Our guest is Debbie Esparza. She is the CEO of YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix, is a lifelong advocate for women, girls, and people of color. With over 25 years of commitment to the YWCA's mission, she brings a diverse leadership perspective from banking, consulting, entrepreneurship, academia, and non-profit executive roles.
In the first half of the show, Debbie discusses the YWCA and their plight, as well as some recent challenges brought forth by the current political administration. She also discusses Women’s History Month and how communities can continue to highlight the accomplishments of women across the country.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/civiccipher?utm_source=search
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Broadcasting from the Hip Hop Weekly Studios. I'd like to
welcome you to another episode of Civic Cipher, where our
mission is to foster allyship empathy and understanding. I am
your host, Ramses Joah.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
He is Ramsey's Joh. I am q Ward. You are
tuned into Civic Cipher, Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
You are, and we want you to sit around today
because we have a very special guest in the studio
with us. She goes by the name of Debius Sparza.
She is the CEO of Metropolitan Phoenix Association of the YWCA,
as well as the first gay brown boomer CEO at
the YWCA. Love. I love that. I love that you're
(00:34):
so aware, self aware, but also you're just a fighter
and it's all me, it's all you, exactly authentically yourself.
I think that's that's probably the best way to say,
very much. Looking forward to the conversation we're going to
have for folks that don't know, and of course we're
going to let you get into the weeds and kind
of make everything as clear as possible for our listeners.
(00:54):
But many people are of course familiar with the YMCA
A you know, folks that have long memories and have
been around for a while, maybe a little longer in
the tooth know that that stands for Young Men's Christian
Association and the YWCA is kind of self explanatory at
(01:15):
this point, and we're going to have a conversation again
about what the organization stands for, what their pursuits are,
and we're also going to be discussing maybe some challenges
that they may have in this current political climate as
well as challenges in general. And for the most part,
we are going to give you the tools that you
(01:36):
may need to support them, either fiscally or on the
ground or whatever it is that you're able to do,
because this is an organization that we feel very, very
proud of and obviously we have the right person in
the studio to help us.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Out with that. Thank you so much, my friends for
having me here. I'm so excited. And it is YM
and yw are very different. In fact, our letters don't
stand for Young Women's Christian Association anymore. They're just the
letters because right now, not just right now, and we've
(02:11):
been around for about one hundred and sixty years nationally,
so we've been been around for a minute. But we
welcome all faiths and non faiths, exactly right. And we
don't just welcome young women, we welcome all women and
all gender identities. Right. We welcome anyone who will help
(02:33):
support our mission. And that missions I always say, it's
a nice, easy one. We'll be done very quickly. But
I'm joking. Our mission is to eliminate racism, empower women,
promote peace, justice, dignity and freedom for all. There is
no one excluded in the work that we do.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I love that. I love that, And to be honest
with you, I kind of knew that the White MCA
and the YWC had kind of changed their acronyms to
mean something more. And of course I'm grateful that you
went into the to the detail there because a lot
of people around the country who may not have been
as involved, maybe they were unaware of that change, and
(03:16):
it's good for folks to know that. So let's do
this while we're here. Do us a favor and talk
a little bit about your background, because it's always good
for our listeners to know who it is that they're
listening to and what gives you the authority or in
some instances, what gives you the right to tell me
what is what are the appropriate steps in terms of
(03:39):
you know, what my allyship should look like or whatever.
So thanking a bit about yourself. I came.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I came through this to this role in quite a
little journey. Probably spent about a dozen years in the
commercial banking industry. Got tired of that, very hierarchical, very patriarchal.
Then I went to graduate school, also patriarchal and hierarchical,
(04:05):
but spent some time there, probably ten years in academia
as a faculty member and a staff member at a
private university in Los Angeles. Men said, how come I'm
doing making money for other people. I started my own
consulting firm doing work with women and small businesses that
(04:25):
were run by people of color, and predominantly that happened
in Los Angeles after the civil disturbance in ninety two,
So really really rebuilding distance.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yeah I know, I was there, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Me too, and you know, just realizing how much work
there was with again, small businesses owned by people of
color and women. I didn't realize this was my calling,
but it's been showing up in my careers decades that
I like working with women, people of color, and the
(05:05):
LGBTQ community, So kind of weaving all of that through.
Who I've become is who I've always been. I just
didn't always embrace it. But then after that I took
some nonprofit role at the Girl Scouts, which was also
hierarchical and patriarchical. And now I'm at the YWCA. I've
(05:28):
been here for about little over six years. But way
back in my early thirties, I was on the national
board of the YWCA. So at an early age, I
realized that I could see the world through the lens
of race and gender if I really just focused right,
the things that happen in our world almost always impact
(05:51):
women and people of color differently and with more damage.
That's how I landed here, and I'm thrilled. Uh, you know,
don't tell my board that I wish, you know. I
can't believe I get paid to do what I love
and what what my calling is. And it's it's it
(06:14):
just lives in me. I mean at two am. That's
why I'm happy to say I'm a brown gay boomer,
right because it's it's all of me and I get
to I get to bring all of me to this
role and and that's that's a freedom I hadn't had
in much of my careers.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
I think your board is lucky to have someone that
loves you. You can you can hire and hiring and
paying someone that does the work that they're passionate about
and that they love doing what they do. I think
your board would be refreshed to hear that, and you know,
we'll you know, when we're off the air, make sure
we do some organizing to make sure you get it
(06:51):
raised when that's due. For those who are unfamiliar or uninformed,
what is the role of the y w C A.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
We are a social justice organization, right, so we're not
a charity. We don't consider ourselves a charity. We're really
about social justice, racial justice. Our role as we look
at nationally, they're about just under two hundred associations individual associations.
Each of us do different direct services in the community.
(07:22):
So a lot of more w's run domestic violence shelters
or childcare or workforce development. At our byw here in
Metro Phoenix we do food insecurity for older adults. So
again the focus in all of those direct services. People
(07:45):
need those direct services because there's the system is broken, right,
They're not getting access to food, to shelter, to safety,
and so yw's when you say our purpose or what's
our what's our role, It's to bridge those systems and
hopefully dismantle and repair them so that everyone gets access
(08:06):
to what they need and they can thrive. So big, big, big,
big hopes, big dreams, but it starts with some direct service.
You know, we feed one hundred thousand lunches a year,
but we also really know what's happening in these older
adults lives. We do financial education workshops and that bled
(08:29):
right into doing mindfulness workshops because if you're stressed out
about money and you got kids in a family, you're
probably not taking care of your whole self. And so
it just goes, it just weaves through. So we do
whatever the community needs us to do.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Sure, sure, I appreciate how you said that when things happen,
negative things happen, they have a tendency to affect certain
communities differently. And you know, the WCA seeks to meet
women where they are and provide all different types of
(09:08):
support services, specifically for women that I guess the mainstream
in terms of the culture. It might be things that
a person would overlook because when you think of a
domestic violent shelter and why those are necessary, and who
is going to benefit from domestic violent shelter and the
role of a domestic violent shelter in society. That's something
(09:33):
that a person like me, It doesn't enter into my
mind as often as it probably should, because that's obviously
something that affects my sisters that I share this time
and this space on this planet. But to know that
your organization pays attention to that recognizes that women have
(09:53):
a certain attachment to the family that might be different
in nature from a man's attachment to a family and
to children, and meets those women where they are. That's
something that that feels very special. And to have people
that pay particular attention to those shortcomings or the shortcomings
in in the larger systems that are kind of framing
(10:13):
society is absolutely critical. Now we're at a point, uh,
politically speaking, where you know there are a lot of
changes happening right now in real time. Talk about some
of the uh, some of the ways that the y
(10:35):
w c A might be affected, or some of the
how the mission statement of the y w c A
is being and can continually be impacted by this current
administration's approach to Yer.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Yeah, thanks for that. Uh, I'm gonna take a deep
breath for a seconds. It so I didn't mention a
moment ago. I'm also on the national board again, and
I get to see uh, some of the impact from
a national level as well as from my own association level.
(11:12):
What I've told my team and I've got the the
the backing of my board, like we are not gonna
yield to the chaos and we are not gonna quiver
in fear. You know, when when that first memo came out,
I said, keep doing the work. And then my major funder,
who's a federally funded pass through sent uh an email
(11:35):
saying keep doing the work. And then my board emailed
me and said keep doing the work. So we're gonna
keep doing the work, even though the the reality is,
you know, we could be threatened with you know, a
little over a half a million dollars in federal funds,
because there's not a way for me to not be
who we are. M right, even though we don't always
(11:57):
use the words DEI, right because because we talk about
systemic racism, that's that's different than DEI because it's it's
really underneath all the reasons why people created DEI programs, right,
and we see many of them rolling them back now, right,
(12:19):
But we're we're not going to roll back our mission.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
And we're we we know nationally we're on some lists
and targets, you know, but we're gonna stand solid in
in who we are. And you know, I'm on the
trail right now trying to find alternative sources of funding
to keep my team in place, to keep our seniors fed,
to keep our workshops in place, and do the good
(12:46):
work so that I don't have to be threatened by
changes in federal funding. It's a big deal, right, I'm
saying it kind of cool, but I mean, you know,
it brings tears.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Yeah, the powers that be have done a masterful job
at dividing marginalized communities, eliminating that solidarity that we need.
Is how they remain in power and how they, you know,
seemingly keep the perpetual upper hand. Talk to us a
little bit about the intersection between social justice and women's
(13:27):
justice and all of these intersections between all these communities
that need each other and are facing the same plights
and the same oppressive systems, and about how that plays
out in real life for you day to day.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Yeah, and then and thank you for that. That's too
why I often lead with, you know, brown gay boomer.
I got all those things, all those intersections, and there's
I'm not the only one. And I don't say I'm
a woman, but it's clear I'm a woman, even though
I use gay instead of lesbian. I don't know why I.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Do that, huh.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
But anyway, the intersections are all very real and you're
absolutely right, I believe right now. And it's not Pollyanna.
I'm not being you know, blindly optimistic, but I think
we must stay together and hold on to that love
and that light.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Uh my. My organization opened the year with a postcard
with Martin Luther King Junior's quote. You know, darkness cannot
drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot
drive out hate. Only love can do that. And so
I'm standing in the love and the light, welcoming whoever
wants to link arms with us so that we can
(14:42):
stand stronger. And you know, I heard myself say the
other day, I want to stand solid in my solidarity, right.
I don't want to, I don't want a waiver. I
don't want to. I don't want to say oh but no,
not them, right, it's for all. Our mission ends with
for all. So I'm again, I get I get worked up,
(15:04):
and uh, I think I answered the question. It's all,
it's all, it's all in there.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, yeah, no, I got you. Let me tell you
this just while you're here, because we know that there's
a lot of people that are having a hard time,
you know, at present, because there's a lot of changes
taking place nationally. But for what it's worth, uh, you know,
you have two brothers here, and you know i Q
is the one and the two. And you know, my
(15:32):
my heart doesn't know how big my body is. And
I got no quit in me and I got no
cowardice in me, and so you know you got two
brothers with you. So please stay strong, please stay on
your journey, and when you need support, you come right
here and let us know, and we'll share this platform
with you. There's a there's people all over the country
that are willing to support not only uh, what it
(15:54):
is that you're doing specifically and what the y w
c A is doing nationally, but in their own local
communities and that that's an excellent way to kind of pivot.
So let's talk to the listener who is in New
York City. Let's talk to the listener in Miami, in
Houston and Atlanta, Let's talk to the people in Tupelo, Mississippi.
What is it that they can do? You know, I
(16:14):
suppose now that I'm thinking about it, maybe there are
you know, branches all over the country. But you know,
what is it that they can do that to impact
and to support the plight of the YWCA.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
I think, well, I'll give a shameless plug. Our national
website is YWCA dot org. And on that website, your listeners,
our listeners can go and find a y w c
A in their community and either give or volunteer or
support a program or even make a referral to people
(16:46):
that need these services, because again they're different in each community. Okay,
So that's a great way for everyone to see all
the options. Other simple things are you know, we were
saying this a lot before, but be informed and vote,
(17:06):
you know, be informed and vote, and you know, tell
the story right, because a lot of what I'm seeing now,
particularly one of the reasons why I put boomer in
my in my title, if you will, is It's clear
to me that many young people don't understand what some
(17:28):
of us have been through. They've only seen one Republican candidate,
if they're in their millennial stage, right, they've they've seen
different Democratic candidates and different seats in the House, in
the Senate, you know, get get changed. But the fact
(17:52):
that Stonewall was a was a riot, right, it was.
It was a protest.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Right.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Some of my younger LGBTQ friends, who I love the
fact that they're open and aware and are living their
life fully at a much younger age than I ever could,
they don't understand sometimes what had to happen for that
to be like that. Same with some of our women
and the women in history who've worked so hard and
(18:20):
done so many things, move mountains so that I have
the pleasure of having this job a job, right, I
don't need a husband or somebody to take care of
me or to give me permission to open a bank
account and things like that. So it's that multi generational
aspect right now as well.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
It's sometimes hard to narrow conversations like this into single
line questions because the more she speaks, the more my
minds it first understands how necessary she is, and how
necessary the work that you all do is, and how
much stuff we need. Right, there's not She didn't just
(19:03):
give us a singular.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Vision where this is just our we do this one.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Our umbrella mission. You know, every kind of branch having
a different area where they have to focus their efforts
and their attention. Again, just reminds me how much we
need each other. And I wish that each other word
was just more prevalent. Man the solidarity, if the solidarity
was present. If the solidarity was present, we'd be so
(19:29):
much more mighty. Speaking of solidarity. February Black History Month,
even if the powers that be want to tell us
that it's not March Women's History Month, Yes, talk to
us about it. How do we get involved, how do
we spread the word, What types of things are going on?
How do we show up for our sisters? Often felt
(19:52):
like we don't do enough?
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Well, thanks for that, and let me let me assure
you that you do plenty. I know you do, because
I can see your hearts right, and your hearts are
in it. We call it at my association, we actually
call it women's empowerment monks, because we're not just looking
backwards at history we're working looking forward at all the
young women coming up and and and that's exciting, you know,
(20:17):
really holding it in the present and looking forward. Right.
We you know, just about every YW I don't know
if they all do it in March, but there's there's
parties going on all around. Right. I'm we're going to
celebrate in March at our big event, and none of
this is going to slow us down. Right, We're celebrating
(20:40):
the women of this community. Almost most associations celebrate women
in their communities, and oftentimes they're unsung heroes, women that
have been behind the scenes and doing the work for
years but no one. They don't have a big title
or they don't have a big job, but they're doing
the work. So that's how we're gonna do it. We're
(21:02):
gonna have a party at the end of the month. Uh,
We'll be speaking all around town in different venues and
workshops and activities and just sharing the the woman joy.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
And I'm sure that's that's true like nationally as well.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah, my friend and colleague Genevieve give her a little
plug here. Last year she coined award. Instead of saying
manifest she calls it Womanfest. So we're gonna woman We're
gonna woman fest a future that is brilliant and bright.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
I like that. I like that. Okay, all right, well,
you know what that feels particularly special because you know,
as you mentioned earlier, there are some some issues that
affect you know, women differently, and the fact that this organization,
the y w c A, obviously having a national footprint,
is able to impact you know, the live of women
(22:00):
who are dealing with different factors in ways that I
guess really the power structures that exist will overlook just
by design, things like you know, housing, things like healthcare,
things like employment, things like education, and again, how they
affect women differently is something that you know, your organization
(22:24):
steps into to try to fill those gaps. And you
know you've mentioned earlier too that it looks different depending
on where you go in the country. You know, you
mentioned that your specific branch will you know, ensure that
seniors have the care that they need, but perhaps elsewhere
they're dealing with perhaps things like team pregnancies, or they're
dealing with you know, housing inequalities, or you know, whatever
(22:45):
the case is. And so you know, we salute you,
we commend you, and we'd love for you to stick
around for the second part of the show until we
can get further into the weeds there
Broadcasting from the Hip Hop Weekly Studios. I'd like to
welcome you to another episode of Civic Cipher, where our
mission is to foster allyship empathy and understanding. I am
your host, Ramses Joah.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
He is Ramsey's Joh. I am q Ward. You are
tuned into Civic Cipher, Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
You are, and we want you to sit around today
because we have a very special guest in the studio
with us. She goes by the name of Debius Sparza.
She is the CEO of Metropolitan Phoenix Association of the YWCA,
as well as the first gay brown boomer CEO at
the YWCA. Love. I love that. I love that you're
(00:34):
so aware, self aware, but also you're just a fighter
and it's all me, it's all you, exactly authentically yourself.
I think that's that's probably the best way to say,
very much. Looking forward to the conversation we're going to
have for folks that don't know, and of course we're
going to let you get into the weeds and kind
of make everything as clear as possible for our listeners.
(00:54):
But many people are of course familiar with the YMCA
A you know, folks that have long memories and have
been around for a while, maybe a little longer in
the tooth know that that stands for Young Men's Christian
Association and the YWCA is kind of self explanatory at
(01:15):
this point, and we're going to have a conversation again
about what the organization stands for, what their pursuits are,
and we're also going to be discussing maybe some challenges
that they may have in this current political climate as
well as challenges in general. And for the most part,
we are going to give you the tools that you
(01:36):
may need to support them, either fiscally or on the
ground or whatever it is that you're able to do,
because this is an organization that we feel very, very
proud of and obviously we have the right person in
the studio to help us.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Out with that. Thank you so much, my friends for
having me here. I'm so excited. And it is YM
and yw are very different. In fact, our letters don't
stand for Young Women's Christian Association anymore. They're just the
letters because right now, not just right now, and we've
(02:11):
been around for about one hundred and sixty years nationally,
so we've been been around for a minute. But we
welcome all faiths and non faiths, exactly right. And we
don't just welcome young women, we welcome all women and
all gender identities. Right. We welcome anyone who will help
(02:33):
support our mission. And that missions I always say, it's
a nice, easy one. We'll be done very quickly. But
I'm joking. Our mission is to eliminate racism, empower women,
promote peace, justice, dignity and freedom for all. There is
no one excluded in the work that we do.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I love that. I love that, And to be honest
with you, I kind of knew that the White MCA
and the YWC had kind of changed their acronyms to
mean something more. And of course I'm grateful that you
went into the to the detail there because a lot
of people around the country who may not have been
as involved, maybe they were unaware of that change, and
(03:16):
it's good for folks to know that. So let's do
this while we're here. Do us a favor and talk
a little bit about your background, because it's always good
for our listeners to know who it is that they're
listening to and what gives you the authority or in
some instances, what gives you the right to tell me
what is what are the appropriate steps in terms of
(03:39):
you know, what my allyship should look like or whatever.
So thanking a bit about yourself. I came.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I came through this to this role in quite a
little journey. Probably spent about a dozen years in the
commercial banking industry. Got tired of that, very hierarchical, very patriarchal.
Then I went to graduate school, also patriarchal and hierarchical,
(04:05):
but spent some time there, probably ten years in academia
as a faculty member and a staff member at a
private university in Los Angeles. Men said, how come I'm
doing making money for other people. I started my own
consulting firm doing work with women and small businesses that
(04:25):
were run by people of color, and predominantly that happened
in Los Angeles after the civil disturbance in ninety two,
So really really rebuilding distance.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yeah I know, I was there, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Me too, and you know, just realizing how much work
there was with again, small businesses owned by people of
color and women. I didn't realize this was my calling,
but it's been showing up in my careers decades that
I like working with women, people of color, and the
(05:05):
LGBTQ community, So kind of weaving all of that through.
Who I've become is who I've always been. I just
didn't always embrace it. But then after that I took
some nonprofit role at the Girl Scouts, which was also
hierarchical and patriarchical. And now I'm at the YWCA. I've
(05:28):
been here for about little over six years. But way
back in my early thirties, I was on the national
board of the YWCA. So at an early age, I
realized that I could see the world through the lens
of race and gender if I really just focused right,
the things that happen in our world almost always impact
(05:51):
women and people of color differently and with more damage.
That's how I landed here, and I'm thrilled. Uh, you know,
don't tell my board that I wish, you know. I
can't believe I get paid to do what I love
and what what my calling is. And it's it's it
(06:14):
just lives in me. I mean at two am. That's
why I'm happy to say I'm a brown gay boomer,
right because it's it's all of me and I get
to I get to bring all of me to this
role and and that's that's a freedom I hadn't had
in much of my careers.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
I think your board is lucky to have someone that
loves you. You can you can hire and hiring and
paying someone that does the work that they're passionate about
and that they love doing what they do. I think
your board would be refreshed to hear that, and you know,
we'll you know, when we're off the air, make sure
we do some organizing to make sure you get it
(06:51):
raised when that's due. For those who are unfamiliar or uninformed,
what is the role of the y w C A.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
We are a social justice organization, right, so we're not
a charity. We don't consider ourselves a charity. We're really
about social justice, racial justice. Our role as we look
at nationally, they're about just under two hundred associations individual associations.
Each of us do different direct services in the community.
(07:22):
So a lot of more w's run domestic violence shelters
or childcare or workforce development. At our byw here in
Metro Phoenix we do food insecurity for older adults. So
again the focus in all of those direct services. People
(07:45):
need those direct services because there's the system is broken, right,
They're not getting access to food, to shelter, to safety,
and so yw's when you say our purpose or what's
our what's our role, It's to bridge those systems and
hopefully dismantle and repair them so that everyone gets access
(08:06):
to what they need and they can thrive. So big, big, big,
big hopes, big dreams, but it starts with some direct service.
You know, we feed one hundred thousand lunches a year,
but we also really know what's happening in these older
adults lives. We do financial education workshops and that bled
(08:29):
right into doing mindfulness workshops because if you're stressed out
about money and you got kids in a family, you're
probably not taking care of your whole self. And so
it just goes, it just weaves through. So we do
whatever the community needs us to do.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Sure, sure, I appreciate how you said that when things happen,
negative things happen, they have a tendency to affect certain
communities differently. And you know, the WCA seeks to meet
women where they are and provide all different types of
(09:08):
support services, specifically for women that I guess the mainstream
in terms of the culture. It might be things that
a person would overlook because when you think of a
domestic violent shelter and why those are necessary, and who
is going to benefit from domestic violent shelter and the
role of a domestic violent shelter in society. That's something
(09:33):
that a person like me, It doesn't enter into my
mind as often as it probably should, because that's obviously
something that affects my sisters that I share this time
and this space on this planet. But to know that
your organization pays attention to that recognizes that women have
(09:53):
a certain attachment to the family that might be different
in nature from a man's attachment to a family and
to children, and meets those women where they are. That's
something that that feels very special. And to have people
that pay particular attention to those shortcomings or the shortcomings
in in the larger systems that are kind of framing
(10:13):
society is absolutely critical. Now we're at a point, uh,
politically speaking, where you know there are a lot of
changes happening right now in real time. Talk about some
of the uh, some of the ways that the y
(10:35):
w c A might be affected, or some of the
how the mission statement of the y w c A
is being and can continually be impacted by this current
administration's approach to Yer.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Yeah, thanks for that. Uh, I'm gonna take a deep
breath for a seconds. It so I didn't mention a
moment ago. I'm also on the national board again, and
I get to see uh, some of the impact from
a national level as well as from my own association level.
(11:12):
What I've told my team and I've got the the
the backing of my board, like we are not gonna
yield to the chaos and we are not gonna quiver
in fear. You know, when when that first memo came out,
I said, keep doing the work. And then my major funder,
who's a federally funded pass through sent uh an email
(11:35):
saying keep doing the work. And then my board emailed
me and said keep doing the work. So we're gonna
keep doing the work, even though the the reality is,
you know, we could be threatened with you know, a
little over a half a million dollars in federal funds,
because there's not a way for me to not be
who we are. M right, even though we don't always
(11:57):
use the words DEI, right because because we talk about
systemic racism, that's that's different than DEI because it's it's
really underneath all the reasons why people created DEI programs, right,
and we see many of them rolling them back now, right,
(12:19):
But we're we're not going to roll back our mission.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
And we're we we know nationally we're on some lists
and targets, you know, but we're gonna stand solid in
in who we are. And you know, I'm on the
trail right now trying to find alternative sources of funding
to keep my team in place, to keep our seniors fed,
to keep our workshops in place, and do the good
(12:46):
work so that I don't have to be threatened by
changes in federal funding. It's a big deal, right, I'm
saying it kind of cool, but I mean, you know,
it brings tears.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Yeah, the powers that be have done a masterful job
at dividing marginalized communities, eliminating that solidarity that we need.
Is how they remain in power and how they, you know,
seemingly keep the perpetual upper hand. Talk to us a
little bit about the intersection between social justice and women's
(13:27):
justice and all of these intersections between all these communities
that need each other and are facing the same plights
and the same oppressive systems, and about how that plays
out in real life for you day to day.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Yeah, and then and thank you for that. That's too
why I often lead with, you know, brown gay boomer.
I got all those things, all those intersections, and there's
I'm not the only one. And I don't say I'm
a woman, but it's clear I'm a woman, even though
I use gay instead of lesbian. I don't know why I.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Do that, huh.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
But anyway, the intersections are all very real and you're
absolutely right, I believe right now. And it's not Pollyanna.
I'm not being you know, blindly optimistic, but I think
we must stay together and hold on to that love
and that light.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Uh my. My organization opened the year with a postcard
with Martin Luther King Junior's quote. You know, darkness cannot
drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot
drive out hate. Only love can do that. And so
I'm standing in the love and the light, welcoming whoever
wants to link arms with us so that we can
(14:42):
stand stronger. And you know, I heard myself say the
other day, I want to stand solid in my solidarity, right.
I don't want to, I don't want a waiver. I
don't want to. I don't want to say oh but no,
not them, right, it's for all. Our mission ends with
for all. So I'm again, I get I get worked up,
(15:04):
and uh, I think I answered the question. It's all,
it's all, it's all in there.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, yeah, no, I got you. Let me tell you
this just while you're here, because we know that there's
a lot of people that are having a hard time,
you know, at present, because there's a lot of changes
taking place nationally. But for what it's worth, uh, you know,
you have two brothers here, and you know i Q
is the one and the two. And you know, my
(15:32):
my heart doesn't know how big my body is. And
I got no quit in me and I got no
cowardice in me, and so you know you got two
brothers with you. So please stay strong, please stay on
your journey, and when you need support, you come right
here and let us know, and we'll share this platform
with you. There's a there's people all over the country
that are willing to support not only uh, what it
(15:54):
is that you're doing specifically and what the y w
c A is doing nationally, but in their own local
communities and that that's an excellent way to kind of pivot.
So let's talk to the listener who is in New
York City. Let's talk to the listener in Miami, in
Houston and Atlanta, Let's talk to the people in Tupelo, Mississippi.
What is it that they can do? You know, I
(16:14):
suppose now that I'm thinking about it, maybe there are
you know, branches all over the country. But you know,
what is it that they can do that to impact
and to support the plight of the YWCA.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
I think, well, I'll give a shameless plug. Our national
website is YWCA dot org. And on that website, your listeners,
our listeners can go and find a y w c
A in their community and either give or volunteer or
support a program or even make a referral to people
(16:46):
that need these services, because again they're different in each community. Okay,
So that's a great way for everyone to see all
the options. Other simple things are you know, we were
saying this a lot before, but be informed and vote,
(17:06):
you know, be informed and vote, and you know, tell
the story right, because a lot of what I'm seeing now,
particularly one of the reasons why I put boomer in
my in my title, if you will, is It's clear
to me that many young people don't understand what some
(17:28):
of us have been through. They've only seen one Republican candidate,
if they're in their millennial stage, right, they've they've seen
different Democratic candidates and different seats in the House, in
the Senate, you know, get get changed. But the fact
(17:52):
that Stonewall was a was a riot, right, it was.
It was a protest.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Right.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Some of my younger LGBTQ friends, who I love the
fact that they're open and aware and are living their
life fully at a much younger age than I ever could,
they don't understand sometimes what had to happen for that
to be like that. Same with some of our women
and the women in history who've worked so hard and
(18:20):
done so many things, move mountains so that I have
the pleasure of having this job a job, right, I
don't need a husband or somebody to take care of
me or to give me permission to open a bank
account and things like that. So it's that multi generational
aspect right now as well.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
It's sometimes hard to narrow conversations like this into single
line questions because the more she speaks, the more my
minds it first understands how necessary she is, and how
necessary the work that you all do is, and how
much stuff we need. Right, there's not She didn't just
(19:03):
give us a singular.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Vision where this is just our we do this one.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Our umbrella mission. You know, every kind of branch having
a different area where they have to focus their efforts
and their attention. Again, just reminds me how much we
need each other. And I wish that each other word
was just more prevalent. Man the solidarity, if the solidarity
was present. If the solidarity was present, we'd be so
(19:29):
much more mighty. Speaking of solidarity. February Black History Month,
even if the powers that be want to tell us
that it's not March Women's History Month, Yes, talk to
us about it. How do we get involved, how do
we spread the word, What types of things are going on?
How do we show up for our sisters? Often felt
(19:52):
like we don't do enough?
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Well, thanks for that, and let me let me assure
you that you do plenty. I know you do, because
I can see your hearts right, and your hearts are
in it. We call it at my association, we actually
call it women's empowerment monks, because we're not just looking
backwards at history we're working looking forward at all the
young women coming up and and and that's exciting, you know,
(20:17):
really holding it in the present and looking forward. Right.
We you know, just about every YW I don't know
if they all do it in March, but there's there's
parties going on all around. Right. I'm we're going to
celebrate in March at our big event, and none of
this is going to slow us down. Right, We're celebrating
(20:40):
the women of this community. Almost most associations celebrate women
in their communities, and oftentimes they're unsung heroes, women that
have been behind the scenes and doing the work for
years but no one. They don't have a big title
or they don't have a big job, but they're doing
the work. So that's how we're gonna do it. We're
(21:02):
gonna have a party at the end of the month. Uh,
We'll be speaking all around town in different venues and
workshops and activities and just sharing the the woman joy.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
And I'm sure that's that's true like nationally as well.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah, my friend and colleague Genevieve give her a little
plug here. Last year she coined award. Instead of saying
manifest she calls it Womanfest. So we're gonna woman We're
gonna woman fest a future that is brilliant and bright.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
I like that. I like that. Okay, all right, well,
you know what that feels particularly special because you know,
as you mentioned earlier, there are some some issues that
affect you know, women differently, and the fact that this organization,
the y w c A, obviously having a national footprint,
is able to impact you know, the live of women
(22:00):
who are dealing with different factors in ways that I
guess really the power structures that exist will overlook just
by design, things like you know, housing, things like healthcare,
things like employment, things like education, and again, how they
affect women differently is something that you know, your organization
(22:24):
steps into to try to fill those gaps. And you
know you've mentioned earlier too that it looks different depending
on where you go in the country. You know, you
mentioned that your specific branch will you know, ensure that
seniors have the care that they need, but perhaps elsewhere
they're dealing with perhaps things like team pregnancies, or they're
dealing with you know, housing inequalities, or you know, whatever
(22:45):
the case is. And so you know, we salute you,
we commend you, and we'd love for you to stick
around for the second part of the show until we
can get further into the weeds there
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