how to build a community - a must read

hermana resist has an excellent piece on creating community and involving single moms. Hmmm...I know a few people from my past who should have read this. As a mom with a partner, I'd say that most of it applies to moms in general.

  • realize that parents are people. Realize that parents are people. Realize that parents are the same people you knew before.
  • realize that parents can be activists. but they are also parents. they have different things on their mind. Single parents often have things such as food, rent, money, health on their mind. Unlike the single person, they are usually thinking of their child(ren) when they think about these things. Sometimes a single parent (take me for example) cannot concentrate on the latest protest, though important as it may be, because I may be thinking of what will my next job be, and the addition of subtraction of money in my head.
  • to build a community, parents and children should be welcome and not feel they can’t attend a meeting/event because of their baby(ies).