Amplify Introduction: Taking a Look at the Shapers of a Movement

It's that time of year again...Summer to Fall series at Amplify.

Last year, I introduced many of the Revolutionary women in an introduction and asked, "What makes a#RevolutionaryWarrior?” This year we’re doing something different. Usually, in my intros, I would list the names of amazing women who shaped a movement. For example, Monica Raye Simpson from SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective who’s organizing and fighting for abortion access and reproductive justice for all.  Or like Tomoko Yoshino, the first female president of RENGO, Japan's largest labor organization. Women like my favorite Texan, nurse & activist Polly Abarca, who worked in reproductive justice and shaped how we teach sexual education regarding birth control.

Fun Fact:  She also helped secure the first federal grant for family planning in Texas. 

Or the many other amazing women using their art, voice, and body through performance protests to bring attention to inequality in the workplace, housing, and marriage.  Like the Lonely Couch protest in China in 2018, where 40 women protested the overworking labor system.  What about Las Tesis? A performance collective organized a public performance of “Un Violador en Tu Camino2 (A Rapist in Your Path). In 2018, the group performed a  song and dance to draw attention to the Chilean government's complicity in femicide.

 And what about the youth?!

Like South African anti-racist activist Zulaikha Patel, who, in 2016, at the age of 13, led a protest with her classmates against her school's policy banning natural hair. 

I think this time around it would be better to show you through interviews with women within the movement, images showcasing the youth of yesteryear and today, resources, and hidden stories of #MovementShapers. We’ll also talk about what a sign is, the importance of organizing, and how individuals or groups of people can make a change.

As the great leader and organizer of the Farm Workers Union, Dolores Huerta, said, “Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”

Let’s spend this July to October exploring how many extraordinary women Shaped a Movement and find out what makes a #MovementShaper.

Movement Musings

●           Check out the 19th's article on how women are leading the labor movement.

●           Want to learn more about women's organizing and movement work? Check out the Dissents podcast episode on women's experiences in the labor movement.

●           Want to understand how you can help change what the fighting movement for reproductive justice looks like? Check out this free ebook: We Organize to Change Everything

●           Did you know that trans youth are fighting for their rights and pioneering projects in New York?

Joycelyn lives in Cypress, Texas. She’s the daughter of immigrants and did not go to law school, but she received three degrees (BA, MA, MPH) and is happily freelancing and working in the nonprofit world. She enjoys writing about healthcare recruitment and even worked as a Healthcare Organizer. When she’s not writing, she’s transcribing, developing community toolkits, and researching womxn’s history. Which is why she’s excited about writing for AMPLIFY. On her off days, she spends her time on Twitter, reminding everyone to drink water and enabling others to watch more dramas. Follow her on Twitter: @jg_humanitarian