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NEWS & LETTERS, October 2004'Southern Girls' meetMemphis, Tenn.--The Southern Girls Convention (SGC), held Aug. 12-14, is for radical feminist activists and was started in Memphis six years ago. In the words of the organizers: "The SGC is now an institution in the activist world and we plan on sticking around for a long time...to help activists in the South meet and network with each other, to provide people with an outlet like they might never have experienced before, and to be a contributing factor in a broader movement." In an effort to steer the SGC to focus on politics, rather that DIY (do it yourself) skills sharing, dominant in past conferences, we started with a diverse panel of activists: Deborah Cunningham from the Center for Independent Living, a disabilities rights organization; Terry Moon of News and Letters Committees; Marquita Bradshaw of Defense Depot Memphis Tennessee--Concerned Citizens Committee; Cheryl Cornish, the pastor of First Congregational Church, and Casey Bryant of the anarchist DeCleyre Cooperative. I led two workshops. The one on "Non-DIY Health" encouraged activists to form an organized resistance to doctors who drive patients away or injure their health. We shared stories of problems with doctors, such as one who performed unnecessary hysterectomies. My workshop on "Revelations About the Religious Right" presented information about their agenda to create a fascist theocratic government in the U.S., and discussed how much progress they've made under the Bush administration. In the workshop on the "March for Women's Lives," Anna, who had helped the Feminist Majority coordinate rides for people going to the march, critiqued them because they would not put marchers from the same area in contact with each other, thus thwarting grassroots organizing. At our activist action we protested a so-called "crisis pregnancy center." This phony clinic is run by a religious Right organization and gives out false information about abortion. Each year a different area volunteers to host the conference. Next year it will be in New Orleans. --Adele |
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