Raise Your Voice Blog | Nicole Clark Consulting

29 Aug, 2012

Ask Nicole: How Can We Create More Affirming Spaces for Women & Girls of Color?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:06:29-04:00August 29th, 2012|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: Ask Nicole, Youth|0 Comments

Do you have a question that other Raise Your Voice community members can benefit from? Contact me and I’ll answer it!

I recently received an email from a young woman of color and a recent college graduate. She contacted me to ask if I could point her in the direction of women of color organizations in her area that are open to having volunteers, as the organizations she’s already contacted currently do not have any volunteer opportunities. She shared with me that, being a recent college graduate, Latina, and the first of her family to attend college, she has a passion to give back to her community and to empower others.

What heightened my interest in her email was that she mentioned that she was an active member of a women of color group on her college campus. She described the campus group as a multi-generational safe space for women of color on campus, which meets monthly. The monthly gathering, complete with food and fellowship, invites current students and staff to share experiences and advice over a chosen topic of the month (spiritual wellness, intellectual wellness, environmental wellness, among others.) Her group has also hosted a woman of color retreat on campus as well as a gala to recognize the many contributions of the women of color on campus.

I responded back to her, letting her know that I will look into women of color organizations in her area, but I also gave her the suggestion of creating a similar supportive group based on her campus group. Here in New York City, I am part of the New York City Reproductive Justice Coalition. We meet once a month to discuss what’s happening locally and nationally around reproductive justice and women and girls of color. What we’re currently doing every month sounds very similar to what her campus does: We connect, inform, enlighten, strategize, and fellowship.

The need for more spaces for women and girls of color to grow, connect, and be affirmed in a world that tells us that we’re in the minority is crucial. Instead of it being a matter of chance, women and girls of color spaces need to be a given, a space where women and girls of color are mentored and supported by peers who have their best interest in mind. In a perfect world, there would be no need for spaces like these. Until then, the more spaces we have that tell women and girls like us that we matter, the more likely we will be able to step up and pay it forward.

Are you interested in starting a space for women and girls of color in your community or on campus? Here are a few ideas to get you started: (more…)

16 Aug, 2012

Stepping Up: 10 Young Women of Color Making a Difference

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T17:52:19-04:00August 16th, 2012|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: activism, Young Women of Color|0 Comments

(Pictured left to right): Shalee Forney, Angy Rivera, Andy Marra, and Jerin Arifa

Last week, I shared my list of 10 women of color who are game changers in helping to make the world a better place for girls. This week, I’m highlighting 10 young women of color who are paving the way for the next generation of youth of color activists.

They say that young people are complacent. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Young people today (known as millennials) are influencing many social issues today: from same-sex marriage to gender rights to even technology and how we connect with each other. More importantly, young people have proven time and time again that when they stand up for what they believe in, they can bring about enormous change. As with last week’s post, connect with these young women, share ways that you can work together, and become inspired. And don’t forget to share what you’ve learned in this post with the women and girls of color in your lives.

Without further ado, here are 10 young women of color that are making a difference: (more…)

8 Aug, 2012

Pay It Forward: 10 Women of Color Making the World a Better Place for Girls

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T17:51:23-04:00August 8th, 2012|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: activism|0 Comments

(Pictured left to right: Andriann Barboa, Carla Stokes, Jessica Danforth, and Ileana Jiménez)

Young girls of color are resilient, creative, and powerful. And they grow up to become resilient, creative, and powerful women who go on to do whatever they can to make the world a better, more fun, and safer place for young women of color. Anything can provide a catalyst for change–a tragic event, an everyday occurrence, or a seemingly small question–. While many people will allow for life’s circumstances to get them down and keep them there, there are plenty of women of color who inspire our young girls, make them think, and help them to raise their voices.

This list of 10 amazing women of color is just a small percentage of the countless women of color who are doing big things. Some I’ve known for years, some I’ve recently met, and some I’ve admired through their work with the intention of meeting them someday. All of them I (and many others) are inspired by. Check out their work, connect with them, share ways that you can work together, and become inspired. Last but not least, share what you’ve learned in this post with the women and girls of color in your lives. The more women of color we have making a difference in the lives of young girls of color, the more young girls of color will grow up and pay it forward.

These women really are infusing passion and creativity to improve the health and lives of women and girls of color. Read more about them and be inspired: (more…)

1 Aug, 2012

We’re All In This Together: Women & Girls of Color Supporting Each Other

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T17:50:53-04:00August 1st, 2012|Categories: Self & Community Care|Tags: Women of Color, Youth|0 Comments

(Image Source)

In my interactions with my blog readers either in person or through social media, I’m always aware that the majority of my blog readers are Black women & girls. Understandably so. It’s easier to relate to someone when you believe there’s a commonality, and in many cases that can be skin color and/or cultural background. Despite knowing this, I’ve always tried to develop content and workshops that speak to all women and girls of color, and I regularly invite other women and girls of color to contribute to my blog. On Twitter this week, I entertained the idea of shifting my focus to primarily Black women and girls and the organizations that serve them. However, a follower of mine tweeted to me: Everyone needs the message, in my humble opinion.

The focus of this blog are on things that I believe allow for others to find a commonality. For example, lawmakers creating policies that attack a woman’s bodily autonomy affects all women and girls, not just one select group (even when it feels as though that group is being targeted). Regardless of race, women and girls are constantly subjected to street harassment while in public spaces. When it comes to discussing sex and sexuality with the mother figures in our lives, women see that some of the barriers that prevented them from discussing sexuality are common across race and culture.

As women and girls of color, we need to be allies for each other. While it’s important to know what’s happening in your own community, our voices become more powerful in collective. While many of the issues that we believe we deal with may be “packaged” differently, we can’t stand on the sidelines while looking at another group and think, “I don’t have to worry about that happening in MY community”.

How can we as women and girls of color support each other? (more…)

3 Jul, 2012

Participate in My 1 Year Blog Anniversary Contest! (CLOSED)

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T17:49:47-04:00July 3rd, 2012|Categories: Research & Evaluation|Tags: Announcements|0 Comments

UPDATE: The contest is now closed! The winners are Twitter users @TIngram and @parisianfeline! Congratulations!

I started blogging in July 2011 to share my perspective on sexual and reproductive justice, advocacy, and policy and how it impacts Black, Latina, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native/Indigenous women & girls.

Blogging has really been a means to an end: To promote my consulting services. To be transparent, throughout the past year, I’ve wondered, “What in the world am I doing? Are people even paying attention?” I focused a lot of how many page views I would get or how to get more people to comment on my blog posts that at times it became overwhelming. However, my confidence began to increase with each blog post.

Throughout the year, I’ve grown to enjoy it a lot, and at times I stay up at night thinking of what to blog about next. To help me, I’ve incorporated the feedback given to me by my readers, and I’ve tried to find interesting ways to engage my readers so that I would be delivering content that’s engaging and relevant while still holding true to my intentions for blogging.

The highlight of the past year has been being recognized as one of 30 Black women bloggers to look out for in 2012 by For Harriet. I was completely caught off guard. I never would have thought that I would receive this type of recognition, particularly in the first year of blogging. It made me realize more than ever that, despite page views or blog comments, people really were paying attention.

To express my gratitude for every retweet, every “like”, every “favorite”, every comment, every re-post, and every newsletter subscription, I’m holding another contest for y’all with some awesome prizes! (Just look at the picture above!)

Here’s how the contest works:

1) Check out the blog archives to refresh your memory on every blog post I’ve written between July 2011 and now.

2) In the comments section below, share your favorite blog post AND why. Tell everyone what you got out of the post. This will help me further develop my blog content and services. Also, leave some sort of identifying information such as a Facebook page URL, Twitter user name, an email address, etc. so I can know who to contact. (FYI: Letting me know what your favorite blog post is without telling me why doesn’t count.)

3) Check back on July 11th (the one year anniversary) at 12pm (Eastern) where Taja Lindley and I will announce the contest results live via Twitter . The results will also be posted on my Facebook page and here on the blog.

Of course, I wouldn’t have a contest without having some prizes! I will be choosing 2 winners (Yes! There will be 2 winners) . The winners will each receive one piece of jewelry of their choosing from Luminary Sol, the summer 2012 collection from Colored Girls Hustle (up to a $45 dollar value).

Good luck! The contest ends July 11, 2012 at 11:30am Eastern.

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Ask Nicole: How Can We Create More Affirming Spaces for Women & Girls of Color?

Stepping Up: 10 Young Women of Color Making a Difference

Pay It Forward: 10 Women of Color Making the World a Better Place for Girls

We’re All In This Together: Women & Girls of Color Supporting Each Other

Participate in My 1 Year Blog Anniversary Contest! (CLOSED)

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