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Dear John,
We are halfway through the year and have already seen a global pandemic rip through our communities, with far too little help from those in leadership. We watched as officers held down the body of George Floyd until he took his last breath.
The murders of Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau and Tony McDade are pushing us to reckon with how we are lifting the stories of Black women and Black trans folks who experience violence. And how we show up and protect those who have the courage to share their story of sexual violence—many times when doing so, they risk their lives and livelihoods.
We are in a defining moment as a nation that is calling us to examine whether we are prepared to show up in support of Black lives and futures. The fight to stop the murder and systemic violence against Black bodies is not one that is new to our work, but in the last month we’ve been called to question and answer how we are showing up for EVERY person, including survivors.
Today I ask you to dig deep and imagine, what would a world look like with survivors leading? A world where survivors are making the rules? Where survivors and advocates are advancing survivor justice and shifting the narrative on sexual violence in America?
Join us in building our collective vision through the Survivors’ Agenda, a crowdsourced initiative for building safer futures, free from sexual violence.
As the movement to end anti-Black racism builds, we show up at this moment as a multi-racial, survivor-led collective poised to amplify the ways in which the movements to end sexual violence and racial violence are reliant upon one another. Survivors know how to transform systems and create a culture of accountability. We are co-creating an agenda that will seed the changes we need.
We’re kicking off this launch with a National Call on Thursday, June 25, from 7 to 8 p.m. ET, as we hold a conversation on the intertwining of oppression and sexual violence in this current moment, and how survivors and allies can and will lead the charge. Register here.
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Join the Survivors Agenda Launch Call
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We invite all those who may or may not self-identify as survivors or as part of a marginalized community, but who, by nature of their personal experiences, deeply associate with the impacts of survivorhood.
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The conversation will be led by me alongside Tarana Burke of The ‘me too.’ Movement, Ai-jen Poo from National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Mónica Ramírez from Justice for Migrant Women.
You can also sign up here for more information about more upcoming virtual events and ways to participate in co-creating the Survivors’ Agenda!
Though the grief of this moment is heavy, we’ve seen our communities rise up to demand accountability and transformation of our systems and culture. The incredible work of Movement for Black Lives and organizers across the country are reimagining what community safety can look like. And our communities are calling for the redistributions of funds to services through the defunding of police departments across the nation. We can make sure that survivors are centered and leading in this critical moment. Join the Survivors Agenda on Thursday to learn how.
Sincerely,
Fatima Goss Graves (she/her/hers)
President and CEO
National Women's Law Center
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