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Women's Equality Day, August 26
Celebrating 89 years of the right to vote
The YWCA is grateful for the tenacious and dedicated women of our history who blazed a trail for our vote to be counted. The declaration of the 19th amendment reads, "The right of citizens to vote shall not be abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” The adoption of this amendment did not come easily. The first women's rights meeting in the United States, held at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, itself followed several decades of a quietly emerging egalitarian spirit among women.
For 30 years, from 1848 to 1878, the women's suffrage movement continued to gain momentum and in 1878, the 19th amendment was proposed to Congress for the first time. This same amendment would be introduced in every session of Congress for the next 41 years. Finally in the 1919 session of Congress, the 19th Amendment mustered up the two-thirds vote it needed and the proposal was sent to the states for ratification. On August 26, 1920, the last state ratified the Amendment (Tennessee...by one vote), and the 19th Amendment was adopted.
Read more about women's suffrage here.
Thanks and Praise
To a YWCA empowered woman, Mrs. Denise Jones
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At the June meeting of the Racial Justice Committee, Denise Jones turned over the gavel to Sandra Davis Houston as committee chair. In 2002, while on the YWCA board of directors, Denise was appointed to chair the Racial Justice Committee by then president Janis Lipson and has served continuously in that role since that time.
She has, in fact, been tireless in leading our Association to address its mission of Eliminating Racism. Under Denise's leadership, our Racial Justice Committee began the Women for Racial Justice Breakfast, convened and conducted many community dialogues on racial issues that include educational disparities, youth issues, police issues, profiling and more. These dialogues brought together community leaders to not only discuss issues but to explore ways to maximize resources directed at |
improving race relations. The committee has also convened multiple racial justice training sessions for committee, staff, board and community members. Denise has been a very visible presence in community initiatives such as Points of View, Intergroup Relations, Police Mediation, City Conversations and Peacebuilding Brown Bags. She has chaired the Northwest Commission and is seen as a valued and admired leader not just by the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley but throughout the community.
Many Thanks
Thank you to the following for supporting the YWCA in the past quarter
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All Saints Church
Francisco Alonso
Chris Ashton
Barclays Capital
Janette Barrios
Sharon Beigum
Sharon Bingham
Richard Bloom
Judith Brown
Yvonne Brown
Shirley Burt
California Youth Spirit Corps
Caltech
Susan Carrier
Mattie Carter
Consuelo Rey Castro
Mary Cate
Mary Cavena
Margaret Leong Checca
Michael Checca
Peggy Chong Cooper
CITI Foundation
City of Pasadena
Rita Cortez
Victoria Davis
Kelly DeMarino
Johari DeWitt-Rogers
Door of Hope
Marianne Dryden
Ann Erdman
James Farr
Tamika Farr
Flintridge Foundation
Richard Frank
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Friends of Anthony Portantino
Glendale Memorial Hospital
Edith Grady
Danny Guzman
Carolyn Hancock
Mic Hansen
Matt Hedman
Lucille Heller
Dolores Hickambottom
Elizabeth Hirsch
Dorothy Homan
Ashley Howard
Jane Huffnagel
Inland Valley Council of Churches
James Kakish
Kaiser Permanente
Jackie Knowles
Laura Lee-Chin
Margaret Leighton
Carol Liu
Love Bird's Cafe
Christine Ma
Macy's West, Inc.
Barbara Madden
Diane Magee
Constance Manz
Veronica Martinez
Jill Mathhison
Olive McCloskey
Steve McNeely
Rebecca Medina
Madeleine Moran
Janice Morris
Mustangs on the Move
Angela Myers-Rackleff
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Eddie Newman
Nelson Nio
Audrey Noda
Toby Osos
Wanda Palmer
PUSD
Janet Pope-Givens
Susan Prado
Kimberly Quinones
Cheryl Rose
The Rose Hills Foundation
Rotary Club of Pasadena
Miriam Sacks
Betty Sandford
Virginia Sarkissian
Samuel Schiffman
Rosemary Simmons
Souplantation
Paula Stamp
Tournament of Roses Foundation
Andrea Townsend
United Way. Inc.
Janet Vailokaitis
Carmen Vargas
Janet Volpe
Vroman's Bookstore
Nadine Washington
Mary Wilson
Marge and Joe Wyatt
Elena Zaretsky
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Empowerment Starts Early
YWCA camp for girls ages 11 to 14
Camp participants get a tour of Cal State LA
Our 2009 Summer Girls' Empowerment Camp began on July 13. Each week the participants travel to a different college campus, go on fun field trips, discuss relevant empowerment curriculum and engage in many team-building games. The empowerment curriculum focuses on building self-esteem, friendships, new skills, exploring new ideas and encouraging girls to dream big.
Empowering women is one of the hallmark values of the YWCA and is embodied in our programs that focus on the health and development of young girls.
“We know that ‘empowerment’ isn’t something that just happens to you as a woman, it starts early, with your family and friends, the education you are exposed to and even the women around you who instinctively give you the right to be empowered by simply being strong and confident themselves,” explains Ayana Rose, YWCA program director, “this is why it is so critical to invest and pour into these girls right now at this young age.”
Girls Camp is in the News! Read article here.
Camp sponsored by grants from:
The Tournament of Roses Foundation
The Pasadena Rotary Club
Save the Date
2009 Women for Racial Justice Breakfast!
Mrs. Ellen Portantino, breakfast committee chairwoman, invites you to mark your calendars for Monday, October 19th, 7:30 - 9:30am at the Hilton Pasadena. Join us as we bring together 600 community leaders and advocates to share in the YWCA's efforts of promoting and supporting racial justice throughout our community.
Be a 'Community Advocate' by purchasing a table and inviting friends to join you at the breakfast.
Tables of ten for $450; $550 after Sept. 25
Individual tickets for $45; $55 after Sept. 25
You may purchase a table(s) or an individual ticket(s) by going here or by sending a check to:
YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley
1200 North Fair Oaks, Pasadena CA, 91103
Please write WRJB in the memo line.
Contact Tamika Farr, 626-296-8433, regarding sponsorship opportunities.
Ambassador Sponsors:
Avery Dennsion and Michael Antonovich
Parent Education Classes
Sign up for our upcoming cycle of Parenting Classes. Twenty-three Pasadena parents participated in our last cycle of classes that positively affected their relationships with their children.
Starting: Tuesdays, Aug. 18, 6:30 - 8:30p.m.
Where: YWCA, 1200 N. Fair Oaks, Pasadena
Questions: call Ayana Rose, 626-644-2403
Let Pasadena hear from you:
City of Pasadena
Community Needs Assessment
Fill out the survey here:
Needs Assessment
Remember to indicate the importance of supporting programs for girls - especially the YWCA's Just for Girls program!
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A Long Way to Go
Reflections from Racial Justice Committee Member, Rebecca Medina
The following list was compiled by Barry Deutsch and is reproduced with his permission. I find that by reading each one and placing a check by the statements that apply to you, one can see that privilege exists in our society no matter how many Sonia Sotomayors are confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, how many Hillary Clintons are appointed Secretary of State or how many Regina Benjamin’s hold the office of the U.S. Surgeon General. We still have a long way to go.
In 1990, Wellesley College professor Peggy McIntosh wrote an essay called “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”. McIntosh observes that whites in the U.S. are “taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group.” To illustrate these invisible systems, McIntosh wrote a list of 26 invisible privileges that benefit whites.
As McIntosh points out, men also tend to be unaware of their own privileges as males. In the spirit of McIntosh’s essay, I thought I’d compile a list similar to McIntosh’s, focusing on the invisible privileges benefiting men.
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My odds of being hired for a job, when competing against female applicants, are probably skewed in my favor. The more prestigious the job, the larger the odds are skewed.
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I can be confident that my co-workers won’t think I got my job because of my sex - even though that might be true.
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If I am never promoted, it’s not because of my sex.
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If I fail in my job or career, I can feel sure this won’t be seen as a black mark against my entire sex’s capabilities.
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I am far less likely to face sexual harassment at work than my female co-workers are.
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If I do the same task as a woman, and if the measurement is at all subjective, chances are people will think I did a better job.
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If I’m a teen or adult, and if I can stay out of prison, my odds of being raped are relatively low.
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On average, I am taught to fear walking alone after dark in average public spaces much less than my female counterparts are.
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If I choose not to have children, my masculinity will not be called into question.
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If I have children but do not provide primary care for them, my masculinity will not be called into question.
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If I have children and provide primary care for them, I’ll be praised for extraordinary parenting if I’m even marginally competent.
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If I have children and a career, no one will think I’m selfish for not staying at home.
To read the rest of the list go here.
Join the Discussion, Join the Committee
If discussing these issues and responding to them interests you, we would love to have you join our Racial Justice Committee. We meet every 4th Wednesday at the YWCA. For more details, please contact Sandra Davis Houston, our committee chair, or Ashley Phillips at the YWCA office at 626-296-8433.
"The YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism and empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all."
Donate Online NOW!
Your contribution to the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley allows us to continue to offer our community:
- Just For Girls enrichment and development program for the school-aged young women of Pasadena
- Racial Justice work in our community
- Community Building efforts through public dialogue and our program initiatives
- Ensuring that women from all walks of life have a voice in our city, region and nation
Your generosity ensures that we cultivate the next entrepreneur, the next engineer, the next scientist or the next U.S. Speaker of the House!
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Culture Shock
Pasadena teens face prejudices, stereotypes and “isms” in order to build a bridge to a better and more united Pasadena.
Now in its second year, the YWCA has partnered with a number of Pasadena community organizations to help present a week-long diversity training, Culture Shock, for Pasadena teens. Culture Shock is a unique opportunity for Pasadena teens to immerse themselves into a week full of training, activities and workshops focused on fostering greater cultural understanding, cross-cultural communication and peer mediation skills.
This week-long program ended on Friday, July 31, with a time of fun and reflection for all the participants. The week offered local high school youth a relaxed forum to examine issues of race and identity during their summer recess from school. In so doing, Culture Shock seeks to develop positive ways to deal with diversity and help bridge divides between youth, two incredibly important assets in a community home to a wide array of ethnic groups.
To hear more about Culture Shock, call Ashley Phillips at 626-296-8433.
Do you know
"What's the Difference?"
We posted the adjacent article "A Long Way to Go" to the blog. What are your thoughts? After you have read the entry, make comments at the end of the post by clicking on the word "comment."
Do you have something to share or thoughts regarding the assumptions made based on race or gender? We are looking for new, original posts for our blog. Check out the blog using the link above and tell us what you think.
If you would like to contribute to the blog with an original post, please email YWCA Board Member Susan Carrier. While at the site, remember to subscribe to the blog so that you know when a new posting has been submitted.
More Ways to Get Involved
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Volunteer. We are always recruiting women and girls to join a committee or to volunteer in the office.
Contact the Program Office. -
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Join the Racial Justice Committee. Be a part of the conversation.
Contact Sandra Davis Houston, Chair. -
Contribute a brief article to our blog, "What's the Difference?"
Contact Ashley Phillips, Community Outreach Coordinator
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