Years ago, Professor Walter Stafford of the Wagner Graduate School at New York University gathered a diverse group of women of color, and the Women of Color Policy Network (WOCPN) was born. The group included experienced and seasoned leaders of academic institutes, of not-for-profit organizations, graduate students and others. Professor Stafford and the students conducted research and produced reports on a number of issues including the under-representation of women of color in NYC's government workforce.
I was a member of the WOCPN and of the fledgling Roundtable of Institutions of people of Color. At that time, I was Executive Director of the Grand Street Settlement, a position that I held for 20 years (from 1995-2015). Melissa Garcia was one of the graduate students working with Professor Stafford and the WOCPN. Over the years, our paths would cross, and last summer Melissa and I met for lunch and talked about reconvening members and friends of the WOCPN and its later iterations. The first step in the reconvening,a meeting, took place on December 3, 2016. We will meet again in January 2017 to reconnect and to assess the state of our communities in the wake of November 8, 2016. Perhaps we will brainstorm about next steps.
I am encouraged and energized after reconnecting with Melissa and I look forward to continuing the dialogue and to reconvening our brilliant and dynamic group.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Monday, November 28, 2016
On this first Monday after Thanksgiving 2016 there's a lot to think about and a lot of planning to do and actions to take. First, please note that because people of conscience should not engage in free advertising for Trump, his name will rarely be uttered here. Instead we will refer to "The D" or to DJT (Donald John Trump).
The D's handlers are having a very public and undiplomatic fight over who we will be saddled with (by them) as Secretary of State. His handlers can't handle him or themselves! And The D will have control of the nuclear codes and of the well-being of this entire nation! Wow! Of course, he probably will turn over those responsibilities to others because he has fact-free twitter tantrums to take. He can't be bothered with intelligence briefings; Pence is said to be participating in those. Can this be further evidence of what some suspect is The D's aversion to intelligence? Inquiring minds want to know.
Most of The D's tweets are diversions that set the media off on wild goose chases while he and his minions carry on and appoint or plan to appoint some of the least qualified,least experienced,least knowledgeable,least balanced bunch of amateurs and/or extremists to cabinet positions and positions in the White House with little scrutiny from the tweet chasing hordes. That said, The D's tweets suggesting that the popular vote was stolen from him deserve follow-up. While the Russians may not have hacked the vote, voter suppression may have skewed votes in his favor. So let's make sure that there is a real and thorough recount in every state if possible,and of every vote cast in whatever form it was cast. Special attention should be paid in states, such as North Carolina, where voter suppression measures were/are in place.
Let The D prove his claim that the popular vote was stolen from him. We can help by volunteering to help with the vote counting. We owe it to our fellow countrywomen and men and The D deserves it.
We cannot afford to go along with business as usual.
The D's handlers are having a very public and undiplomatic fight over who we will be saddled with (by them) as Secretary of State. His handlers can't handle him or themselves! And The D will have control of the nuclear codes and of the well-being of this entire nation! Wow! Of course, he probably will turn over those responsibilities to others because he has fact-free twitter tantrums to take. He can't be bothered with intelligence briefings; Pence is said to be participating in those. Can this be further evidence of what some suspect is The D's aversion to intelligence? Inquiring minds want to know.
Most of The D's tweets are diversions that set the media off on wild goose chases while he and his minions carry on and appoint or plan to appoint some of the least qualified,least experienced,least knowledgeable,least balanced bunch of amateurs and/or extremists to cabinet positions and positions in the White House with little scrutiny from the tweet chasing hordes. That said, The D's tweets suggesting that the popular vote was stolen from him deserve follow-up. While the Russians may not have hacked the vote, voter suppression may have skewed votes in his favor. So let's make sure that there is a real and thorough recount in every state if possible,and of every vote cast in whatever form it was cast. Special attention should be paid in states, such as North Carolina, where voter suppression measures were/are in place.
Let The D prove his claim that the popular vote was stolen from him. We can help by volunteering to help with the vote counting. We owe it to our fellow countrywomen and men and The D deserves it.
We cannot afford to go along with business as usual.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Giving Thanks and Taking Action
Welcome! I am excited to reactivate this blog which I started in a celebratory mood after Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined the U.S. Supreme Court. In those days, many were filled with hope and members of the Latinx community, including me, were bursting with pride. Things changed on November 8, 2016.
Much of the language and events in the lead-up to election night 2016 gave cause for concern among people of conscience and good will of all political persuasions. On Thanksgiving 2016 people of conscience and good have cause for alarm.
I follow current events very closely. The hand-wringing and the commentary by Monday-morning-quarterbacks about what and who (in their opinion) brought about the outcome of November 8, 2016 has become tiresome. It's time to focus on the here and now and on the future without losing sight of the past. This is a time for people of conscience and good will to be vigilant, to position themselves to speak truth to power, and to speak and stand up for what is true and good and ethical. There's much to be more to be said about all of this but today I reactivate this blog by sharing an experience from four years ago that touched and moved me.
"Dear Friends,
As I rode the bus home from work last night, a woman sat next to me and asked whether I could lend her some coins to complete her bus fare. I was able to relate to her plight, because I have had the same thing happen to me. I gave her the change in my pocket and another passenger also chipped in. She thanked us profusely, and expressed embarrassment at finding herself in need of help. She explained that she had worked all day at a cleaning job. She was grateful to have had work, but embarrassed that her brown hands were grey from the Ajax she had used to do her work. I told her that hers were the hands of a hard working person and that there was no shame in that. I asked whether her hands ever became dry and whether the skin cracked from the dryness, as mine do. We talked about hand lotions and moisturizers. She showed me a paper on which a woman, whose soft hands she had admired, had written Lubriderm and Cocoa Butter. She was planning to try them on her rough, work-worn hands. When I arrived at my stop we wished each other well, and exchanged Thanksgiving greetings. She expressed gratitude for the blessings in her life, including the cleaning job she'd had that day, and for the kindness of strangers. It was my good fortune to have been one of those strangers. The ride home was a holiday gift from "the universe" to me. :) I wish you and your loved ones a special Thanksgiving holiday, with emphasis on the "giving" part. xoxox"
Here's hoping that you had the kind of Giving Thanks Day that you hoped you would have! My day was filled with friends, family and colleagues with all their wonderful diversity, intelligence, kindness and generosity. My daughter Marisol and her dear friend George and I spent the entire day together. Brunch at the home of my colleague Mitch, lunch with my 92 year old mom, Julia, and dinner with our friends and extended family at the home of the Salazar family were all filled with joy and an abundance of delights.
Stay tuned for more on this blog.
Welcome! I am excited to reactivate this blog which I started in a celebratory mood after Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined the U.S. Supreme Court. In those days, many were filled with hope and members of the Latinx community, including me, were bursting with pride. Things changed on November 8, 2016.
Much of the language and events in the lead-up to election night 2016 gave cause for concern among people of conscience and good will of all political persuasions. On Thanksgiving 2016 people of conscience and good have cause for alarm.
I follow current events very closely. The hand-wringing and the commentary by Monday-morning-quarterbacks about what and who (in their opinion) brought about the outcome of November 8, 2016 has become tiresome. It's time to focus on the here and now and on the future without losing sight of the past. This is a time for people of conscience and good will to be vigilant, to position themselves to speak truth to power, and to speak and stand up for what is true and good and ethical. There's much to be more to be said about all of this but today I reactivate this blog by sharing an experience from four years ago that touched and moved me.
"Dear Friends,
As I rode the bus home from work last night, a woman sat next to me and asked whether I could lend her some coins to complete her bus fare. I was able to relate to her plight, because I have had the same thing happen to me. I gave her the change in my pocket and another passenger also chipped in. She thanked us profusely, and expressed embarrassment at finding herself in need of help. She explained that she had worked all day at a cleaning job. She was grateful to have had work, but embarrassed that her brown hands were grey from the Ajax she had used to do her work. I told her that hers were the hands of a hard working person and that there was no shame in that. I asked whether her hands ever became dry and whether the skin cracked from the dryness, as mine do. We talked about hand lotions and moisturizers. She showed me a paper on which a woman, whose soft hands she had admired, had written Lubriderm and Cocoa Butter. She was planning to try them on her rough, work-worn hands. When I arrived at my stop we wished each other well, and exchanged Thanksgiving greetings. She expressed gratitude for the blessings in her life, including the cleaning job she'd had that day, and for the kindness of strangers. It was my good fortune to have been one of those strangers. The ride home was a holiday gift from "the universe" to me. :) I wish you and your loved ones a special Thanksgiving holiday, with emphasis on the "giving" part. xoxox"
Here's hoping that you had the kind of Giving Thanks Day that you hoped you would have! My day was filled with friends, family and colleagues with all their wonderful diversity, intelligence, kindness and generosity. My daughter Marisol and her dear friend George and I spent the entire day together. Brunch at the home of my colleague Mitch, lunch with my 92 year old mom, Julia, and dinner with our friends and extended family at the home of the Salazar family were all filled with joy and an abundance of delights.
Stay tuned for more on this blog.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Labor Day 2010
It's Labor Day and I hope we are celebrating laborers - the people who do the work, including tending to the menial tasks, that make it possible for everyone else to enjoy the benefits of living in an advanced and developed society.
I want to celebrate the people who work with their hands and who make tangible things - those who participate in the manufacture of trains, planes, cars, clothing, phones, televisions, machine parts, toys, medical equipment, pipes, cables, light bulbs and the countless other things that make our lives easier, and enable some of us to have leisure time.
I want to celebrate agricultural workers who spend their days stooping in hot fields to pick berries and melons and all kinds of fruits and vegetables that find their way to our Farmers' Markets and our dinner tables.
I want to celebrate teachers who care, nurses who are careful and compassionate, and other caregivers who tend to the vulnerable.
Let's celebrate the people who pick up our trash, clean our streets, maintain our parks and highways, deliver our food, do our laundry, drive our ambulances and our cabs and our subway cars.
Perhaps, for this one day, we can disengage from the media-driven obsession with "the lifestyles of the rich and famous" and of the high-profile and dysfunctional "celebrities" who clutter our TV screens and the front pages of tabloids. Perhaps today, we can take a breather and pay attention to the people whose honest work produces and provides the essential goods and services we rely upon and, too often, take for granted.
Workers of the world - THANK YOU!
I want to celebrate the people who work with their hands and who make tangible things - those who participate in the manufacture of trains, planes, cars, clothing, phones, televisions, machine parts, toys, medical equipment, pipes, cables, light bulbs and the countless other things that make our lives easier, and enable some of us to have leisure time.
I want to celebrate agricultural workers who spend their days stooping in hot fields to pick berries and melons and all kinds of fruits and vegetables that find their way to our Farmers' Markets and our dinner tables.
I want to celebrate teachers who care, nurses who are careful and compassionate, and other caregivers who tend to the vulnerable.
Let's celebrate the people who pick up our trash, clean our streets, maintain our parks and highways, deliver our food, do our laundry, drive our ambulances and our cabs and our subway cars.
Perhaps, for this one day, we can disengage from the media-driven obsession with "the lifestyles of the rich and famous" and of the high-profile and dysfunctional "celebrities" who clutter our TV screens and the front pages of tabloids. Perhaps today, we can take a breather and pay attention to the people whose honest work produces and provides the essential goods and services we rely upon and, too often, take for granted.
Workers of the world - THANK YOU!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Vacation 2010- Portland OR
Yesterday, in Portland OR, friends Meg and Ted showed me around the city. We visited a farmers' market, had lunch at a food cart pod where the Korean tacos, and the Thai noodles, were scrumptious, shopped at The Real Mother Goose- a veritable wonderland of beautiful crafts, visited the Nike Tower and had dinner at Ping, a pan-Asian restaurant that, deservedly, gets rave reviews from many - including me.
We spent last weekend at Meg and Ted's beach house in Oceanside,OR where we walked on the beach as the waves of the Pacific Ocean washed onto the shore, visited and bought lovely things to eat and to wear at the Tillamook Farmers' Market, visited a lighthouse, had cappuccino at a coffee place by the beach, and saw cheese being made at the Tillamook Cheese factory.
Portland is a lovely city. It's small by NYC standards AND it's clean, manageable, has good public transportation and lots of good food, restaurants and street food carts. As in Seattle, people are concerned about the environment and take measures to preserve it. The people I met were friendly, hospitable, helpful and pleasant. The lifestyle seems very pleasant and the vibe is mellow yet interesting. The weather was lovely during my stay - sunny, warm but not hot,there was little, if any, detectable humidity.
Portland and Seattle seem like lovely places to live. For a "dyed in the wool" New Yorker of my ilk, the only thing missing is the "gorgeous mosaic" that results from the amazing racial, ethnic, religious, cultural... diversity that one finds in the crazy, densely populated, frenetic city that I call home. I had a wonderful time in SF and Portland. My friends there are awesome and.... being back home is good. :)
We spent last weekend at Meg and Ted's beach house in Oceanside,OR where we walked on the beach as the waves of the Pacific Ocean washed onto the shore, visited and bought lovely things to eat and to wear at the Tillamook Farmers' Market, visited a lighthouse, had cappuccino at a coffee place by the beach, and saw cheese being made at the Tillamook Cheese factory.
Portland is a lovely city. It's small by NYC standards AND it's clean, manageable, has good public transportation and lots of good food, restaurants and street food carts. As in Seattle, people are concerned about the environment and take measures to preserve it. The people I met were friendly, hospitable, helpful and pleasant. The lifestyle seems very pleasant and the vibe is mellow yet interesting. The weather was lovely during my stay - sunny, warm but not hot,there was little, if any, detectable humidity.
Portland and Seattle seem like lovely places to live. For a "dyed in the wool" New Yorker of my ilk, the only thing missing is the "gorgeous mosaic" that results from the amazing racial, ethnic, religious, cultural... diversity that one finds in the crazy, densely populated, frenetic city that I call home. I had a wonderful time in SF and Portland. My friends there are awesome and.... being back home is good. :)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Vacation 2010
I've been on the west coast-in San Francisco and Portland Oregon- for the past nine days. While in SF I visited with old and new friends and enjoyed their hospitality, kindness and generosity. The hustle and bustle of SF felt very familiar - not unlike NYC.
The first two days of my stay in SF were surprisingly cold with temperatures in the 50's and below. By the third day, temperatures were in the 80s and the day before I left SF for Portland, the temperature went up to 99! I joked that Lita Taracido and I, two Puerto Ricans, had brought tropical temperatures from the east coast. A long cold spell had broken and we all enjoyed the sun.
My friend, Mary Risley, whom I first met on an Amtrak train a few years ago, took me to her friends' swimming pool on Santa Margarita Street in Marin County where we splashed around and took a break from the oppressive heat of the day. Mary also introduced me to the Presidio and Chrissy field from which there is a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. We also visited a terrific farmers' market in Half Moon Bay where I saw the greenest greens and sampled the sweetest melons I've every tasted. Oh, and there were the tastiest peaches from a stand run by Latinos. I visited Mary's Tante Marie cooking school and saw students and teachers at work. We had dinner at A16, a lovely and popular upscale restaurant owned and run by one of Mary's former students. Mary was generous with her time and hospitality. I had a lovely time!
My dear friend Joe Schubert showed Lita and me around Golden Gate Park where we visited the Academy of Sciences, the planetarium, the aquarium and the Japanese Tea Garden. Earlier, we had visited the Impressionist Exhibition at the De Young Museum with friends of Lita's with whom we also visited in Sausalito. The shops at the Ferry Building were fun to walk through, and the Farmers' Market was full of culinary delights.
Tomorrow is my last day in Portland.I will be writing more about the Oregon part of the trip after I return to NYC. My former Harvard Law School suite-mate, Meg Nightingale, and her husband Ted have been wonderful hosts! Portland is a lovely city, and Oceanside - on OR's Pacific Coast- is spectacular. Stay tuned!
The first two days of my stay in SF were surprisingly cold with temperatures in the 50's and below. By the third day, temperatures were in the 80s and the day before I left SF for Portland, the temperature went up to 99! I joked that Lita Taracido and I, two Puerto Ricans, had brought tropical temperatures from the east coast. A long cold spell had broken and we all enjoyed the sun.
My friend, Mary Risley, whom I first met on an Amtrak train a few years ago, took me to her friends' swimming pool on Santa Margarita Street in Marin County where we splashed around and took a break from the oppressive heat of the day. Mary also introduced me to the Presidio and Chrissy field from which there is a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. We also visited a terrific farmers' market in Half Moon Bay where I saw the greenest greens and sampled the sweetest melons I've every tasted. Oh, and there were the tastiest peaches from a stand run by Latinos. I visited Mary's Tante Marie cooking school and saw students and teachers at work. We had dinner at A16, a lovely and popular upscale restaurant owned and run by one of Mary's former students. Mary was generous with her time and hospitality. I had a lovely time!
My dear friend Joe Schubert showed Lita and me around Golden Gate Park where we visited the Academy of Sciences, the planetarium, the aquarium and the Japanese Tea Garden. Earlier, we had visited the Impressionist Exhibition at the De Young Museum with friends of Lita's with whom we also visited in Sausalito. The shops at the Ferry Building were fun to walk through, and the Farmers' Market was full of culinary delights.
Tomorrow is my last day in Portland.I will be writing more about the Oregon part of the trip after I return to NYC. My former Harvard Law School suite-mate, Meg Nightingale, and her husband Ted have been wonderful hosts! Portland is a lovely city, and Oceanside - on OR's Pacific Coast- is spectacular. Stay tuned!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A Victory !
On August 18,2010, the families, staff, board, friends and supporters of the Grand Street Settlement Child and Family Center, Bushwick, Brooklyn scored a victory when the NYC Agency for Children's Services rescinded the closeout of the Center.
As a result of this victory, 160 children from low-income families will continue to have access to affordable and quality child care and 40+ staff members will continue to have jobs.
Achieving this victory required belief in a cause AND strategic thinking, determination, persistence, creativity, effective networking, relationship-building, strong community organizing, political savvy, constant vigilance, and relentless pursuit of a just outcome. We built a coalition of parents, staff, board members, a union, advocates, elected officials, and friends and supporters.
This was a true "David vs Goliath" story. I don't think there were many people betting on "David". The road was long, the terrain was rough, the "opposition" was very determined, there were obstacles and detours and false starts and setbacks AND we prevailed.
I believe we prevailed because our cause was just, our focus was clear, our determination was strong, and our commitment was unwavering.
On a personal note - this was an a challenge I could not walk away from; surrendering was not an option; allowing another budget to be balanced on the backs of those perceived as powerless was not acceptable. I had a firm belief that "people of conscience and good will" could be rallied in support of a just cause; I was not disappointed.
The Grand Street Settlement team is awesome! It is an honor to be its leader.
As a result of this victory, 160 children from low-income families will continue to have access to affordable and quality child care and 40+ staff members will continue to have jobs.
Achieving this victory required belief in a cause AND strategic thinking, determination, persistence, creativity, effective networking, relationship-building, strong community organizing, political savvy, constant vigilance, and relentless pursuit of a just outcome. We built a coalition of parents, staff, board members, a union, advocates, elected officials, and friends and supporters.
This was a true "David vs Goliath" story. I don't think there were many people betting on "David". The road was long, the terrain was rough, the "opposition" was very determined, there were obstacles and detours and false starts and setbacks AND we prevailed.
I believe we prevailed because our cause was just, our focus was clear, our determination was strong, and our commitment was unwavering.
On a personal note - this was an a challenge I could not walk away from; surrendering was not an option; allowing another budget to be balanced on the backs of those perceived as powerless was not acceptable. I had a firm belief that "people of conscience and good will" could be rallied in support of a just cause; I was not disappointed.
The Grand Street Settlement team is awesome! It is an honor to be its leader.
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