Global Women's Voices: An Online Dialogue In recognition of International Women's Day, March 8, women leaders from Brazil, India, Uganda, and the United States, discussed the successes and challenges facing women in different parts of the world. Global Women’s Voices: An Online Dialogue is a joint initiative of OneWorld U.S., Feminist Majority Foundation, PLANetWIRE.org, Women’s EDGE, Global Health Council and Digital Freedom Network. Tuesday, March 5 12-1 pm ET Minnijean Brown-Trickey Minnijean Brown-Trickey has spent her life fighting for the rights of minority groups and the dispossessed. After attending University in Illinois, she moved to Canada with her husband, a conscientious objector to the Viet Nam War. She earned a Masters Degree in Social Work, specializing in the plight of Canada’s native communities. In 1999 she returned to the United States as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior in the Clinton administration. She currently lives in Maryland, and is continuing her work for civil rights and social equality. She is also working on her autobiography, tentatively entitled, Mixed Blessing: Living Black in North America. Continue the discussion on our Bulletin Boards!

Moderator: Welcome to the chat with Minnijean Brown-Trickey, an activist specializing in the plight of Canada's native communities. Please use the form above to submit your questions.

Susan: What are some of the successes that have resulted from your work? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: I am not sure if we have enough because I don't see the kind of coalitions that I value so much right now. It's really time we compromised a little and get to work to achieve total peace. I think women are at a crossroads. We are going to do it or we are not. This is an urgent call for action. I'm not going to rank violences, but we must do something about the violence.

Helen: How did you come to do this work and what inspires you to continue? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: It was my civil rights experience in the 50's and 60's, what I considered the magical movements. I'd like to describe movement as simultaneous action occurring in different places. Absolutely amazing. Based on that I understand the potential for movement for social change, for peace, for everything.

talbot_52: Can you describe the main goals of your work or your organization's work? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: My life work is to live to spread the message of non violence to as many young people as I can.

hear_me_roar: What are some of the successes of the women's movement in your community, country or region? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: I don't want to rank challenges, but I am concerned about women who are incarcerated and the alarming number that indicate that, strike me as some how, it scares me, it doesn't make any sense in a country that constantly talks about liberty and justice. Justice is a real concern for me. I'd like to see more cooperation with women's groups, a coming together of all women, all cultures, many perspectives. I am concerned we are not doing enough of that.

Keisha: What are some of the challenges you have encountered in your work? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: Obviously in an inherently violent world, the message of non violence is not received the way I would like it to be. But I'm not going to stop delivering the message.

Inez: How did you come to do this work and what inspires you to continue? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: I was involved in the desegregation crisis in 1957, quite a long time ago, and as a 16 year old, I decided that what happened to us, I would work forever to make that so. And it lead me in all kinds of directions. It's a thinking process that opens up all kinds of possibilities. It keeps me going now. The whole way that I think is that I know what is possible. I call it 'keeping the blood pumping.' I'm 60 now, and I don't think I'm going to resting. I think that there is still lots to do. The other part of that is that I have three sons and three daughters who I don't want to have the same experiences that I had. They're bringing back to world to me and it is not a pretty picture. I feel that children's futures are violated. That their peacefulness is compromised, and I am horrified by that. I want to challenge all of us to think about that and do something about it. I am disturbed that women that do have power in the western are doing so little in the interest of peace.

eunice: What are some of the 'mixed blessings' of living black in N America that you're referring to in the title of your new book? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: Living in the wealthiest part of the world and seeing the injustice that happens in this part of the world is what I call the mixed blessing. We shouldn't have this. WE have the capability for social change. WE have the capability of ending poverty. But we are not doing it. To the second part, the person I am works on behalf of justice for everyone. The civil rights movement is considered a black movement, but movements benefit everyone. And I just want to be thought of as a person who is an advocate for any of us that need advocacy, a voice, any of those things. Native American/Canadian people are my sisters and brothers. I've benefited greatly from that relationship.

maryanne: It seems like you have your roots in the US civil rights movement. How did you come to be involved in working for the rights of native Canadians? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: It was an accident of fate. The first people I met when I moved to Toronto were native Canadians. I did a bachelor of social work in native human services which was a great. I learned so much about the similarities of cultures. The main point is that one doesn't really choose a particular issue to work towards. In fact, we are chosen often. That's a good way to be. To me, it means some kind of openness, willingness to work with anyone, any group.

Jenny: Does it bother you that after working for civil rights your whole life, people still talk about you as 'part of the Little Rock nine' or is that something that is still a big part of your identity? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: Actually, it's the greatest honor in my life. WE are good friends still. We endured that experience together and caused us to have a bond that is unbelievable. Our children bonded in the most wonderful manner. and never for a minute, should we forget the Little rock desegregation crisis. There are so many kids that don't even know about it. And at 60 I am old enough to have an analysis of it, and we were among the first young people to strike out against injustice. Those people that know about it, describe the little rock nine as the model they used because we were children. And even the questioner doesn't have that memory, it sparked the world. In Belfast, Northern Ireland today, there is a large mural depicting the little rock nine. One side of the mural is a grade school girl from Belfast and the other side is one of the little rock nine. In N.A., less is known than in other parts of the world which might mean that America can't deal with its own images.

Niya: Do you feel like there is a gap between the people/organizations working on civil rights and women's rights in N America? If yes, what can feminists (and civil rights activists) do to help bridge the gap? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: How can they be separated? They are about the same things. They are about challenging democracy to work. One of the things that happens in our society is that we are divided and conquered and end up forgetting to pull the other one up as we go. As we move up we have an obligation to continue the struggle. It doesn't finish when we are where we want to be. It belongs to all of us.

ab: In what way have you taken part in spreading the message of non violence and what role do you see women and the female community in this work? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: IN a very basic way, I go to schools wherever I am at. Some places I get paid, but mostly I go as a volunteer to talk with the young people, from Kindergarten up. They are hungry for a different message. That's the way it appears to me. I don't think kids are more thoughtful than we think based on the questions they ask me, and they are looking very fervently for ways to manage their life and ways to understand. These are kids from a range of ethnicities, incomes, cultures, etc. I think they are a great untapped source of support for some of the things we'd like to go in changing our world. The Ghandian/King non violence principle are succinct. They are understandable, even for children. The kids that I talk to are fascinated by them. They serve as a formula that they can use in their everyday lives. They long for the simplicity. High school kids are appalled when they learn about the civil rights movement, when they learn what actually happened. It doesn't fit with what they actually learned, but they are also surprised when they learn about the non violence technique and can see them in action. It works in good ways.

Inez: As a proponent of non-violence, what do you think of the US's recent actions in Afghanistan? How do you answer people who say that violence is justified in a situation like that, where at least part of the outcome is to oust a very oppressive regime? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: There is something about self determination that when people are not scarred, broken by war they can do their own ousting. I worry about being police for the world. I'm not going to say that one violence is better than the other. If I did that, then I wouldn't be the person I am. We can go to the moon and send out satellites and do all this incredible stuff, but what stops us from thinking of different ways of solving problems? Besides weaponry, attacks and all that? Let's use this intellect that we say we have from other parts of our brain beside the bomb trigger. I can't believe that we have not come up with something different. I can't sleep at night because it doesn't make sense to me. But we do have to think about and we do have to rethink about what we want to do in this world. Do we want it all cratered? Do we wand building crashing down? When are we going to stop it?

Kelly: Where do you find the personal strength to crusade against civil wrongs, in a world that is just filled with them? There are so many things that I would like to change, but do not even know where to start. Minnijean Brown-Trickey: I understand that. Although I talk like I want to turn the world upside down, I know that I have to be patient. But when people ask me what they can do, there are so many things. I say start right where you are. Look around. What I say to young people is not always about marches and demonstrations, it's actually looking around and seeing some of things really close at hand and thinking about some ways of solving that. The other part is finding commonalities in other people. What we often to do is join with others and the problem and sometimes the solution will be right at hand. Forget that we are powerful, and in groups we are more powerful and working with others itself is a social action.

noelle: How do you feel about working across race? Do you feel that black women and white women can work together for equality, or that we need separate movements? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: Well, that's what I do. The second part, the issues are different for black women and white women because of racism and that's that intersections of race, class, gender and so forth, so there are vast differences in the things that have the most effect on the two groups of women. Are those the only two groups that we have to think about right now? It's important that women feel that they are speaking to people that know what they are experiencing. And people have to have space for that. And another thing is not be dominated by one group or the other, but if peace is our issue, if we have a problem, or any other problem, we have to come together in solidarity. We have to inclusive rather than exclusive.

Nikki: I don't have a question so much as a comment. I wanted to say that I think all you have said here is so important, especially the focus on youth, children, and schools. Too often, our children are taught intolerance, violence, and a vision of Western society that fails to include the "truth" about our own past (slavery, sweatshops, sexism, homophobia, racism). Your strength and positive message is heartening. Minnijean Brown-Trickey: Thank you very much. And also for bringing forward all the important words that I didn't use, but am concerned about also, because they are all interconnected.

HomeBoy198: What do you think of the films of Sherman Alexie, such as Smoke Signals, in regards to their depiction of the problems facing Native Americans? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: I'm sorry I didn't see it, and that I'll try to find it right away. There is somebody always guiding us towards some direction, and I thank you for that. The magic is alive.

Luvlife_LivLarge: You have campaigned long and hard for the rights of minority groups. What do you think is the main issue facing the African-American community today? And--are there really leaders on the level of a MLK Jr. who can lead the community? Minnijean Brown-Trickey: AS for leaders, I spoke about a movement before, that we can do things without a leader. We are not helpless and hopeless without a leader. There are so many issues, we need a multitude of people to accompany us. We need each other and maybe not a leader so much. The nature of leadership is about understanding that. Internalized racism is the main issue facing African Americans today. Until we understand the nature of racism, it is a systemic nature, we don't know where to direct our activism. And for me, and that is one of the reasons that I spend so much time with young people. Helping them get it. And it's hard to do because of all the omissions in history, the lack of the real history in the curriculum. So that African American people don't feel grounded in this country. To have a true picture of what we've contributed, the vast economic success, it's ascending, all the things that are forgotten or ignored, young African American need to know this and the whole country need to know this. I think this is what the reparation to date might facilitate. Truth, inclusion, and the honor of African Americans in this country.

Moderator: Thanks. We won't be taking any more questions for Minnijean today, but please visit our Bulletin Boards to continue the discussion. Thank you Minnijean. And thanks to everyone who joined us tonight for this chat. Don't forget to take action at: Feminist.org and FeministCampus.org! Continue the discussion on our Bulletin Boards!