Celebrating Womxn Who Fought for Justice and Freedom

Viewpoints
Written By Guest

BY SYONTONI HATTORI-CHATTERJEE, Social Media and Youth Programs Coordinator

After I graduated from high school, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to do with my life. I knew that I was taking a gap year and I knew that I wanted to use my knowledge, skills, and voice to create a more just world, but I didn’t see a clear path forward. I took things day by day and seized opportunities as they came—attending Freedom Lifted’s “History of Policing” class, joining Supermajority’s first cohort of Majority Leaders, and starting an internship with Freedom Lifted to manage their social media.

Looking back, I realize I had stumbled upon something life changing. Through my work with Freedom Lifted, I’ve co-created an online political education program for youth, published my own online course, found a team and a community, and have come closer to finding my purpose. A year later, I’m reflecting on the series and the stories where it all began: “Womxn Fighting for Justice and Freedom.”

My first task as Freedom Lifted’s Social Media and Youth Programs intern was to create posts for their Instagram page. Mia Henry and I discussed the kind of content we wanted to share: we wanted to uplift the activist work of womxn, often overlooked in American history books, and show our followers what their actions can teach us today. We used the term ‘womxn’ to be inclusive of non-binary people and anyone who identifies with women. I created a format that made each post accessible: 5 things to know about a certain womxn freedom fighter, and I researched and wrote 5 short slides of text about her/their life’s work. I crafted a simple yet recognizable design for the posts and a bright, colorful palette that would appeal especially to a youth audience. Each slide began with an action: “She founded,” “She organized,” “She spoke out,” “She led.” Each slide ended with a lesson they taught us: how to persevere, how to make space for ourselves and others, how to work in community and in solidarity, how to embody our values through a lifetime of service. 

The series began with womxn of the Civil Rights Movement. The very first post on Diane Nash is still my favorite because it introduced me to a young womxn who at once felt larger than life and also just like me. I saw myself in her planning, organization, and communication work and felt inspired that this consistent work to fight oppression helped achieve some of our largest equal rights victories.

The subject of the second post, Catherine Burks-Brooks, was suggested by a follower in the comments. After learning about Catherine Burks-Brooks, who stood up to segregationists as a young Freedom Rider, all I wanted was to emulate her awe-inspiring bravery and defiance.

I subsequently began researching womxn activists and leaders about whom I had heard but didn’t know enough—Shirley Chisholm, Yuri Kochiyama, Dolores Huerta—and poured myself into learning about their lives and work. The post on Shirley Chisholm taught me that the right time for my leadership and the fullness of my vision is now.

The post on Dolores Huerta taught me that with persistent work from the ground up, I could build collective power that served the people.

Finally, the post about Yuri Kochiyama is the most personal to me. She showed me that a fellow Japanese American womxn from California could do the activist work of several lifetimes, organize for multiple issues and communities, and seek justice everywhere. 

These posts also had a special impact together: they illustrated the breadth of organizing for justice and freedom that happened across the country in the 1960s.

Taking the series to the Reconstruction Era nearly a century before introduced me to a history just as powerful and a womxn just as indomitable: Ida B. Wells. Researching her life and work was perspective-shifting. Her unflinching fearlessness and precision in speech, writing, and action blew me away.

Then, I discovered Wilma Mankiller while researching future subjects for the series. Learning about her far-reaching achievements as the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation showed me the power of bold visions for self-determination.

Finally, I ended the series with a post about the Combahee River Collective. The Combahee River Collective’s manifesto and its analysis of interlocking systems of oppression sharpened my consciousness and informed much of the work I strive to do today.

The most important thing I learned from “Womxn Fighting for Justice and Freedom” is not found in a single story, action, or life but in the sum of all of them together. None of these womxn were defined by the gender-based restrictions of their time, nor were they defined by the notions associated with strong, independent womxn now. They began lifetimes of trailblazing work as college students, preschool teachers, mothers of as many as six and eleven children (Yuri Kochiyama and Dolores Huerta respectively). And they continued and still continue this work for freedom and justice past 8 decades, even 9 decades of life.

Creating this series made me realize that I had internalized so many ideas about what a life as a womxn could be, what I had to do to work for justice, what I had to sacrifice, and who I had to be. “Womxn Fighting for Justice and Freedom” taught me to exist in the fullness of my identity, pursue the boldness of my visions, accomplish the impossible, and leave paths for others to do the same. This series showed me that my life is one part of a continuum, an intergenerational struggle for and continuous practice of the just futures we seek. If I can continue the work of these womxn, and pass it on to the generations of womxn that follow me, I will have fulfilled my purpose. 

I hope that this blog inspires you to read or revisit the posts about these womxn. Please use the sources and resources slides at the end of each post to learn more about their lives and the causes for which they fought. One day, I hope to see your stories and life’s work alongside those of these womxn who fought for justice and freedom. 

 
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