17 May, 2017

Change The Narrative: Focusing on the Strengths of Young Women of Color

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T19:33:52-04:00May 17th, 2017|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: Equity, Youth|0 Comments

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Over a year ago, I was invited to join a New York City-based initiative to provide recommendations on improving the health and lived experiences of New York City young women of color. In one of our first meetings, we were asked to identify the struggles that young women of color face in the city. With flip chart papers labeled as “reproductive health”, “education”, “access to physical exercise”, and others, we divided into groups and developed lists of things we felt were impacting young women of color negatively.

When we were done, each flip chart was filled to capacity. It seemed good because we were able to identify so much that we can pull from related to providing recommendations to the city. But as I looked around the room at the other flip charts, I felt incredibly drained. “What are the solutions to all of this?” I asked myself.

I’m glad I wasn’t alone in my concerns, because another person in the room made a crucial observation: First, we were a room full of adults, and while we may work with (or do research on) young women of color and have a pulse on what the issues may be, we’re nowhere near being youth. Second:

There's danger in focusing solely on what's wrong with young women of color. This leads to fear-based solutions. Click To Tweet

It’s draining to focus on what’s wrong, especially when those problems are highlighted within your communities or within the communities you serve or ally with.

This isn’t to say that we should turn a blind eye to the challenges facing our communities. But what if there’s a better way?

What if we identified not only the problems, but the ways in which young women of color show resiliency? What if we asked young women of color to show us what the solutions are?

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12 Apr, 2017

Try This: The Knowledge-Power Chart

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T19:31:34-04:00April 12th, 2017|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: Equity, Try This|0 Comments

This past weekend, I presented two workshops at the Civil Liberties and Public Policy (CLPP) conference, an annual Reproductive Justice conference held on the campus of Hampshire College. Outside of presenting my workshops, reconnecting with friends, and networking, I didn’t have much time for anything else. But I was able to attend one workshop, facilitated by Sahar Pirzada and Sadia Arshad of HEART Women & Girls, a national organization that promotes sexual health and sexual violence awareness in Muslim communities through health education, advocacy, research and training.

In “Muslim and Reproductive Justice: Empowering Our Community through Dismantling Stereotypes”, Sahar and Sadia used the RJ framework to make the connection between how stereotypes influence the lived experiences of Muslims. One exercise they led the group through, called the Knowledge Power Chart, was so informative that I couldn’t wait to share it. The goal of this exercise is the have participants examine how we understand the world, how our understanding of the world impacts our behaviors and the policies we create, and the real world impact these policies can have on our communities.

Here’s what you need:

A large space to write on, such as a chalkboard, whiteboard, or flip chart paper
Something to write with, such as chalk or markers (erasable, if you’re using a whiteboard)

The steps:

Divide up your writing space into three sections and label them like this:

Under the Knowledge column, guide the participants in naming the stereotypes they have heard about a certain group. Next, have participants name the policies they are aware of that are associated with this group under the Policies column. Last, have participants list the consequences that behaviors listed under the Policies column can impact that group.

Here’s an example:

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29 Mar, 2017

What Does Reproductive Justice Look Like in Your Community?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T19:30:11-04:00March 29th, 2017|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: reproductive justice|0 Comments

I recently shared in this infographic some background information on people who filled out my Reproductive Justice training/toolkit survey, particularly what they struggle with related to integrating RJ in their programs, services, and community campaigns.

Today, let’s take a look some additional information that uncovers insight into what’s important to people in embracing RJ.

In the infographic I shared the various identities of the respondents (students, nonprofit professionals, community volunteers, etc.), but what I didn’t share was where respondents were located.

Out of 77 respondents,

The majority (77%) live in the Northeast region of the United States (New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, etc.)
Ten percent live in the Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, etc.)
Six percent live on the West Coast or in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, California, Washington, etc.)
Five percent live in the Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, etc.)
Two percent live in the Southwest (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, etc.)

This information is important because it highlights a key component in developing a program or service: Where you are plays a vital role in how successful and adaptable a program, service, or campaign will be. Success is subjective, but being able to create a program, service or campaign that can be easily adaptable to the community it’s placed in is important.

I’ve lived in New York City since 2008. I’m originally from Georgia. When it comes to real estate, the job market, social services and more, New York and Georgia are two totally different worlds. Making $100,000 a year in Georgia looks completely different from making that annual income in New York. Likewise, getting funding for programs and services may look differently in New York compared to Georgia. More importantly, what prevents a community from fully achieving Reproductive Justice is dependent on where that community is located. While some things may be similar, there are aspects unique to a community, city, or state that can add to or detract from achieving Reproductive Justice.

Let’s take a look at some of the responses to the question “In your opinion, what barriers do you/your community face in achieving Reproductive Justice?”, broken down by region:

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15 Mar, 2017

Reproductive Justice: Your Struggles, Your Recommendations [INFOGRAPHIC]

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T19:28:44-04:00March 15th, 2017|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: program evaluation, reproductive justice, Research|0 Comments

One of my projects for 2017 is the creation of a training series that aligns my business’ primary offerings: program design, program evaluation, and Reproductive Justice.

My original idea was to create a product or service that helps nonprofits evaluate their programming based on the RJ framework, based on my training as an evaluator with knowledge on different types of evaluative theories that I feel best align with Reproductive Justice.

My focus shifted largely based on my experiences with current and past clients. They shared that while they embrace Reproductive Justice, some weren’t sure how they could implement the framework in their workplace, on campus, or in their community settings. Some of their concerns included a lack of overall knowledge around RJ, an inability to explain what the framework is to various audiences, not being in positions of influence where they have the authority to include the framework in their programming and activities, or they see how RJ could fit within the context of their current work (even though the desire is there).

Plus, for a long time I’ve been hired to work with clients in a very siloed way, where they originally work with me in one way, and would rehire me because they see that they can benefit from one of my other offerings. I wanted to create a way to marry program design, program evaluation, and Reproductive Justice, and for it to be useful for clients, community members, students, human service providers, educators, activists, government agencies, and whoever else wants to see Reproductive Justice within the context of design thinking and evaluation theory. In essence, this training and toolkit is my way of intentionally shifting toward teaching and educating the value of design thinking and evaluation (along with Reproductive Justice) so that it becomes more engaging.

In order for make sure this training and toolkit will be useful, I conducted a survey to see what are current struggles folks are facing with Reproductive Justice, how they create programs, services and campaigns (and what are the driving factors behind why these programs, services and campaigns exist), and how they gather feedback that shows the impact of their work on the communities they care about. Using Piktochart, I created an infographic below that shares some of the highlights.

For now, this project is called the “Reproductive Justice Training & Toolkit”. When it launches (which is expected to be in early Summer 2017), it’ll have a catchier title. While the survey is closed, you can still share how this training and toolkit can help you. Email me at contact[at]nicoleclarkconsulting[dot]com and we’ll set up a time to chat.

And now, let’s take a look at the infographic:

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18 Jan, 2017

Why Are You Marching?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T19:02:46-04:00January 18th, 2017|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: protests, reproductive justice|0 Comments

“Few times in a nation’s history is the conscience of its citizens shocked and awakened – across racial, economic, generational and even ideological – lines. Times when the collective consciousness of a people screams – and demands without apology – that it’s time for a change, that things must be different and that it must start today.” ~ Marc H. Morial, “When People Ask: Why Do We March?”

If you’re like me, you’re still going through the 7 stages of grief to process the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election. For many people who share my political views, there was a sadness in the air, unlike any other period I’ve witness before the days, weeks, and month after a presidential election. It feels like the progress the United States has made towards more inclusiveness is tumbling down before our eyes, and the fact that this week started with the observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and ending with the presidential inauguration of the most unlikeliest and most unqualified person to take the position is a hard pill to swallow.

And if you’re also like me, your inbox is filled with messages from local and national organizations who plan to be at The Women’s March, scheduled for Saturday, January 21st, 2017 in Washington, DC, and in many cities nationally and overseas. The fact that 200 buses have applied for parking for the Inauguration ceremony on Saturday, but over 1200 buses applied for parking the next day for the March (in addition to over 600 Marches happening simultaneously) is an indicator that this weekend is going to memorable.

While the March itself isn’t exclusively focusing on reproductive health, rights, and justice, it’s important to remember that the day after The Women’s March, January 22nd, marks the 44th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade (1973), which made abortion legal in the United States. According to a newly released report from the Guttmacher Institute, the U.S. abortion rate hit an historic low in 2014. Some factors include better access to birth control methods and a push for comprehensive sex education, but when states have enacted 231 abortion restrictions since 2010 , the fate of the Affordable Care Act hanging in the balance, and Planned Parenthood gearing up for another government showdown, there’s a lot to be raising our voices for.

But if you’re definitely like me, you probably debated if you actually want to go. The inauguration is on Friday, and the March is the next day, so what would be the point? When I signed up to take one of the buses down to DC, I still was undecided. When I began to hear rumblings about the March, I saw what other women and girls of color saw: a major lack of intersectionality. I didn’t want to attend a March in New York City, let alone DC, if the interests of people who look like me were not going to be centered.

(And the fact that it was initially called the Million Women March? Really?)

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Change The Narrative: Focusing on the Strengths of Young Women of Color

There's danger in focusing solely on what's wrong with young women of color. This leads to fear-based solutions. Click To Tweet

Try This: The Knowledge-Power Chart

Here’s what you need:

The steps:

Here’s an example:

What Does Reproductive Justice Look Like in Your Community?

Reproductive Justice: Your Struggles, Your Recommendations [INFOGRAPHIC]

And now, let’s take a look at the infographic:

Why Are You Marching?

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