May 2009
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May 2009 |
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SHIELD Women's Self Defense
On April 22 the YWCA offered a free SHIELD Women’s Self Defense Introductory Class, in honor of April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month. You now have the opportunity to sign up for a five-week SHIELD self-defense workshop. This is an amazing opportunity for women of all ages. Empower yourself. Your body is more capable than you think. SHIELD Women’s Self Defense System is a practical and effective fighting system specifically designed for women to combat sexual assaults. You will learn close-range fighting, to be efficient to fight in tight quarters, using your lower body strength to generate power. Each class builds upon the previous class and the training gets more intense as it progresses. Please contact Ayana Rose at 626-296-8433 for more information and to sign up. New Ways to Get Involved & Support the YWCA
Do you have a facebook? If yes, click on the icon and you can become a "fan" of the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley and connect to us online. You can also make the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley a cause you support on your personal facebook page. Click <here> to make the YWCA one of the causes you support on facebook. Thanks for helping us get the word out Many Thanks
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Women of Excellence Suzy Welch, author (Winning and Winning: The Answers) and columnist (O and BusinessWeek) will be speaking on personal decision-making strategies and balancing work and life issues, a topic also addressed in her latest book entitled 10-10-10. Her husband, former General Electric CEO, Jack Welch, will be in attendance to introduce Suzy as well as for a question-and-answer period. Proceeds from the event will support
Write checks to: YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley Mail to: YWCA, 1200 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103 Sponsored by:
  Girl's Empowerment Camp  For Ages: 10-14yrs It's all about the possibilities! This day camp for girls focuses on building self-esteem, forming friendships, learning new skills, exploring new ideas, and empowering girls to dream big. Each week incorporates hands-on activities, field trips and explores real-world applications. Registration begins on April 22, 2009. Sign up before June 8 to secure your spot. For more information and to enroll contact: |
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Unlearning Racism As a new member of the Racial Justice Committee, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and how my commitment towards racial justice developed. I will begin by telling you: My name is Joy Lei and I am a recovering Model Minority. My Chinese American and Asian American identities have affected both how I perceive myself and how others define me. Being “Asian” in the U.S. bestows upon me an essential role to play in perpetuating the racial stratification. You see, Asian Americans have been granted the title of “Model Minority,” which is a myth that emerged during the 1960s in the midst of the civil rights struggles. Prior to the 1960s, Asian Americans were seen as devious, inscrutable, and inassimilable among other negative perceptions. The Model Minority image, however, presents Asian Americans as having succeeded economically and academically in society, despite past discrimination, through hard work and without government assistance or complaints. The dramatic shift in the portrayal of Asian Americans reveals its constructed and strategic nature because the Model Minority image became popular at a critical point in the nation's history to serve as proof of American democracy and meritocracy when the Civil Rights Movement fought to expose institutionalized racism. The Model Minority myth places Asian Americans in a precarious position and creates the perception that we do not face racism. It also operates effectively by placating, deceiving and disillusioning Asian Americans—It convinces many of us that we can achieve the "American Dream" if we just work hard, it reminds us that we are doing better than other populations of color (so we better not complain) and it tells us that if we are not doing well, it is because we have not tried hard enough or are too foreign and inassimilable to live up to model minority standards. The myth discourages Asian Americans from critiquing the racist nature of US Society. Furthermore, the myth, which has become a common stereotype, places Asian Americans in a position "higher" than other populations of color on a racial hierarchy, which maintains the racial order by pitting populations of color against each other. With people of color busy vying for higher status on the racial hierarchy, there is less attention paid to challenging it. As a child and young adult, I bought into the Model Minority myth and tried to live and was treated according to it. Yes, I have been harassed for being Asian and treated as a foreigner, but I believed that, if I did well in school and adopt “White” culture and beliefs, I will succeed. Except…as I matured, things became harder to understand and accept. When I ask myself where others’ and my prejudices come from, it is clear that they are learned—from family, friends, teachers and textbooks, the mass media and dominant culture. I see teachers and schools as agencies for positive change. I do not want children in the United States to continue to learn to be passive followers in an oppressive society. I do not want children to continue to internalize, as oppressors or oppressed, the existing social stratification based on race, class, and gender. I do not want a child to ever feel that her voice is less valid than another child's or that her family’s culture is inferior. I want every child to have a truly equitable opportunity to succeed in this country and to accept each other in their commonalities and differences. Although I no longer believe in or strive to live up to the Model Minority myth, it is a part of my internal and external selves that I am proactively aware of in my everyday thinking, choices and actions. However, I will not feel bad for being Chinese American or Asian American because of how these social identities and representations have been constructed in society. Instead, I have come to value them, as how I define them and their contribution to my social consciousness. Please note: Joy's article is posted on our blog. If you would like to comment click 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 Denise Jones, our committee chair, or Ashley Phillips at the YWCA office at 626-296-8433. "The YWCA will thrust its collective power toward the elimination of racism wherever it exists and by any means necessary." - One Imperative |
Do you know We posted the adjacent article "Unlearning Racism" to the blog. What are your houghts? 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? 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 Community Outreach Coordinator, Ashley Phillips, at ashley@ywca-pasadena.org. Your contribution to the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley allows us to continue to offer our community:
Your generosity ensures that we cultivate the next entrepreneur, the next engineer, the next scientist, or the next U.S. Speaker of the House!
More Ways to Get Involved
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