CONVERSATION LEADER PROFILE

What in the world are CELP Alumni doing?

Transforming to a Caring Economy-A new course offered at local college in Sedona, AZ 

Conversation Leader Barbara Litrell: "The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute which is hosted at Yavapai College here in Sedona has accepted my proposal to facilitate a class in the spring semester. 

The subject will be "Transforming to a Caring Economy" and I plan to use the materials from our training to talk about the existing situation in our city, state and country, the need to transform to a partnership way, and some ideas on what we can do in Sedona and in Arizona. The goal is to begin the conversation and spread the word. 

I plan to use the CELP small group materials from our class for discussion topics starting out with what we think of when we think of our wealth. The class will be April 10-May 15, once a week for 90 minutes. I'm really looking forward to hearing the thoughts of members of our community on this topic. Given the dysfunctionality of our Congress at the moment (although there are some hopeful signs!), we must be working at the local and grassroots level to make life better for our neighbors and ourselves."

Thanks Barbara!

Kim Otis has passed along this eye-opening Nation article about the vulnerability of the women who make up the global domestic workforce.  It includes great infographics that you might use in a Caring Economy Conversation.

Enjoy - and pass along!





http://www.thenation.com/blog/172099/global-domestic-workforce-enormous-and-very-vulnerable?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Feminist_Roundup&utm_term=&utm_campaign

Kim Otis, Director of the Caring Economy Campaign, passed along a powerful infographic produced by the National Partnership for Women and Families.

The full infographic (linked to the text below) is a wonderful aid to visualizing how  race and ethnicity are as factors in women's experiences of poverty in the US.



Here is the full text of the accompanying letter from Debra Ness, the President of NPWF:

Every day, tens of millions of hardworking women get up and go to work.

We do all we can to help our employers, keep our jobs and make enough money to put food on the table, pay the bills and provide for our families.

Yet, despite this critically important role, women are paid significantly less than men due to a punishing gender-based wage gap.

And African American women and Latinas suffer most.

That’s why we put together our latest infographic that shows just how bad it is in the states that have the largest numbers of African American women and Latinas in the workforce.

Losing tens of thousands of dollars every year is no small matter for any family, particularly not for the nearly 40 percent of African American and Latina-headed households living in poverty. If the wage gap were eliminated, African American women would have enough money to buy more than two years’ worth of food, and Latinas would have enough for 5,743 gallons of gasoline — every year.

It’s ridiculous. It makes no sense. And it’s time to help spread the word. Please share this image on Facebook or through your other social networks.

If lawmakers are serious about helping families and rebuilding our economy, then closing the wage gap should be a high priority. The Paycheck Fairness Act would help fight wage discrimination and establish stronger workplace protections for women in all states. It would promote economic stability for a critical segment of the workforce and, in turn, strengthen our national economy.

So please share the infographic today, and together we can make fair pay a priority in 2013.

Sincerely,

Debra Ness
President 

Alice Walker's "Democratic Womanism"

CELP co-creator Dr. Susan Carter has shared this link to an inspiring new poem read by writer activist Alice Walker (it's about a five minute video excerpt of an hour long program with Amy Goodman).  

Thanks Susan!





Alice  Walker's poem "Democratic Womanism"

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/9/28/democratic_womanism_poet_and_activist_alice#.UOPIypV9AKg.email

The War on Men Through the Degradation of Woman

Conversation Leader and Program Facilitator Allan Ament shared this wonderful, interesting piece of writing by Jada Pinkett-Smith - could it be directly influenced by Riane's work?

Jada Pinkett-Smith: “The War on Men Through the Degradation of Woman” 

"How is man to recognize his full self, his full power through the eye’s of an incomplete woman? The woman who has been stripped of Goddess recognition and diminished to a big ass and full breast for physical comfort only. The woman who has been silenced so she may forget her spiritual essence because her words stir too much thought outside of the pleasure space. The woman who has been diminished to covering all that rots inside of her with weaves and red bottom shoes. 

I am sure the men, who restructured our societies from cultures that honored woman, had no idea of the outcome. They had no idea that eventually, even men would render themselves empty and longing for meaning, depth and connection.

There is a deep sadness when I witness a man that can’t recognize the emptiness he feels when he objectifies himself as a bank and truly believes he can buy love with things and status. It is painful to witness the betrayal when a woman takes him up on that offer.

He doesn’t recognize that the [creation] of a half woman has contributed to his repressed anger and frustration of feeling he is not enough. He then may love no woman or keep many half women as his prize.

He doesn’t recognize that it’s his submersion in the imbalanced warrior culture, where violence is the means of getting respect and power, as the reason he can break the face of the woman who bore him 4 four children.

When woman is lost, so is man. The truth is, woman is the window to a man’s heart and a man’s heart is the gateway to his soul.

Power and control will NEVER out weigh love.

May we all find our way.

~ Jada Pinkett-Smith, Sinuous Magazine (http://www.sinuousmag.com/)

Honoring Martin Luther King

When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered. 

- Martin Luther King, Jr., Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam

Four Kinds of People

Just ran across this wonderful quote I had to share -

“There are only four
kinds of people in the
world - those who
have been caregivers,
those who currently
are caregivers, those
who will be
caregivers, and those
who will need
caregivers.”

~ Former First Lady,  Rosalynn Carter

Conversation Leaders:

A simple yet powerful image by Louise Sandhaus of Los Angeles, a friend of Janet Sager (Cohort P). Louise has given permission for us to use this art in our Caring Economy presentations and our community/social networks. Thanks Louise!
Do a "Save as" to download to your desktop--
Credit line: © 2013 Louise Sandhaus.