By: Mark Glennon*
“We need to build bridges…. The more we talk about the divisions, without finding common ground, the more polarized we become as a nation.” With whom do we we need to do that? With those who we say gave a “national affirmation of everything that is antithetical to what we aspire to and hold as our most cherished values.”
“We need to reach out, build connections and coalitions, build a more inclusive and united voice.” Inclusive and united with whom? With those who we say have given the “ultimate validation” to a “climate and rhetoric of hate, racism, violence against women, and fear.”
Got any problem with that? Read the entire letter below sent by Karen Singer, CEO at YWCA Evanston/North Shore to members, which was forwarded to me by a livid reader. She seems intent on outdoing Grubhub’s CEO, now nationally ridiculed for his email to employees that’s hypocritical for the same reason — wrapping intolerance and hatred in a diatribe against intolerance and hatred.
And you thought not-for-profits aren’t supposed to engage in political activity. Ha!
*Mark Glennon is founder of WirePoints. Opinions expressed are his own.
From: YWCA Evanston/North Shore <ywca@ywcae-ns.org>
Subject: A message from Karen Singer
Date: November 10, 2016 at 4:16:59 PM CST
Reply-To: ywca@ywcae-ns.org
Dear Friends,
We walk through our doors at the YWCA Evanston/North Shore each morning determined to make our communities more just and equitable, determined to work for women’s empowerment and equality, for a woman’s right to choose what happens to her own body, for freedom from violence, and for people of all races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, cultures and religions to feel that they are embraced, have opportunity, are respected and that their lives are valued.
Yesterday morning, we walked through our doors and felt that instead of a glass ceiling shattering, the floor had dropped out from under us. We sat and grieved together for what seemed to be a national affirmation of everything that is antithetical to what we aspire to and hold as our most cherished values.
We are all searching for an explanation; a way to get our heads around something we are struggling to understand. How can the climate and rhetoric of hate, racism, violence against women, and fear have been given its ultimate validation?
Mia, a staff member who answers our domestic violence crisis line, wrote something yesterday that especially resonated with us:
“(My son) stayed up with me until 12:30 am. He went to bed knowing it was probably over, but saying that maybe it wasn’t. There was a tiny bit of hope in his heart. The Cubs taught him about late night miracles last week. Still, I could hear the despair in his voice when he said, ‘I don’t want to go to school tomorrow, Mom.'”
“In the morning I came downstairs immediately after hearing him get up. I hugged him long and hard, with tears in my eyes, tears that are still in my eyes as I type this. I said, ‘I love you.’ And then I said, ‘You have to go to school today. You have to go to school for all those girls and Latinos and blacks and gays and Muslims at your school who were just told by America that they are not valued. You have to show up for them.'”
“To all of us who were told by this election that we do not matter, that our rights are irrelevant, I will show up for you. I will stand with you and I will fight every injustice I see. I will continue to use my voice as best as I can. For all of us. Even for those who voted differently. Because their rights may come under attack as well.”
Mia speaks for all of us at YWCA Evanston/North Shore. And like her and her son, we will show up every day to say and to demonstrate that we stand together. We will work together to fight bigotry and injustice. We will work together to ensure that our values not only stay intact, but prevail.
We live in a blue city bubble, and those of us who live in this big metropolitan area have heard but not fully appreciated or understood the deep anxieties and lived experiences of others as profoundly as we should. We need to build bridges across what seems, right now, like a vast chasm. The more we talk about the divisions, without finding common ground, the more polarized we become as a nation
We are uncertain of what lies ahead and that can feel very scary. But let us not react in fear. We need to reach out, build connections and coalitions, build a more inclusive and united voice that brings out the best in who we all are. We need to move to action and double down on creating more just communities, a more just country for all. At the same time, we must never lose sight of and stop fighting for the values we uphold, and we must resist any encroachment on our fundamental human rights and notions of justice.
Let us not forget that while the glass ceiling was not shattered, it was cracked. For the first time in history, a major political party nominated a woman for president. But this election season has been a stark indicator that our work is as relevant and necessary as ever. We must and will continue to eliminate racism and empower women, listen with empathy and act in solidarity, and reaffirm the values that are the foundation of our mission: dignity, justice, and respect.
Hold tight to the vision of what we know we can be.
In solidarity,
Karen Singer, CEO, and all of us at YWCA Evanston/North Shore
YWCA Evanston/North Shore
1215 Church Street
Evanston, IL 60201
www.ywca.org/evanston
A set of state lawmakers want to extend CPS’ current school closing moratorium to February 1, 2027 – the same year CPS is set to transition to a fully-elected school board. That means schools like Manley High School, with capacity for more than 1,000 students but enrollment of just 78, can’t be closed for anther three years. The school spends $45,000 per student, but just 2.4% of students read at grade level.
Hopefully, all media will get the message, in Illinois, too.
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes, why lawmakers don’t want to touch the tax’s cost drivers, just how much Illinoisans’ tax burden has grown over the decades, why Gov. Pritzker failed to meet his promise to reform property taxes, and more.
What a silly twit– but what else would you expect from someone who admits she lives in a “blue bubble”? Rather than trying to scare her children and others about made up boogey men, perhaps she should try to help all those Black and Latino kids who live in neighborhoods where there are two hundred shootings a month and where food stamp recipients have increased 58% in the last eight years.. No wait– that’s what a “blue bubble ” is. And by the way– what does the “C” stand for in YWCA? Maybe Mia ought to take a refresher course… Read more »
“You have to go to school for all those girls and Latinos and blacks and gays and Muslims at your school who were just told by America that they are not valued.”
America did not say that, Mia and Karen.
Mia said that to her son, and Karen repeated that to her employees.
Leaders of other organizations have written their employees letters reflecting on the outcome of the Presidential election:
Refinery 29.
Everyone In America Should Read These Emails From CEOs To Their Employees After The Election.
November 11, 2016.
by Marshall Bright.
http://www.refinery29.com/2016/11/129572/post-election-ceo-letters-support-employees#slide
Are these all spontaneous letters?
someone out of touch with reality
“Wrapping intolerance and hatred in a diatribe against intolerance and hatred”… Perfect; sums it all up.