SDL’s Anti-TERF Stance

Trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) ideology threatens our feminism, puts trans and non-binary people in danger, and makes our collective liberation impossible. As a Black, Indigenous, and womxn of color collective, Sister Diaspora for Liberation publicly denounces trans-exclusionary movements and people who support them. 

For SDL, exclusive and radical cancel each other out. There is nothing radical about exclusion. Movements can’t call themselves feminists and be anti-trans because they’re holding up patriarchal definitions of gender and sex. 

Patriarchal systems are upheld by a gender binary. They are upheld by reducing womxn to the use of their reproductive organs and the control of their bodies. Is being a womxn about what we wear? Is it about whether or not we can produce children? Is it about the roles we are supposed to play or who we have sex with? Most feminists in TERF groups would disagree with these statements. If we went by the constructs exclusionists have we would only be playing into misogyny and the limitations these systems have tried to push onto us for hundreds of years. The very notion of trans-exclusion reinforces systems of patriarchy and oppression of womxn as it focuses on policing gender and sex.

TERF ideology is transmisogyny as it mostly targets trans womxn and transfeminine people. TERF ideology believes trans womxn should be excluded from womxn-only spaces because they aren’t “biologically female” and therefore don’t experience “sex-based” oppression. This idea that those assigned female at birth all experience gendered oppression does not take into account different experiences in gender such as race, class, sexuality, disability, and more. Womxn’s oppression can’t be reduced to only specific anatomical elements.

Trans women and transfeminine people face higher rates of violence, homelessness, poverty, sexual assault, and healthcare discrimination.TERF ideology contributes to this by pushing for “sex-segregated” spaces. SDL does not sex-segregate. All of our Black, Indigenous, and  Womxn of color spaces are open to trans womxn, transfeminine people, and non-binary people. SDL believes groups and places that require invasive policing of womxn’s bodies, both to cisgender and trans people, are anti-feminist and violent.

Similarly to how white supremacy needs to be dismantled by white people, transphobia needs to be dismantled by cisgender folks. Dismantling systems of oppression should be the work of those who have benefited from it. To create room for the healing of those that have been harmed by them.

SDL is a trans inclusive collective who commits to the following: 

• Centering the voices of trans womxn and transfeminine people 
• Taking on the labor on trans womxn’s issues 
• Collectively educating one another and unlearning gendered biases
• Acknowledging that not all womxn share any given biological/anatomical trait or experience and understanding that the “sex binary” is a product of colonialism created to oppress trans, queer, gender-non-conforming people, people of color, and womxn. 
• Actively rejecting TERF ideology.

As a collective comprised of womxn from all different identities and backgrounds, we know deeply that we all have different experiences of womxnhood- there is no singular definition of what it means to be a womxn and we are all the more stronger when we acknowledge these differences, when we embrace them, and use them to build power to liberate us all and leave no one behind. The liberation of our trans sisters means liberation for us all- there is nothing more feminist than rejecting the notion that the bodies we were born into dictate who we have to be.

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Sister Diaspora for Liberation joins almost 70 organizations and family members of those murdered by the police to demand a complete change to the NYPD “discipline matrix” – a publicly available framework for disciplinary penalties and factors the NYPD considers for different types of police misconduct and rule-breaking.

This matrix just serves as a roadmap for NYPD to continue their violent actions without accountability. Instead, the matrix outlines a myriad of loopholes and justifications to protect officers. In short: “NYPD officers who engage in police violence, refuse to intervene or report when they witness other officers engage in misconduct, don’t follow the law, or engage in other abusive misconduct – should be fired. It’s that simple.” 

Read the full letter here (input hyperlink) https://www.changethenypd.org/sites/default/files/cpr_families_organizations_letter_on_nypd_discipline_matrix_9-30-2020_final.pdf

Make your public comments here to the city and NYPD and let them know this won’t do. (input hyperlink) https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/about/about-nypd/public-comment.page

SDL believes in full liberation from the criminal unjustice system and mass incarceration. We therefore fight for #Abolishment #Defunding and investment into our communities. 

Sister Diaspora for Liberation utilizes an abolishment frame to dismantle mass incarceration, detention, and racist oppressive policing systems- all of which are tied to the prison industrial complex and the intertwining of capitalism and white supremacy. 

An abolishment frame forces us to ask they big why questions and address root problems and causes and systems that are allowing them to exist. 

We believe this transformation will require us to hold and create power in all areas, whether protesting in the streets with civil disobedience, through our voting ballots, or through systemic policy reform. 

We are currently endorsing the Communities for Police Reform Campaign in New York along with dozens of other community organizations to secure changes to the oppressive NYPD that has targeted Black, Brown, Undocumented, Queer, and Working-Class communities. 

We have joined 170+ organizations and signed onto the #NYCBudgetJustice/ #DefundNYPD letter. 

Our objective is to immediately increase public pressure to affect the NYPD FY21 expense budget by AT LEAST $1B and redirect those monies to communities that have been most devastated by COVID-19 and police violence.

We are focused on making sure that the Speaker, Councilmembers & Mayor feel pressure to meet the movement’s demands (from CUPR):

• CUT at least $1B to from NYPD FY21 expense budget – and REDIRECT all related savings (over $1B) to be redirected to communities.
• DENY and CANCEL all new policing-related initiatives and related budget increases in NYPD’s FY21 budget (this includes canceling the misguided “ambassador” program the Mayor recently announced. NYC can’t afford to keep letting NYPD create new public relations initiatives when public health infrastructure, programs & safety net don’t meet the survival needs of Black, Latinx and other NYers of color.)
• Require increased transparency of NYPD budget by including formal transparency “terms & conditions” in the FY21 budget that gets adopted

The 2020 fiscal budget year is ending June 30^th. We must ramp up our advocacy now! Join us by calling, emailing, tweeting, and facebooking your councilmember, Speaker Corey Johnson, and Mayor Bill de Blasio demanding that they commit to the above

Sister Diaspora for Liberation is in solidarity with all the uprisings throughout the country, our hearts heavy with the expression of pain and outrage at what we know to be an unjust system rooted in white supremacy. We unequivocally demand the defunding of police, the abolishment of the prison industrial system, and justice for the many lives taken from us. We are here to support the movement for Black Lives and fully acknowledge that there is no liberation without Black liberation.

We send our love and light to all the protesters and all those who are in pain, and we commit ourselves to be part of the struggle to dismantle white supremacy.

We join dozens of other organizations and Communities United for Police Reform and endorse the #SaferNYAct that includes a series of bills to immediately address police violence while we fight for abolishment.

To support, please consider making a donation to Reclaim the Block, Minnesota Freedom Fund, and Black Visions Collective, and the Movement for Black Lives.

#BlackLivesMatter 

The Movement for Black Lives  called for a week of action and Sister Diaspora for Liberation followed their guidance.

On Tuesday, June 2, 2020, we organized a zoom call to urge sisters and allies to contact their representatives and demand the Divestment of Law Enforcement. The policing system here is founded out of slavery and continues to exist as a terrorist organization that has threatened our communities. They continue to get increased funds while our social services are cut, they continue to be militarized, turning our neighborhoods into war zones. We must make our voices and power heard to those in decision making positions that we cannot tolerate this and the system must be dismantled. 

On Wednesday, June 3, 2020, we asked our community to call, email, tweet our senators and representatives demanding the federal government provide direct cash payments, rent cancellation, mortgage cancellation, a moratorium on utility and water shutoffs and cancellation of student, medical, and other forms of debt. We demand long-term economic solutions like a Universal Basic Income, in order to address the immediate crisis and pave the way for a just recovery that doesn’t prioritize corporations and leave our communities behind. We demand our federal government supports the families and the lives of those we have lost and those struggling to survive now.

On Thursday, June 4, 2020 the Movement for Black Lives called on us to demand community control of our laws, institutions, and government agencies so that we have the power to make decisions that influence our lives. Part of this means getting our community members into political office who we know will be accountable to us. Sister Diaspora for Liberation led a phone banking day for Samelys López to get her elected to congress for the 15th District! Samelys López has made a commitment to support Black Lives Matter policies and issues, including demilitarizing and defunding the police. With Qualified Immunity and 1033 military equipment bills at hand, it is important for us to have congress members that will be on our side.

And on Friday, June 5, 2020, we asked our sisters and allies to call their federal representatives and tell them to repeal 1033 to end the sale of military equipment to police and to end Qualified Immunity. We also sent emails, tweets, and called our local officials to defund the police!

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY #IWD2020 #EachforEqual March 8, 2020 “An equal world is an enabled world. How will you help forge a gender equal world?  Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality.

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. International Women’s Day (IWD) has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere.” IWD 2020 This year’s theme is about each one of us holding ourselves accountable and making a choice to participate in action to bring about equity for all women. With our collective efforts, we can see the impact we bring about together.    SDL would like to call our sisters and allies to political action this IWD as we support Samelys Lopez’s campaign for the 15th congressional district. As a truly progressive woman of color who has been consistent in her community based work and platform, we believe she is the right person to take this office and represent the people. As progressive women of color, we must take up all the spaces we can and create our own seats at the table where we have been historically denied. This means organizing for political power to reclaim our rights.   

Join us March 8th as we canvass (door-knock) with the campaign in the Bronx and have a celebratory dinner afterwards. 

And just to add the campaign has been endorsed by us (SDL), Democratic Socialists of America, and just today Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s Courage to Change PAC.  

Please email us at sisterdiaspora@gmail.com

We look forward to building with you all! Happy International Women’s Day! #SisterDiaspora #ALoveEthic #IWD2020

Elizabeth Acevedo’s Poet X launched the 2020 #SDLReadingCircle. Hosted at Buunni Inwood, with the support of the Dominican Writers Association, the event was filled with an energy that was as vibrant, as it was heartening. Alongside Omaris Z. Zamora-García, Ph.D., participants explored the interconnectedness between gender, sexuality, and religion, and the ways in which the main character, Xiomara’s, transition into adulthood mirrored our own stories. Poet X gives words to experiences that up until now, have rarely been seen. And that process, of examining and reflecting on our stories, offered a unique elixir instrumental for our collective healing. Mothers even brought their daughters!

For more information, please check out the following resources:

·      “Black Latina Girlhood Poetics of the Body: Church, Sexuality and Dispossession” (Zamora, 2020)

·      Elizabeth Acevedo

·      Dominican Writers Association

As part of SDL’s #16DaystoEndGenderBasedViolence we will be hosting an Upstander Workshop. Hate crimes and public aggressions have been increasing for our communities, how can we be an upstander in a safe way and not just a bystander? Join SDL and CAE for a workshop for international human rights day and learn how we can all protect each other better.

REGISTER HERE!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8TH TIME: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

LOCATION: 107 Suffolk St. 2nd FLOOR

NEW YORK, NY. 10002

Join SDL as we celebrate the beauty and power of sisterhood- a sisterhood that is built on a love ethic and is nourished by our differences and united by our struggles for liberation.

It will be our 5th revolution around the sun this December and we can’t think of a better way to party than to uplift a fellow activist who will be taking on the establishment by running for Congressional District 15 in the Bronx! Samelys López and her campaign will be with us as we rejoice in good music and vibes.

We will be collecting donations for her campaign while we build community and toast to our 5th year anniversary. 
Please RSvP here.
DECEMBER 14TH
TIME: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
LOCATION: 780 E 133RD ST THE BRONX 10454
BRONX TAVERN

López for the People does not accept contributions from real estate developers or corporate PACs. Contributions or gifts to López for the People are not tax deductible. We may accept contributions from an individual totaling up to $2,800 per election; $5,600 per election cycle. Federal PACs may contribute up to $5,000 per election; $10,000 per cycle. Federal law PROHIBITS contributions to the campaign from corporations, labor organizations and national banks; from any person contributing in the name of another’s funds; from foreign nations who lack permanent resident status; from federal government contractors; contributions from minors under 18 years of age.

Paid for by López for the People

SDL is proud to support Samelys López for Bronx’s Congressional District 15. The establishment is vacating the CD and we have an opportunity to elect a real grassroots, housing activist, with a demonstrated record of serving and building with the community. Samelys has already committed not to take any real estate or corporate donations. Unlike other candidates is this primary, she is committed to the Bronx and actually resides in district. This is a real on the ground, grassroots campaign and we need all the support possible. SDL is hitting the pavement at full speed! Join us! You can donate for her campaign here.
#aLoveEthic #sisterdiaspora