Hi John,

We are still going strong and pressing forward with 100 Days, 100 Wins. Many actions are still in progress and others have yet to be addressed, but we will stop and smell the flowers as we continue to advance gender justice. We have a long way to go—many actions are still in progress and others have yet to be addressed. But join us to stop and smell the flowers while we celebrate some recent wins::

• Reinstating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
• Instructing the Department of Justice to begin to coordinate full implementation of LGBTQ rights under federal civil rights laws.
• Requiring the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue an enforceable standard on infectious diseases to help employers achieve the safest possible conditions for front-line workers.
• Withdrawing USDA rulemakings that reduce access to SNAP.
• Rescinding the devastating global gag rule, which jeopardized care for millions of patients in the United States and around the world.
• Revoking Executive Order 13771 Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs, which revoked harmful policies that threaten the government’s ability to confront urgent challenges like COVID-19, economic recovery, and racial justice.

Visit our website to follow the progress, what’s been done, and what we’re still fighting for.

A Table Built for Us

The first 100 days of a new administration are critical and say a lot about the direction in which President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Congress will lead the country over the next four years. We are calling on Congress and the Biden-Harris administration to make decisions that will advance gender justice, particularly for women and girls of color.

Recently, Fatima Goss Graves was invited by Madam Vice President Harris’ office to join a small group of women leaders for a virtual roundtable discussion about the American Rescue Plan. The group discussed job loss, the closing of small businesses, lack of child care, and how the pandemic has amplified the ways these barriers disproportionately impact women.

“People are barely keeping it together right now… I was gratified to hear that she understood and spoke with urgency around getting this investment done,” Fatima Goss Graves, President & CEO, quoted in an article about the roundtable in The New York Times.

Fatima had the honor to say “Madam Vice President” directly to Vice President Harris. Many of us at the office are torn between swooning and jealousy, but we are overwhelmingly proud of Fatima for representing NWLC and joining other leaders in the movement to ensure Congress and the Biden-Harris administration advance justice for her and justice for all.

We, As Ourselves

Many Black survivors have come forward about abuse they experienced from some very prominent Black celebrities—some stories dating back decades. The allegations sparked conversations on social media and in blogs about who gets to be a survivor, whose story gets to be told, and how. There have yet to be models for narrative justice, accountability and transformation that lead to healing and create more space for empathy, safety, and care specifically for Black survivors. Until now.

This week, in partnership with ‘me too.’ International and the TIME’S UP Foundation, we launched We, As Ourselves. As a collaborative narrative campaign We, As Ourselves seeks to challenge and change conversations about sexual violence and its impact on Black communities.

We are working to create spaces where Black survivors can safely share their experiences; change cultural narratives that harm and silence Black survivors; and build new practices so Black survivors are believed, heard, and supported. Learn more and support this work at WeAsOurselves.org and follow the conversation on social media with the hashtag #WeAsOurselves.

Must Dos:

• Listen to our Black History Month playlist. We have everything from affirmations by Yung Baby Tate and Flo Milli to a reminder to rest by Tasha and superpowers by KIRBY. Listen now on Spotify.
• COVID-19 has exacerbated longstanding inequities within our society. We’re proud to partner with the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) for the Pathways to Economic Security Conference on March 2–4, 2021. This three-day conference includes keynote speeches, plenary sessions, and smaller workshops for networking and coalition building hosted by partners from various communities. It is designed to meet this unique moment when the need to address income and health disparities has never been more urgent. Registration is “pay as you wish” and includes suggestions like $19.35, the year the Social Security Act was passed. Reserve your spot today.
• “You are supposed to work as if you’re not a mother, and mother as if you don’t work.” This powerful quote is from Loira Limbal, Director and Producer of the documentary, Through the Night, which follows three working mothers whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center in New York. Shana Bartley, NWLC’s Director of Community Partnerships, spoke on a panel with the creators to celebrate National Caregiver Day (February 19). The film will air on PBS this Mother’s Day, but you can watch it now via virtual cinemas across the country.

Must Reads:

• Gillian Branstetter, Media Manager, was quoted in Refinery29 on the Equality Act. “My hope, however, is lawmakers will recognize this as a foundation for economic justice and not wash their hands of the needs of transgender people once it is signed into law." Read the full article.
• “This forced-home situation exacerbates long-standing gender divisions… Moms are not OK,” Tucker said. “They are holding too much.” Jasmine Tucker, Director of Research, quoted in a CNBC article about the impact of teleworking on working mothers. Read the full article.
• “Without transparency and equity, these women will be forced to choose a lower-paying offer, given the existing gap. Covid-19 and the racial justice uprising over the summer have really pulled back the curtain and exposed, in a way, that Black and Brown women are being hurt by many policies and practices,” Andrea Johnson, Director of State Policy, Workplace Justice & Cross-Cutting Initiatives, quoted in Bloomberg Law. Read the full article.

Feminist Moment of Joy

This month’s feminist moment of joy comes from my fellow colleagues. To celebrate Black History Month, we recreated former FLOTUS, Michelle Obama’s “Hey Queen” video with our own twist. Watch the video and share with a special queen in your life.

My orchid wasn’t the only plant to make a comeback near the end of the year. My Ficus also dropped leaves throughout October and November and showed no signs of green until mid-December. Some plants are alright in the cold, others long for warmer conditions. The same can be true for people—some thrive in the seasons of cold and uncertainty, even crisis, and others don’t.

Most writers have their “thing”—an excessive love for the em dash or the serial comma, or obsession with a particular pen. In addition to all these things, I also love an affable alliteration. When I lived in Nashville several years ago, Fridays were for flowers. I had a four-day work week, so Flower Friday, as I called it, was my unofficial weekly self-care day to pamper myself and run errands. Buying flowers became a regular routine to congratulate myself for bouncing between grocery stores, having maintenance done on my car, or scheduling an appointment with the optometrist. These were small, uneventful items on my to-do list, but they made a difference in the long run. So I learned, the small things are worth celebrating, too.

Every “must do” to advance gender justice—passing a COVID relief bill, getting a new Secretary of Education, challenging the narratives about Black survivors of sexual violence—can have a broader impact on this country for days, months, and years to come. We haven’t fully achieved justice for her and all (yet!), but we should celebrate the small wins along the way.

For justice (and joy) for her and all,
LySaundra Campbell
she/her/hers
Writer and Editor
National Women’s Law Center