Incite! facts for kids
INCITE! Women, Gender Non-Conforming, and Trans people of Color Against Violence is a national group in the United States. It is made up of radical feminists of color who work to stop violence against women of color and their communities. The group is led by a national team of women of color. It has active local groups in many cities like San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Denver, Albuquerque, Austin, New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Ann Arbor, Binghamton, Chicago, and even in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. INCITE! started in the year 2000.
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How INCITE! Started
INCITE! began in 2000 after a big meeting called "The Color of Violence: Violence Against Women of Color." This meeting happened at the University of California-Santa Cruz in April 2000. Before this meeting, many women of color felt that their specific needs were not being heard in the larger movement to stop violence against women.
Many leaders in the anti-violence movement were white women. They often did not focus on how different parts of a person's identity, like race and gender, can affect their experiences. Women of color had different ideas about how to fight violence. These ideas were often overlooked. Many women of color became frustrated and left the movement.
The Color of Violence meeting gave women of color a place to share their ideas. Important issues discussed included the rights of immigrants and Native Americans, the growth of prisons, and how wars affect communities. They also talked about protecting the health rights of women of color and fighting against unfair treatment based on who people love.
Organizers thought only a few hundred people would come to the meeting. But over one thousand people attended! More than two thousand people had to be turned away because there wasn't enough space. This huge response showed that many people wanted a new way to end violence. Because of this strong interest, the organizers and others decided to create INCITE! to keep working on these important ideas.
What Projects Does INCITE! Do?
INCITE! works on many projects both locally and across the country. They organize against police violence affecting women and trans people of color. They also work to create community-based ways to help people who have caused harm, like in cases of family violence.
INCITE! also speaks out against forced medical procedures and unfair laws that affect women's health. They have also worked against wars and military actions that harm communities.
Helping Native American Communities
INCITE! helped start the Boarding School Healing Project. This project helps Native Americans hold the U.S. government responsible for forcing over 100,000 Native children into Christian boarding schools. In these schools, children often faced very difficult and harmful situations.
In 2004, INCITE! launched SisterFire. This was a national tour where women of color artists used creative ways to talk about important issues. These issues included war, health rights, and the rights of immigrants.
Local Community Efforts
INCITE!'s local groups also create projects to address different types of violence. After Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans group started a health clinic. This clinic helped low-income women of color get the healthcare they needed. They also worked for fairness in race, gender, money, and the environment.
The Philadelphia group has worked on issues related to housing and how neighborhoods change. An INCITE! partner group, Sista II Sista, worked against unfair treatment of young women of color by police officers in Brooklyn, New York.
The Denver group highlighted how racism and violence against women are connected. This was a way to offer a different view from other anti-violence groups. The Washington, D.C. group organized actions against street harassment.
Important Conferences and Books
INCITE! also organized two other national "Color of Violence" conferences. One was in Chicago in 2002, and another was in New Orleans in 2005. They also helped organize a conference in 2004 called "The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond The Non-Profit Industrial Complex." This meeting brought together activists to look at how the non-profit system affects community movements.
In 2006, INCITE! published a collection of writings called Color of Violence: The INCITE! Anthology. In 2007, they published another book, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond The Non-Profit Industrial Complex. This book won an award for being an outstanding book.
