I Have Always Been A Social Activist
When I first left home for college, I volunteered at the local Women’s Center. I performed pregnancy tests, referred women to the one doctor in town who would issue birth control pills and diaphragms, and picked up women and children in the middle of the night as they fled abusive men in their homes. (At the time I was blissfully unaware - in fact, most of us were - that women, too, sometimes abuse their partners and children.) And I read all the feminist theory and history i’d been missing.
My world really opened up when I moved to the more liberal “Left Coast.” I joined the Lesbian Resource Center, did community outreach, and helped organize women’s dances and Take Back the Night marches. I went back to college to study Cultural Anthropology, focusing on Enculturation of children - which is the study of what we consider necessary for children to learn in order to become functioning members of our particular society, and how we teach that. My love of languages grew to encompass American Sign Language and the culture of the Deaf.
I earned a Master’s degree in Anthropology, then came to my senses halfway through a Ph.D. program, realizing that I wanted to work with young children - and I was already over-qualified for that.
As a childcare teacher and then program director, I put my heart into bridging divides between people. Some of those were cultural and linguistic; some were differences in abilities. Using an Anti-Bias Curriculum meant making sure every group was represented: in the posters, books and even fabrics used in curtains and furniture - regardless of whether any particular group was currently present. Creating an Integrated Program depended on making both the environment and the activities accessible and challenging for children of all ability levels. This had the effect of making not just a welcoming environment, but one that helped instill the value of inclusion in all of the participants in the program - children, teachers and parents.
Now i’m retired, and the world around me seems very different from the one I thought I was helping to create. Racism is rampant, and blatant; attacks against women - our bodies and our rights - are increasing. The same is true for LGBTQ+ of all ages. More Americans are killed by guns every month than died on 9/11. Children are hungry; families are homeless; the natural environment is dying. And the rich are bloated beyond belief.
But in the words of those incomparable philosophers Monty Python, “I’m not dead, yet!” And as long as that’s true, I will continue to work for justice and equality.
Everyday Activists is my way of doing that. Along with my own daily activism, i hope to create a forum for like-minded people to come together. We can share our ideas and ideals, connect each other with resources, and spread the word about actions taking place in our communities.
Because it really is up to us.
From the Soapbox,
Sandy Labyris
EA Founder
