National NOW Conference: Feminists to Converge In Nashville, TN, July 1-3, 2005!

It's really true. The National Organization for Women is having its 2005 conference right here in Nashville, Tennessee.

Yes, Virginia, there are feminists in the state of Tennessee.

Feminists from all across this Red state are very excited about the upcoming NOW Conference here in Nashville. No offense to Howard Dean, but a gathering of a thousand or more feminists has far more potential to shake things up and energize those of us doing the work in the trenches than a mere visit from the DNC Chair. Some say the city/state will never be the same.

I can't think of a better time for a record number of feminists to come together. With Bush set to spend the next three and a half years shredding women's rights yet further, and calling it 'freedom on the march,' self-defense alone is reason-a-plenty to come to this year's NOW conference. With a record number of Supreme Court Justices set to retire or die, there has never been a more urgent time for the feminists of America to unite.

I urge you to drop whatever it was you were thinking of doing the first week of July and come to the NOW Conference. With a bit of luck, we will still have the right to assemble come July, and so can share our ideas and strategize toward the goal of defending women and their families from the most outrageous assault on women's rights in recent history.

You can sign up at the NOW Conference site. (It's one of the easiest registrations I've ever encountered.)

If you can help, email Cynthia. There is still a need for drivers for the speakers, housing space (no need to feed guests), as well as help with assorted miscellaneous projects/tasks.

All the Conference details are at the NOW Conference Site, but here's a glimpse:

Confirmed Speakers:
Sara Paretsky
Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey
Dolores Huerta
Tillie Black Bear
Kakenya Ntaiya

There will be lots of interactive workshops. "The goal of these sessions is to send participants home with new inspiration and tactics to organize in their own communities . ."

Some of the broad range of subjects expected to be covered in the workshops:
Reproductive Rights
Emergency Contraception
LGBT Legislation: Hate Crimes and Marriage Discrimination
Judges
God and Politics
Education and Title IX
Family Law
Social Security
Cultural Challenges Facing Young Women (hip hop, street harassment, dating violence)
Young Feminists: Organizing and Mobilizing
Young Feminist Mentoring
Violence Against Women
The War on Drugs
Corporate Greed and Accountability
NOW PAC will also hold its popular Political Institute

Finally, while I don't have time to comment on it (sleep deprivation here), I'm going to quickly post the National Organization for Women Bill of Rights, Adopted at NOW’s first national conference, in Washington, D. C., 1967.

Because feminist history is really really important, and because this is as good a time as any to think about how many of the Rights - which were hoped for in 1967 - have actually been obtained in 2005.