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She Breathes

Another world is possible…

Holding Our Own’s Statement on UAlbany Bus Students

Holding Our Own’s Statement on UAlbany Bus Students

Holding Our Own stands with the young women of color from UAlbany who reported an assault on a bus on January 30th, and who are now being prosecuted for false reporting and assault. It is our unwavering position in all instances of gender-based violence, sexual assault, and racist violence to support those who are systematically […]

Open Letter To UAlbany Bus Students – [#DefendBlackGirlsUAlbany]

Open Letter To UAlbany Bus Students – [#DefendBlackGirlsUAlbany]

From Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration’s People of Color Caucus. This is a cross-post from here: CAAMI.org Dear Alexis, Ariel, & Asha: While the circumstances compelling us to write this letter have no doubt been taxing to your well-being, we hope to find you all in good physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Late last month, […]

SAY HER NAME, Part II: Women, Violence, and Incarceration

SAY HER NAME, Part II: Women, Violence, and Incarceration

SAY HER NAME, Part II: Women, Violence, and Incarceration (Part I is here) “The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., 1967 “I am convicted of murdering my ex-husband who abused me for years. I have done 33 years of my 25-to-life sentence. I am […]

Why We Need a Black Lives Matter Movement

Why We Need a Black Lives Matter Movement

Letter to the Editor Written in Response to Charlie’s Angle: Black lives don’t need movement, published in The Saratogian, and the Troy Record, Jan 31, 2016 Saratogian Article We were shocked and offended by the Opinion piece written by Charlie Kraebel denying the need for the Black Lives Matter movement. As managing editor of The […]

Say Her Name: Women, Mass Incarceration, and Violence – Part I

Say Her Name: Women, Mass Incarceration, and Violence – Part I

Fewer than 5% of those incarcerated in the prisons of New York State are women. Therefore, our movement for justice in the criminal justice system should devote less than 5% of its time, energy, and resources to issues of incarceration and women — right? Wrong. But it often seems like that’s what we do. Here […]

adaku utah: healing resources to support us as we rise up

adaku utah: healing resources to support us as we rise up

<3 “being oppressed in this world means endlessly having one’s heart break on many fronts simultaneously — yet a healed heart that reopens again and again after it has been broken is larger, stronger, and takes on the lessons of resilience.” ~ blkcowrie http://blkcowrie.wordpress.com <3 <3 “Contributed with fierce, magnanimous Black love from fellow Black healers […]

interstitial stitching: checkin’ for real womanist solidarity with trans kin

interstitial stitching: checkin’ for real womanist solidarity with trans kin

from genesissy & on the eighth day, God said let there be fierce & that’s the story about the first snap, the hand’s humble attempt at thunder, a small sky troubled by attitude // & on the ninth day, God said Bitch, werk & Adam learned to duck walk, dip, pose, death drop, Eve became […]

alla dem gag at serena’s brilliance & resilience

alla dem gag at serena’s brilliance & resilience

Serena-goddess, Serena-sis, please know i am still in a ruby red rage cloud over the racist, misogynistic, BESTIAL treatment you received on July 11, 2015 at the hands of The New York Times. fresh off the court where you left your latest historic notch, i can’t imagine how you must have felt to have to […]

intersectionality: weaving many roots into one tree

intersectionality: weaving many roots into one tree

a natural outgrowth of the groundbreaking Black feminism of the Combahee River Collective et.al. in the 1980s, intersectionality is a 30-year old concept developed by Kimberle Crenshaw and shared by many activists and organizers across and within multiple contemporary movements. i tend to think of it as the ability to think, walk, and chew gum […]

Police Surveillance & “anti-trafficking”: rally Monday March 16

Police Surveillance & “anti-trafficking”: rally Monday March 16

Letter to the Community: On Monday, March 16, NOW NYC will be coming to Albany to rally in support of the Trafficking Victims Protection and Justice Act (TVPJA). TVPJA has widespread support from the feminist community, but has raised concerns as it grants more authority to the police and criminal justice system– and at the […]

Help send a Capital Region Delegation to INCITE!

Help send a Capital Region Delegation to INCITE!

Black History Month 2015

Black History Month 2015

Within the month of February comes a few dates that are considered to be National holidays; whether it’s about love, dead white men, a big rodent who determine the weather to come, or most recently the viewing of a sport that only Americans understand, but there’s only one month that celebrates the memory, the achievement, […]

Dear Queers:  A love letter from Michigan

Dear Queers: A love letter from Michigan

“A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.”  Maya Angelou “The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet.”  Adrienne Rich “Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you […]

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #7: DJ Goldee Dust

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #7: DJ Goldee Dust

The seventh  in a series of Artist Spotlights brought to you by Lady Fest Upstate! For details on Lady Fest Upstate go to their Facebook Page For the Schedule of Events Get Tickets! ARTIST SPOTLIGHT #7: DJ GOLDEE DUST Andrea has always been fascinated with creating soundtracks and setting a mood for any environment. She […]

LadyFest–the Artist Behind the Curtain–Sean,aka bell’s roar

LadyFest–the Artist Behind the Curtain–Sean,aka bell’s roar

The tenth  in a series of Artist Spotlights brought to you by Lady Fest Upstate! For details on Lady Fest Upstate go to their Facebook Page For the Schedule of Events Get Tickets! Ladyfest Upstate is brought to us by the visionary artist, Sean Desiree. When Sean is not organizing radical cultural events, she is […]

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #8:FREE CAKE FOR EVERY CREATURE

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #8:FREE CAKE FOR EVERY CREATURE

The eighth in a series of Artist Spotlights brought to you by Lady Fest Upstate! For details on Lady Fest Upstate go to their Facebook Page For the Schedule of Events Get Tickets! ARTIST SPOTLIGHT #8: FREE CAKE FOR EVERY CREATURE Free Cake For Every Creature is the project of Saratoga Springs-based Katie Bennett, who […]

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #6: Amani Olugbala

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #6: Amani Olugbala

The sixth  in a series of Artist Spotlights brought to you by Lady Fest Upstate! For details on Lady Fest Upstate go to their Facebook Page For the Schedule of Events Get Tickets!   ARTIST SPOTLIGHT #6: AMANI OLUGBALA A radical of the heart and pacifist of the mind, Amani spends much of her time […]

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #5: Sweet Chocolate

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #5: Sweet Chocolate

The fifth  in a series of Artist Spotlights brought to you by Lady Fest Upstate! For details on Lady Fest Upstate go to their Facebook Page For the Schedule of Events Get Tickets!   ARTIST SPOTLIGHT #5: SWEET CHOCOLATE Niroma Johnson a New York Native, resident of Albany, NY. When she appeared on the Amateur […]

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #4: Moor Mother Goddess

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #4: Moor Mother Goddess

The fourth in a series of Artist Spotlights brought to you by Lady Fest Upstate! For details on Lady Fest Upstate go to their Facebook Page For the Schedule of Events Get Tickets!     ARTIST SPOTLIGHT #4: MOOR MOTHER GODDESS Moor mother goddess is a musician, beat maker, event curator, poet,writer, and workshop facilitator […]

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #3: Evan Greer

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #3: Evan Greer

The third  in a series of Artist Spotlights brought to you by Lady Fest Upstate! For details on Lady Fest Upstate go to their Facebook Page For the Schedule of Events Get Tickets!   ARTIST SPOTLIGHT #3: EVAN GREER Evan Greer is a radical genderqueer singer/songwriter, parent, and community organizer based in Boston. (S)he writes […]

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #2: CIHUATL CE

LadyFest Artist Spotlight #2: CIHUATL CE

The second  in a series of Artist Spotlights brought to you by Lady Fest Upstate! For details on Lady Fest Upstate go to their Facebook Page For the Schedule of Events Get Tickets!   ARTIST SPOTLIGHT #2: CIHUATL CE Back again for the 2nd year, Cihuatl Ce has been spitting truth to power in the […]

Lady Fest Artist Spotlight #1: GARMIN

Lady Fest Artist Spotlight #1: GARMIN

The first in a series of Artist Spotlights brought to you by Lady Fest Upstate! For details on Lady Fest Upstate go to their Facebook Page For the Schedule of Events Get Tickets! ARTIST SPOTLIGHT #1: GARMIN right here. be here now. is an installation that exists somewhere between performance and social practice. The project […]

Everything Lady Fest!

Everything Lady Fest!

Get Tickets to LadyFest Upstate Festival! Saturday-Sunday, November 22  1pm-1am At the Low Beat 335 Central Avenue, Albany NY  Upstate LadyFest On Facebook LadyFest Upstate is a 1 day music and arts festival featuring women-identified, trans and gender nonconforming artists. This is its 2nd year in Albany and it’s not to be missed! It’s all […]

Caterpillar For Rachel Corrie

Caterpillar For Rachel Corrie

Caterpillar For Rachel Corrie by Victorio Reyes Sometimes I sit down to dinner and I imagine that you’re sitting with me. We’re talking about the history of capitalism and the connections between Marx and Adam Smith. My partner chimes in about the sexist and Euro-centric implications of such discussions.        We nod in agreement. You […]

Cutting the Umbilical Cord: My Departure from the Mainstream Movement for Reproductive Rights

Cutting the Umbilical Cord: My Departure from the Mainstream Movement for Reproductive Rights

My upcoming birthday brings with the usual set of mixed emotions: happiness as I reflect on all that filled this last year, and all that may be in next; trepidation, as I recognize that the steps I have left to walk have become fewer. This year, however, it carries a greater weight, as I think […]

Join Us at the Annual Picnic!

Join Us at the Annual Picnic!

Saturday, August 30th at 12 noon Lyon’s Lake, Nassau Bring the whole family! We provide the music, the beautiful location, the paper products, beverages and protein — hamburgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers, etc. You bring fruit or a dessert to share with friends and any extras you like. Come as early as 12pm to claim your […]

The Newest Chapter in the “War on Drugs”: The Pregnancy Criminalization Law (SB 1391)

The Newest Chapter in the “War on Drugs”: The Pregnancy Criminalization Law (SB 1391)

On Tuesday, April 29th, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, signed into law the first law in the United States that authorizes the arrest and incarceration of women who use drugs while pregnant. Women in Tennessee can now be prosecuted for assault if they take a narcotic drug while pregnant and the baby is born addicted, is […]

Very Young Girls–Movie Screening and Discussion

Very Young Girls–Movie Screening and Discussion

  “Very Young Girls”: A Film and Discussion Friday, May 23rd, 7pm at the WB, 373 Central Avenue, Albany On Facebook Sponsored by Holding Our Own,  NYS Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Patty’s Place The screening will be followed by a facilitated discussion. Very Young Girls is an expose of human trafficking that follows thirteen […]

Spotlight on Barbara Sutton

Spotlight on Barbara Sutton

In an effort to give Holding Our Own network members an opportunity to get to know each other just a little better, we will be spotlighting a couple of local feminists each month. We hope that this will help give you more opportunities to connect, collaborate and leverage your resources. Do you want to be next, […]

Spotlight on Jessica Pino

Spotlight on Jessica Pino

In an effort to give Holding Our Own’s network members an opportunity to get to know each other just a little better, we will be spotlighting a couple of local feminists each month. We hope that this will help give you more opportunities to connect, collaborate and leverage your resources. Do you want to be next, or […]

Albany Casino Public Input Opportunities

Albany Casino Public Input Opportunities

For those of you who have been following this story, it isn’t news that the City of Albany is one of several possibilities for the siting of a new casino. We have gathered information from several different sources (thanks go out to Richard Conti, 6th Ward Council Member, Cathy Fahey, 7th Ward Council Member, and […]

Casino in Albany: Yay or Nay?

Casino in Albany: Yay or Nay?

Note: This post will be followed quickly by another detailing the schedule of opportunities for public input (that we know about). There has been surprisingly little public debate to date over the proposition of a new casino in the Albany area considering the huge impact it will have on the community.  The proposal for the […]

Why we should care about college education programs for prisoners

Why we should care about college education programs for prisoners

Prison education programs, particularly those that provide college-level courses are important to everyone, not just the prisoners who participate in them. Governor Cuomo’s proposed initiative to fund – with state money – college programs in 10 prisons has sparked some very interesting dialogue surrounding this topic. Although it is looking like the program will not […]

Spotlight on Blue Carreker

Spotlight on Blue Carreker

In an effort to give Holding Our Own’s network members an opportunity to get to know each other just a little better, we will be spotlighting a couple of local feminists each month. We hope that this will help give you more opportunities to connect, collaborate and leverage your resources. Do you want to be next, or […]

Women and Incarceration: Letter-Writing as Resistance

Women and Incarceration: Letter-Writing as Resistance

“You asked, ‘What’s on your mind today?’ The whole time I’ve been in prison not one person has asked me that question. Thank you. …I’m still alive and it doesn’t matter how many times I have fallen. It’s how many times I get back up that counts.” The quote above is taken from a letter […]

In Memory of Adrienne Rich

In Memory of Adrienne Rich

Victorio Reyes is a poet and Executive Director of the The Social Justice Center of Albany. Three years ago, I decided to return to school to pursue an MFA in creative writing. As a poet, who came from the spoken word and Hip Hop schools, I was surprised by how many corners of the literary […]

communityLAB: community organizing is for everyone

communityLAB: community organizing is for everyone

There’s a new and exciting project brewing in the Capital Region called communityLAB (Leadership and Action Building), which is about offering community organizing training, for everyone. We want to build leaders in every neighborhood, starting with our Troy Fellows Project. Our goal is to help build grassroots power and hope in the neighborhoods of the […]

Towards Eliminating the Wedge Part 2: Continuing the Conversation on Prison Justice and Gender-based Violence

Towards Eliminating the Wedge Part 2: Continuing the Conversation on Prison Justice and Gender-based Violence

Join in the conversation. We began this dialogue on November 21st, 2013. This is part 2, but don’t hesitate to join in! RSVP on Facebook Download, print or share the flyer There is a conflict between the mainstream movement to eliminate gender-based violence and the movement to end mass incarceration. But here are some basic […]

Spotlight on Victoria Kereszi

Spotlight on Victoria Kereszi

In an effort to give Holding Our Own’s network members an opportunity to get to know each other just a little better, we will be spotlighting a couple of our members each month. We hope that this will help provide you with more opportunities to connect, collaborate and leverage your resources. Do you want to be next, […]

Listen to What I Have to Say: Why Teenage Feminists are Important

Listen to What I Have to Say: Why Teenage Feminists are Important

Every so often when I have a conversation with girls I know and feminism comes up, they’ll say something along the lines of “I don’t need feminism,” or “feminism isn’t relevant.” This obviously upsets me, not just because something I’m passionate about has pretty much been put down, but because of the fact that young […]

Spotlight on Chrys Ballerano

Spotlight on Chrys Ballerano

In an effort to give Holding Our Own’s network members an opportunity to get to know each other just a little better, we will be spotlighting a couple of our members each month. We hope that this will help provide you with more opportunities to connect, collaborate and leverage your resources. Do you want to be next, […]

Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration

Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration

Tuesday, March 11th, 2014 at 6:30pm The Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement: Solitary Confinement in New York and the Statewide Movement to Challenge It at the Social Justice Center 33 Central Avenue, Albany, NY Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration (CAAMI) would like to invite you to join them for a presentation provided by The […]

A Kiss for Gabriela: A Film and Discussion

A Kiss for Gabriela: A Film and Discussion

Friday, March 7th at 7pm @ the WB, 373 Central Avenue Albany, NY Come join Holding Our Own on Friday, March 7th at 7:00 pm at The Women’s Building, 373 Central Avenue location for a screening of the documentary, “A Kiss for Gabriela.”  Following the film there will be a thought-provoking, open discussion about sex […]

Sing Your Heart Out for the Love of HOO!

Sing Your Heart Out for the Love of HOO!

Sing Your Heart Out for the Love of HOO! a karaoke fundraiser Thursday, February 20th, 8pm at McGeary’s Come join Holding Our Own for a fun night of pub grub & shameless singing! Not only will you get to show off your inner Celine Dion, you’ll also have a chance to indulge in one-of-a-kind drink […]

Finding Feminism in the Dominican Republic

Finding Feminism in the Dominican Republic

Over the course of my fifteen-day community service trip in the Dominican Republic, a recurring theme was the insistence that women take special precautions due to the country’s gender dynamics. “When two women are dancing together in the club,” we were told, “it means they are asking for a man to come take them.” Similarly, we […]

Call to Action

Call to Action

During the past week couple of weeks, the media noted and had much to say about the 50th Anniversary of the ‘War on Poverty’. Here’s an article from the LA Times: LA Times New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/opinion/kristof-progress-in-the-war-on-poverty.html And the Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/what-america-won-in-the-war-on-poverty/283006/ Many of the opinions expressed and statistics quoted are at odds with each other. […]

Wednesday Rant–the “War on Christmas”

Wednesday Rant–the “War on Christmas”

Another holiday season has come and gone, but even a few days into this new year I can’t help but be haunted by something that’s been bugging me for the past few months: The War on Christmas. Basically, some extremely religious people are convinced that the world is out to end the Christmas holiday. The […]

Port of Albany and more…

Port of Albany and more…

Note: This post is a follow up to Grace Nichols’ post yesterday, “Environmental Defense.”  As promised, we will share links and resource information on the Albany Port issues. On Monday night, January 6th I attended a meeting of the Albany Common Council. My main reason for going was that I had heard via social media […]

Environmental Defense by Grace Nichols

Environmental Defense by Grace Nichols

Editor’s Note: We will post additional resources, references and article links in a separate post tomorrow, Wednesday,  January 8th. Please feel free to comment (be patient, all comments are moderated and you must be logged in to comment) or log in and Submit a Post of your own on this issue. There are numerous threats […]

Hidden injustice

Hidden injustice

Every year in New York State hundreds of people sign over their homes in order to receive welfare assistance. This is a little known requirement, since most people who have homes do not receive welfare benefits, and those that do, certainly do not want to talk about it. I have had first hand experience with […]

Minus Pause by Doreen Perrine

Minus Pause by Doreen Perrine

Menopause meets me, pistols drawn and gunning for a showdown, in the middle ground of life. I prefer to mount my horse, gallop in reverse, slam on the brakes, and stop the clock. Mix metaphors and juggle words tossed into thin air. Whatever does the trick. Meno? Minus? Hopefully not a Minotaur charging through the […]

Ending Violence Against Sex Workers

Ending Violence Against Sex Workers

December 17th, International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, was created to address the ubiquity of crimes against this marginalized population that too often go ignored. Following the statements by the “Green River Killer” in Seattle, Washington, who claimed to have chosen sex workers as his target because he knew too few people would […]

Food Cuts as Violence Against Women

Food Cuts as Violence Against Women

Hunger and Human Rights: Budget Cutbacks as Violence against Women By Cody Cabrera December 10, 2013 The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence—a call to action to raise awareness of the multi-faceted forms of violence women face in the context of  human rights—ends today on International Human Rights Day.  As I reflect on today […]

Cathy Rojas responds with her thoughts on gender violence

Cathy Rojas responds with her thoughts on gender violence

Overcoming trans* and gender-based oppression by Jac Mautner

Overcoming trans* and gender-based oppression by Jac Mautner

Jac Mautner is an activist and member of Women Organized to Resist and Defend (WORD) – a grassroots women’s rights organization. She has worked on a wide number of campaigns and actions including those for queer and trans liberation, for women’s rights, and against police brutality. Violence towards trans and gender non-conforming people is pervasive […]

Where have all the respectable-boys gone?

Where have all the respectable-boys gone?

Over the course of the past few months I started wondering why it seems that sexism has taken a step in the wrong direction in recent years. Why does it seem that women are spending way too much time and money trying to look good and attract men, and men are taking women less seriously? […]

State Terrorism and Violence Against Women

State Terrorism and Violence Against Women

By Barbara Sutton The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence symbolically link the multiple forms of violence that women around the world experience (November 25) with the question of human rights (December 10). In Argentina, my country of origin, the specter of human rights abuses has particular connotations, reminding of a time in which […]

Reimagining the ‘John’

Reimagining the ‘John’

Victim-blaming has become a catchphrase among feminists of all schools of thought, addressing the repercussions of burdening people (usually women) with the responsibility of remaining unharmed by others. An example of this can be found in the dialogue of Zerlina Maxwell, who earlier this year spoke out against the right-wingers suddenly ‘taking a stand’ against […]

Towards Eliminating the Wedge: a Conversation on Prison Justice and Gender-based Violence

Towards Eliminating the Wedge: a Conversation on Prison Justice and Gender-based Violence

  Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 6pm 1199 SEIU, 155 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY Join in the conversation. There is a conflict between the mainstream movement to eliminate gender-based violence and the movement to end mass incarceration. But here are some basic truths: *We need to be safe from gender-based violence, *Current public policy about […]

Fabulous Feminists 2013 Awards Bash–Tickets Now Available!

Fabulous Feminists 2013 Awards Bash–Tickets Now Available!

Sell Tickets Online through Eventbrite

Nominate a Fabulous Feminist!

Nominate a Fabulous Feminist!

Holding Our Own and the Women’s Building are again jointly celebrating women’s community building and feminist social change organizing in the Capital Region. We invite you to nominate your local feminist heroes, visionaries, builders, pillars of resistance and community, etc.!  Read more on this year’s awards categories here. Celebrate with us on Saturday, December 7th […]

Malalai Joya Speaking in Albany

Malalai Joya Speaking in Albany

Tomorrow Night! Malalai Joya Renowned Afghan Activist and Author Wednesday, October 9th at 7pm Emerson Hall, FUUSA, 405 Washington Ave, Albany Co-sponsored by Women Against War, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace and Holding Our Own along with many others (see flyer). By special arrangement, free parking will be available in the U Albany Hawley lot, across […]

On Syria by Fatma Ozdemir

On Syria by Fatma Ozdemir

I assume that everyone agrees that there must be something to do for Syrian people. However, the solution should not be ‘bombing’ or killing more and more people to stop the current civil war. This sounds to me as weird as saying that the U.S. has to kill people in Syria just because Syrians kill […]

An Amazing and Historic Week by Sheila Healy

An Amazing and Historic Week by Sheila Healy

What an amazing and historic week just transpired. Monday, the nation marked Women’s Equality Day with the commemoration of the passage 93 years ago of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granting women the right to vote. It’s hard to believe today that women’s enfranchisement didn’t occur until the early part of the 20th century. […]

Chelsea Manning, Identity Control & Government Violence by Drew Cordes

Chelsea Manning, Identity Control & Government Violence by Drew Cordes

This article re-posted from the Bilerico Project with the permission of the author. “Discipline” may be identified neither with an institution nor with an apparatus; it is a type of power, a modality for its exercise, comprising a whole set of instruments, techniques, procedures, levels of application, targets; … an essential instrument for a particular […]

Watch the Albany City Mayoral Candidate Forum

Watch the Albany City Mayoral Candidate Forum

Thanks to Seantel Chamberlain for the video.

Listen in on Albany City Mayoral Candidate Forum

Listen in on Albany City Mayoral Candidate Forum

If you missed the forum on Wednesday, July 24th at the Rockefeller Institute, you can listen to the unedited audio here. We are still waiting on the video. We will add it in a new post as soon as possible.

Albany City Mayoral Candidate Forum

Albany City Mayoral Candidate Forum

Albany City Mayoral Candidate Forum Wednesday, July 24th at 7pm RSVP on Facebook Rockefeller Institute of Government 411 State Street, Albany NY This past election cycle, it seemed every politician wanted to be seen as the “pro-woman” candidate. So what does it mean to be a “pro-woman” candidate? The purpose of these forums, the second […]

Listen in on the Albany County Family Court Candidate Forum

Listen in on the Albany County Family Court Candidate Forum

If you weren’t able to come to the Albany County Family Court Judge Candidate Forum on Thursday last week, you can listen in to the recording here. Hope you will join us on Wednesday, July 24th at 7pm at the Rockefeller Institute, 411 State Street, Albany for the City of Albany Mayoral Candidates Forum!

trayvon martin/lynne stewart

trayvon martin/lynne stewart

trayvon martin/lynne stewart (naomi)   they talk of terror they who have all the drones but to kill you trayvon is not a crime they call it the land of the free but we the 2.3 million unfree, what land do we live in? terror, lynne, is when you aid and abet the escape of […]

What does it mean to be a “pro-woman” candidate?

What does it mean to be a “pro-woman” candidate?

Albany County Family Court Judge Candidate Forum Thursday, July 18th at 7pm RSVP on Facebook City of Albany Mayoral Candidate Forum Wednesday, July 24th at 7pm RSVP on Facebook Both events held at: Rockefeller Institute of Government 411 State Street, Albany NY This past election cycle, it seemed every politician wanted to be seen as […]

Celebrating DOMA, forgetting all else, same stuff, different decade

Celebrating DOMA, forgetting all else, same stuff, different decade

I really wish that, in the midst of all the rejoicing about DOMA being overturned, the local LGBT community leadership had paused for just a second to also acknowledge that the Supreme Court also issued some decisions disastrous to the civil rights of people of color and women by gutting the Voting Rights Act and […]

Close Guantanamo by Mabel Leon

Close Guantanamo by Mabel Leon

  Our Constitution is based on simple and powerful principles of justice and law as in due Process( Amendment 5 ), right to a speedy trial(Amendment 6) and no cruel or unusual punishment(Amendment 8). Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions guarantees that detainees  be treated humanely and prohibits cruel treatment and torture. Guantanamo prison violates […]

How Are Our Struggles Related?

How Are Our Struggles Related?

Address to May Day Rally Academy Park, Albany, NY May 1, 2013 How Are Our Struggles Related? People often talk about the intersection of oppressions. I propose that it is the intersections of violence that reveal the oppressed and best show how our struggles are the same. In the past five months the United States […]

Register Now for Holding Our Own’s Network Event!

Register Now for Holding Our Own’s Network Event!

Sell Tickets through Eventbrite

Mother Earth by Doreen Perrine

Mother Earth by Doreen Perrine

A few years back, I watched a movie, the title of which I can no longer recall, about a physicist who quit the field. But I’ve never forgotten the movie’s heartfelt message. The physicist moved to an island, a quiet, nearly deserted, place beside the sea, to raise her only child, a daughter. A male […]

Solidarity Fast with Guantanamo Prisoners

Solidarity Fast with Guantanamo Prisoners

Online Ticketing for Fast for Justice for Guantanamo Detainees powered by Eventbrite

Ladyfest Schedule of Events

Ladyfest Schedule of Events

What is Ladyfest you ask? Ladyfest is a community based, not-for-profit global music and arts festival for women identified, trans, gender queer and gender nonconforming artists. For the first time, local organizers are bringing Ladyfest to us here in the Capital Region! Below is the schedule of events. For more information go to www.ladyfestupstate.com You […]

Ladyfest is What’s Happening this Weekend!

Ladyfest is What’s Happening this Weekend!

“she, until then” by blkcowrie

“she, until then” by blkcowrie

(***trigger warning: references to sexual violence) * she envies spider webs their transparency, forever moist.  their embrace of gaps, corners and the forgotten, held within a network of countless delicate fingers.  strong enough to hold those that spun them, immune to their paralyzing poisons.  she covets that kind of love. she longs for this love, and […]

“irrigation” by blkcowrie

“irrigation” by blkcowrie

i was always absent in your eyes but you were caught in mine lodged between lid & sclera gathering salt. wasn’t it penance enough that holding you choked my blood? did you have to scald my cheeks as you left?   http://blkcowrie.wordpress.com/

“powdered milk” by blkcowrie

“powdered milk” by blkcowrie

unlike the phoenix, fertilized by fire or the iguana, ever cloaked in awaiting armor our shorn leavings won’t allow human beings to reemerge * that this is now without exception is too much for me to bear * my aries mother insists that her next passage be by fire thus, heralded by a blaze that will only douse […]

“‘so says naomi’ haiku” by blkcowrie

“‘so says naomi’ haiku” by blkcowrie

life is stringed lessons leading to unplucked questions: fiddle.     open.     test.   http://blkcowrie.wordpress.com/

“for g.m.” by blkcowrie

“for g.m.” by blkcowrie

so many doors you wedged to find me first sex to first love to shared home (to left on my own) you made me feel newly desirable and powerful. corazón, no longer tentative with every early creak, i danced to your bomba drum while, slowly, over our years your fingers spanned my chest     gripped its grooves […]

Let’s Talk About Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)

Let’s Talk About Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)

Okay, personally, I hadn’t given much thought to the legalization of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in New York State.  What does that have to do with me? I am not going to watch it. I am not going to let my three boys participate in it any more than I would allow them to participate […]

Letting Women Decide

Letting Women Decide

As a U Albany student and a young women entering her twenties, I have been paying close attention to the recent laws passed in Arkansas and North Dakota that would ban abortions as early as twelve weeks and even six weeks respectively. At the same time I am getting involved and excited as the number […]

On Her Shoulders, Amelia Whalen

On Her Shoulders, Amelia Whalen

On Her Shoulders—a valuable multimedia presentation to inspire unity and awareness By Amelia Whalen I was invited to meet Noelle Gentile last month when she was auditioning women for roles in her upcoming theater project. When I showed up to audition, all I knew about the project was it involved female veterans, and all I […]

Throw Shaving to the Wind

Throw Shaving to the Wind

The weather is warming up, the birds are dancing and chirping, the snow has finally melted and the sun is starting to shine brighter. All of this can mean only one thing: Summer is just around the corner. Swimming, hiking, biking, warm sunny days, thunderstorms, flowers, green grass, and driving with the windows down are […]

Honest Weight Food Co-op Review, Gail Halestone

Honest Weight Food Co-op Review, Gail Halestone

The cornerstone to any good diet is fresh ingredients to make delicious and nutritious meals, and the important thing is to get them from a trusted source where you can not only get more bang for your buck, but also answers to any questions you my have. When it comes to being vegan, many people […]

Rape and Mass Incarceration: Part 2, Naomi Jaffe

Rape and Mass Incarceration: Part 2, Naomi Jaffe

Note: In response to the (apparently male) poster who suggested castration for rapists: men’s preoccupation with revenge, punishment, and violence is the problem, not the solution. One more time: violence is the problem. “The master’s tools can never dismantle the master’s house.” (Audre Lorde) Also, thank you to the commenter who called on feminists to […]

Adventures in Teaching Women’s History, Sean Heather McGraw

Adventures in Teaching Women’s History, Sean Heather McGraw

    Adventures in Teaching Women’s History By Sean Heather McGraw   I am a European history adjunct lecturer at several local colleges and as part of my introductory Western Civilization classes I teach them about the waves of 19th and 20th century feminism. I teach my students about the progress and activities made by […]

No One Asks

No One Asks

  I never pictured myself wedding-planning. It never occurred to me that I might find someone I liked enough or had open enough communication with that I would want to make such a commitment. I never leafed through bridal magazines or designated my middle-school friends as future bridesmaids, and you would be hard pressed to […]

Rape and Mass Incarceration: the connection, Naomi Jaffe

Rape and Mass Incarceration: the connection, Naomi Jaffe

The conversation in our feminist and justice movements about violence against women and the conversation about mass incarceration seem to be happening in separate spaces, anti-sexism and anti-racism spaces respectively. The experiences and voices of women of color make it clear that sexism and racism are intersecting oppressions,  but how do they intersect, in this […]

Undocumented Students Will Keep Fighting for Education Equity (and We Should, too), Angelica Clarke

Undocumented Students Will Keep Fighting for Education Equity (and We Should, too), Angelica Clarke

Across New York, people are demanding policy changes to improve the lives of undocumented immigrants. On Tuesday, March 19, that demand rang in Governor Cuomo’s halls from New York City to Albany. The New York State Youth Leadership Council (NYSYLC) gathered more than a hundred students, young people and allies to demand NY State pass […]

Passivity-An Invisible and Pervasive Thief, Lacy O’Brien

Passivity-An Invisible and Pervasive Thief, Lacy O’Brien

What’s difficult about communication is that most of the messages we receive are delivered through the words we do not speak.  Passivity is an invisible and pervasive thief, which robs us of a direct route to progress.  Sometimes, no- I think most of the time, we leave information out of our dialogue on purpose because […]

“imperfect perfect” by blkcowrie

“imperfect perfect” by blkcowrie

  they say: – Martin was a true philanderer – Bob and Marvin, too – Bayard was know to dilly-dangle bits of sons (& not just men) – Gil stitched needles like Trane when American lies were too much – Ntozake & Michelle W. drank away the vitriol over their truths – Billie would have said that’s how she softened the lies – Josephine and Nina left America to survive the […]

Poverty, Women and World Hunger

Poverty, Women and World Hunger

  By Joanne Kathleen Farrell When I think of spring I think of a time for rebirth. A time for seeding crops and clearing fields. I enjoy planting bulbs that will bring colorful flowers in the sunny days to come. For many around the world that life would be a fantasy. It is hard to […]

Badass Feminist Dilemma

Badass Feminist Dilemma

The siren has called.  I have been invited; I have a place at the table.  We are coming together to form our first outrageous, courageous, open mouth questioning and analysis of the patriarchal, colonizing racist and homophobic oppression dialogue and my question is, what do you wear to a badass feminist blog meeting? In my […]

“genesis 2: fictive ether” by blkcowrie

“genesis 2: fictive ether” by blkcowrie

my dream is fading faster than i can move this pen: * a wild child, not feral who runs into rooms laughing she talks back to adults pulls off yellow tablecloth to use as cape sending a few items flying to the floor and screams loud at potential violators lil pretty Black girl, curious, inquisitive […]

“genesis 1: sojourns” by blkcowrie

“genesis 1: sojourns” by blkcowrie

  x years after sojourner’s question       hung, in air met with nervous applause by white women and quiet murmurs by Black men Black women were seen as seals barking our selves to others’ jarred amusements noisy clappers       tossed the occasional dead fish never silent, never nourished, never understood: “ain’t […]

Report Back on “The Politics of Immigration,” Oakwood Community Center, Troy

Report Back on “The Politics of Immigration,” Oakwood Community Center, Troy

Immigration: A Growing Humanitarian Crisis On Friday, February 15, 2013 Jane Guskin, author of The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers, was invited to speak at the James Connolly Forum in Troy. The forum was held at the Oakwood Community Center and co-sponsored by the Troy Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO and Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace. […]

X’s to O’s Vegan Bakery Review

X’s to O’s Vegan Bakery Review

Ever had the experience of eating a delicious meal out with friends, and when it comes time for dessert, the menu is compiled completely of things you can’t eat? I have, because I’m vegan. I am vegan because I love animals, my body, and the planet. Any vegan can tell you that even when you […]

Guest Post: Reflections on ‘Half the Sky’

Guest Post: Reflections on ‘Half the Sky’

Tonight, I attended a community conversation held by the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society, WMHT, and Holding Our Own. The topic was multifaceted and centered around human rights violations that by the nature of biology and culture are mainly perpetrated against women around the world. If you haven’t seen the PBS documentary […]

Half the Sky, Continue the Conversation

Half the Sky, Continue the Conversation

Did you attend tonight’s Salon Screening? See the film? What are your thoughts? Reactions? Rants? Inspirations? Kick off the conversation.

International Women’s Day by Sean Heather McGraw

International Women’s Day by Sean Heather McGraw

Holding Our Own has decided to launch our new blog on the annual International Women’s Day, which is celebrated on March 8. The history of International Women’s Day is intertwined with the history of efforts to obtain suffrage for women as well as socialist party agitation to achieve fair conditions for workers in the years […]

“women’s work” (for asmaa mahfouz* and israa abdel-fattah**) by blkcowrie

“women’s work” (for asmaa mahfouz* and israa abdel-fattah**) by blkcowrie

  “habibti?”  “yes, mama?” “come.” she checks my hijab for glimpses, and says that we are to walk the streets with respect. we are to buy groceries, not sell ourselves. “today,” she adds, “we do women’s work.” * at the market, she pounds fruit for their secrets and examines vegetables for their lies. i am […]

Badass Feminist Blog Report Back

Badass Feminist Blog Report Back

Want to catch up on what happened at the 1st meeting to organize a local feminist blog? Check out the notes here. We will post the date for the next meeting shortly. You can plug in whenever you like! 1st Badass Feminist Blog Organizing Meeting Minutes

Half the Sky

Half the Sky

Salon Screening and Discussion Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide Friday, March 8th, 2013 6pm-8pm University at Albany Downtown Campus 135 Western Avenue, Albany, NY WMHT, the Center for Women and Government and Civil Society and Holding Our Own invite you to a Salon Screening of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression […]

30th/35th Anniversary Program

30th/35th Anniversary Program

Program With Cover

Celebrate Fabulous Feminists!

Celebrate Fabulous Feminists!

Online Ticketing for Holding Our Own and the Women’s Building 30th/35th Anniversary & Fabulous Feminist Awards powered by Eventbrite

Spotlight on Local Feminists Part 2

Spotlight on Local Feminists Part 2

Spotlight on Local Women Leaders Carmen Duncan and Naomi Jaffe In an effort to give Holding Our Own’s network members an opportunity to get to know each other just a little better, we will be spotlighting a couple of our members each month. We hope that this will help provide you with more opportunities to […]

Updates from Growing Our Own Network: Part 3

Posted on March 22, 2012

Below you will find the Agenda from Holding Our Own’s most recent networking event held at Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood on March 1, 2012, a summary and raw notes from our discussions, a summary of information collected from small group discussions (pink sheets). The documents are available for download. If you would like to be included in the brand new (beta version) of the Network Directory please go to the Network Directory tab and enter your information.

If you would like to receive invitations and announcements about future events, please subscribe to the email list here: Holding Our Own Email List.

Growing Our Own Part 3 Networking Event Agenda

March 1, 2012

6:00-6:30 Registration and Dinner

Please find another participant, preferably someone you do not already know well, and answer the question “At present, what is the motivating force/inspiration that drives you to continue your work for social change?” Please write your response on the note card and place it in the basket.

6:30-8:30 Facilitated Discussion

• Introduction and Summary of Prior Meetings

• Highlighting Our Work

• Introductions and Framing Conversation

• Small Group Discussions and Report Backs

• Moving Forward

• Announcements

• Words of Power and Strength

Meeting Notes from March 1st Networking Session
Summary of Small Group Discussions (Pink Sheets)

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Feminist Network Grows!

Posted on March 9, 2012
Jean Fei and Fiona Thompson
Jean Fei and Fiona Thompson
Jo Lum and Jen Barkan
Jo Lum and Jen Barkan
Barbara Sutton
Barbara Sutton
Aurora and Alissa
Aurora and Alissa
Sarah Podber, HOO Board President
Sarah Podber, HOO Board President
Ellen Tuzzolo, Executive Director Camp Little Notch
Ellen Tuzzolo, Executive Director Camp Little Notch

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The Jaffe Social Justice Lecture with Aurora Levins Morales

Posted on November 1, 2011

Aurora Levins Morales

Aurora Levins Morales

Saturday, November 19th 7pm SUNY Campus Center Assembly Hall–

Holding Our Own Women’s Foundation Presents: The Jaffe Social Justice Lecture with Aurora Levins Morales

The Jaffe Social Justice Lecture is brought to you in recognition of activist and former Holding Our Own Executive Director,NaomiJaffe’s decades of commitment to social change, resistance and building community.  

 Aurora Levins Morales born in Indiera,Puerto Rico, to a U.S.-born Puerto Rican mother and a Jewish father is a lecturer and a social activist deeply concerned with issues affecting third world people and most especially women. As a Puerto Rican writer Levins Morales deals with her Puerto Rican identity from a global perspective. Recurrent themes in her works and essays are sexual abuse, racial discrimination but also ecology and social justice. She shares with many other US women writers of color her use of hybrid forms (prose and poetry), mixture of personal and collective voices and the importance of a female ethnic heritage in the development of a female voice.

For more information on Auroravisit www.auroralevinsmorales.com

Co-sponsored by the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Project (SOGI) at the School of Social Welfare, University at Albany and SUNY Department Women’s Studies, Department of Latin American, Caribbean, and US Latino Studies (LACS) and the Center for Latino, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies (CELAC).

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Growing Our Own- Banquet

Posted on October 6, 2011

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Growing Our Own–Follow up

Posted on October 3, 2011

Notes from the recent “Growing Our Own” networking event on September 22, 2011 are available for download by clicking the link below.

This exciting event will be followed by another gathering of powerful Capital District women in December of this year. Look for updates here in the near future.

Notes from the “Growing Our Own Reception”

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Register for “Growing Our Own” Networking Event

Posted on August 31, 2011

Holding Our Own Women’s Foundation cordially invites any woman involved in or interested in creating social justice for women and girls in the Capital Region to attend:

the Growing Our Own Networking Event
Thursday, September 22nd at 6:00pm
Carmela’s Banquet House
301 Washington Avenue
Rensselaer, NY 12144

Register Now

Earlier this summer, Holding Our Own invited small groups of women in the region to help the foundation develop a strategic direction for the next few  years; a direction informed by those on the ground working toward feminist social change for women and girls. As a follow up to the focus groups, Holding Our Own will deliver a report back on the results. Together we will identify what resources exist to support our work, what resources are available to bolster that work, and some collective strategies for moving forward a feminist social change agenda in our region.

Attendance at this event is limited and registration is required.  If you would like to attend, please proceed with registration.  After you register, you will receive a formal invitation in the mail. This will be your ticket for admission.

Register Now

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