August 29, 2020
Dear Maryland NOW,
I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself – my name is Christian Nunes, and some of you may recognize me as NOW’s former vice president. This week I have stepped into the role of National NOW President. I want you to know how honored and excited I am to lead our organization at this critical time.
As the leading grassroots feminist force in the country, our members have been on the front lines of activism and advocacy for more than fifty years. NOW has a special part to play in these upcoming conversations and campaigns.
We are looking forward to electing Kamala Harris as the first woman vice-president – and as a Black and Asian American woman, she will also be the first woman of color to serve in this role. These are exciting history-making times, but we know there is a lot of work that lies ahead.
I know that having a Black president of NOW gives us more opportunity to genuinely amplify the experiences and voices of women of color. We are at a moment in our nation’s history when it’s clear that we need to do better. We must do more to adopt an intersectional lens when it comes to all aspects of our lives, and more to ensure that we are providing an inclusive safe space for one another.
It is also very clear that if we want to truly embrace an inclusive intersectional movement, it takes critical work, building and sustaining trust, safety, and true allyship. It takes a willingness to understand that despite our differences, our value is the same and all of our voices deserve to be heard. We must remember why we became activists in the first place, and od more to ensure we keep moving forward.
That is my personal mission – and my organizing principle for NOW.
I’ll have more to share with you in the weeks and months ahead and at our upcoming annual conference. I look forward to working with you towards a more inclusive feminist future.
In Solidarity,
Christian F. Nunes
Comment