targets for pedophiles but also how
these vile acts turned many of the victims into predators. The
second half shows First Nations peoples taking legal action against
not only the pedophiles, but also against the Canadian government
and churches while at the same time using their traditional ways of
healing in order to bring back joy and balance back within their own
lives and also within their communities.
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NO! The Rape Documentary
Film screening followed by a discussion with Director Aishah
Shahidah Simmons
Through testimonies from Black women survivors, commentaries from
acclaimed African- American women scholars and community leaders,
including Johnneta Betsch Cole, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Elaine Brown,
and Beverly Guy-Sheftall; impacting archival footage, spirited
music, dance, and performance poetry, NO! unveils the reality of
rape, other forms of sexual violence, and healing in
African-American communities.
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Empowering Our Communities Through Oral History
Presented by: Emily Lawsin
What is Oral History? How can we use oral histories to help our
communities? In this workshop, participants will learn different
strategies of how to prepare for, conduct, process, and present an
oral history interview. We will focus on how to phrase questions to
get the most out of an interview, while managing recording
equipment. We will also look at creative ways to document and
present oral histories to empower marginalized communities.
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Accessibility: from Academia to the Internet
Presenters TBA (possible presenters include: Andy Smith, Nadine
Naber, UBUNTU, Laila El-Haddad, and Anjali Teneja, Susana Adame)
This panel will look at two spaces not commonly thought of as realms
of radical women of color organizing: academia and the Internet.
What are the different opportunities and limitations within each of
these realms? From the publishing of This Bridge Called My Back in
the late 80s, to the recent publishing of INCITE! Color of Violence
Anthology, college classrooms have nurtured radical women of color
feminists. Yet academia on the whole remains an inaccessible,
hostile space to women of color. The Internet maintains a reputation
as the domain of only the privileged. Yet with every passing day,
more women of color are starting blogs, sharing resources and
building supportive communities through the Internet. Undeniably,
the most important work being done to end violence against women and
other systems of oppression is taking place in the streets and at
the grassroots. How can we create new/stronger relationships between
the worlds of academia, the Internet, and grassroots organizing?
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Peoples Statistics: Information Gathering For Organizing
Presenters: Andrea Ritchie and Remy Kharbanda
What role does research and information gathering play in our
organizing work? What barriers and power relations are created and
reinforced by existing research and information gathering methods
and frameworks? How can they be challenged and broken down through
empowering, collective and participatory production of knowledge
about our communities? How can we value our own voices as "experts"
in our lives instead of those of government, academics or big
non-profits? How can we integrate information gathering and research
into our base-building and organizing work? How do we ensure
community ownership and engagement with research processes
throughout? What resources exist to support us in collectively
building knowledge for critical reflection and action?

Join RFR, a research collaborative dedicated to supporting and
facilitating integration of participatory research and popular
education in community based organizing, for a collective
participatory exploration of these questions and more!
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Zine-making and Women of Color
Presented by: Nadia Abou-Karr
A zine is an independent publication, usually photocopied and
distributed cheaply, with little or no profit. What makes this
format appealing and useful for women of color? What are the
obstacles faced by women of color zine-makers? Why do we do it? This
session will tackle these concerns. It will be tailored to fit the
needs of those in attendance, and can include open group discussion
as well as a zine-making how-to guide, encompassing content, layout,
printing and distribution.
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Building Inter-active Web Communities
Presented by: UBUNTU
UBUNTU is a Women of Color and Survivor-led coalition of individuals
and organizational representatives, formed in Durham, NC in the wake
of the Duke Rape Case. Out of rage, pain and hope they generate
strategies and actions that prevent, disrupt, transform and heal
sexual violence. Broken Beautiful Press is an online project of
UBUNTU with the goal of fostering an inter-active web community for
collective expression and community transformation. The site offers
downloadable media arts projects which can be used as educational
and organizing tools. This workshop will explore the Broken
Beautiful Press model of engaging with the Internet for healing,
transformation, education and organizing.
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Radical Women and Transgender Persons Of Color Blogging Caucus

Is it possible to organize online?
Although many people have sung the praises of online organizing, all
too often nobody wants to hear about what a woman/transgender person
of color has to say, much less how she is organizing. At the same
time, however, many of us have found ways to expand and challenge
traditional ideas of what online feminist organizing should or could
be.

This caucus will be a space for women/transgender bloggers of color
to come together and consider ways in which blogging can be used as
an organizing tool. What have we done in the past? What's worked?
What hasn't? What could we try differently? What could we do more
of? How can we continue to push the boundaries of what online
organizing "should be"? How can we use blogging as a tool toward
ending violence against all women/transgender persons of color and
our communities? Let's work together to figure this out!
This is a women and transgender persons of color safe space.
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Beyond the Hijab: Struggling Against Stereotypes
Film screening followed by workshop/discussion
With Director Habibah Ahmad, Manhattan Neighborhood Network s Youth
Channel
Beyond the Hijab: Struggling Against Stereotypes is a documentary
about 18 year-old Habibah Ahmad, an Afro-American Muslim woman, and
her daily struggle against discriminatory labels. The video is a
vivid exploration of race, religion, identity and religious
intolerance in post 9/11 America. It provides a rich and challenging
look inside the life of a young person torn between many alliances
and facing intolerance as she tries to find her way in life.