I first heard about the strike at the March for Education NYC. I made it for the tail end of the action but was still able to retrieve valuable information and learn who to hold accountable for our concerns and demands for the public education system. Being that I was surrounded by youth, teachers, people of color and grassroots organizations calling folks to action for this strike, I was sure I'd participate. A Day Without Women? Sounds good to me!
Let's see how functional society is without women's contributions for a single day, from our labor to dollar. Wearing the red in solidarity was a good alternative too. I was unable to not come into work because I couldn't afford to lose a shift worth of money, so I put on one of three red pieces I own and rocked it with power. This movement seemed ideal in the scope of organizing and intersectionality. Which is why I was confused to see articles and social media posts challenging the efficiency of this strike.
To particularize, folks came up with the ludicrous notion that this Women's Day strike was "privileged". I'd consider this laughable but honestly it's quite troubling this is a projection. Seeing this only confirmed my initial insecurities about the movement gaining a surplus of white folks that are new to organizing: euro centrism which leads to distorted perspective.
Two folks in my social media network really combated this ignorance and it was highly appreciated. Michael Sampson II wrote a great summation of the notion here:
https://facebook.com/friendofthepeoplesifightevil/posts/10154368585002060
He also brought up on another post that these ideas are stipulated by privileged women. Media outlets once again failed to put to press facts and instead played into propaganda. We as a larger collective must cut the crap pronto! There's no time or room to entertain silly and distracting conversation, which is why this comment resonated with me. There was also an amazing twitter feed that crushed this dialogue. Kate Jacobson brilliantly and lovingly laid out the history and truth about women striking:
https://twitter.com/kateljacobson/status/839332288542318592
What she said was factual and reinforced the fact that strikes are for those who are everything but privileged. A strike is risky and uncomfortable. I learned a lot from these few tweets that brought me ease knowing not everyone is drinking the "striking is privilege" Kool Aid. Not to mention I never knew the first American women's strike was organized by black women and that was empowering!
While I appreciate these organizers rising their voice, it's irritating these rsponses even had to come into circulation in the first place. The jargon people presented to hype up the ridiculous idea was silly. There was talk about folks not having childcare and how many women can't "take off" work. The inconveniences only reaffirm how important this action was. The point is to disrupt business as usual; so if schools are shutting down and literally stopping someone's day, the point is being proven how important a woman's work is.
For those who couldn't strike their work da were invited to wear red to show solidarity. Even if one couldn't wear red due to work dress code or a uniform, you could still not spend any money which was largely a part of the action. This assurance of inclusivity for all women seemed very strategic and me wearing my red sweatshirt and not purchasing anything was a noticed contribution. So those trying to make this effort seem so lacking in intersectionality are absurd. You know how racists love to decide what is and isn't racist? Privileged folks are doing that same thing.
We cannot alter the movement's perspective. The tactics and measures that have been taken thus far are still utilized for a reason. So it'd be appreciated for folks who only want to reach their word count deadline, privileged folks who disregard marginalized voices, and people disengaged in the movement to check their ego and watch their mouths.
While this was a troubling situation, it didn't hinder the power and beauty of yesterday. I saw many folks wearing red and even dressing their young ones in womanhood. I refrained from purchasing anything, which meant no lunch. I didn't wake up early enough to pack something and that was completely ok! I was glad I didn't buy anything and committed to the economical freeze. I really hope numbers are put out on the decrease in spending from yesterday. That would be an eye opener of how important our dollar is. A few of my friends also made it to the marches that occurred throughout the day which was awesome. I was able to live through them via their social media! We women are the world and we're in this together.
All and all, I am reminded that the point of liberation is shifting the narrative; but not the way these privileged folks tried to shift it!
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