Town Hall participants. PROVIDED
Sen. Biaggi hosts Women’s History Month Town Hall
BY CARSEN HOLADAY
On Thursday night, March 25, Senator
Alessandra Biaggi hosted a virtual
Town Hall to celebrate Women’s
History Month. The inspiring meeting
featured a diverse panel of women
in positions of power in the state of
New York: Assembly Member Karines
Reyes, Assembly Member Amanda
Septimo, District Attorney Mimi Rocah
and District Attorney Darcel D.
Clark. The panel was moderated by
Sochie Nnaemeka, director of the New
York Working Families Party.
Nnaemeka kicked off the evening
by sharing a few thoughts about the
signifi cance of the women’s agenda
during this “moment of intersecting
crises.” Nnaemeka then introduced
a prerecorded video of Attorney General
Leticia James to set the tone for
the discussion.
“Women’s history month prompts
us to refl ect on how far women have
come in our fi ght for equal rights in
this country, but also how far we have
to go,” said James. “There are many
structural changes needed to foster
a society that respects and protects
women, that values their work and expands
opportunities for all women.”
The Town Hall went on to feature
Assembly District 87 Member Karines
Reyes, who spoke about the intersection
of policy and racial injustice, as
well as her perspective as a former
nurse. Reyes also spoke about her recent
successful bill to remove the word
“incorrigible” from the family court
law, and how that legislative decision
is fi ghting against deep-rooted issues.
“Incorrigible means unable to be
corrected. That’s a term that’s often
been used to label young girls who
don’t conform to a standard of femininity
that is usually classist and racist
and based on a patriarchy,” said Reyes
about the bill. “We believe there’s no
place in our family court system to be
labeling young children, and young
girls particularly, as incorrigible.”
Assembly District 84 Member
Amanda Septimo spoke next about
her campaign’s infrastructure in the
South Bronx and the community that
was formed throughout the pandemic.
Septimo maintained that legislative
policies failed to meet the needs of
the public during the unprecedented
times, and that grassroots support was
essential in local communities.
Westchester County District Attorney
Mimi Rocah next addressed injustice
in cases of sexual assault and
domestic violence. Rocah explained
trauma-informed approaches to these
cases, propelled by her determination
to end victim-blaming and gun violence.
Rocah punctuated her response
by saying that these are not just women’s
problems, but the community’s
problems, and they need to be prioritized
as such.
13th District Attorney Darcel D.
Clark is the fi rst woman in her position,
as well as the fi rst African-American
woman in her position. In her
time on the panel, Clark spoke about
her experience as a judge that not only
listens to victims’ stories, but makes
sure that the victim feels heard and
supported in their diffi cult situations.
Lastly, before the virtual panel
turned to a roundtable discussion, Host
Senator Alessandra Biaggi thanked
the panelists for their insight, emphasizing
the importance of representation
in government. The senator summarized
the Marshall Plan for Moms
bill that she is pushing to implement.
The bill would establish a Marshall
Plan for Moms taskforce in the State
that would essentially make policy
recommendations to help address the
impact of the economic fallout from
COVID-19 on mothers. The goal is to
fi nd ways to provide support for mothers
and caregivers. Sen. Biaggi also
spoke about the importance of women’s
representation in politics, as well
as the challenges of trying to change
the culture in a patriarchal society.
“So many of the laws and the systems
that we are working in, living in,
and even the air that we breathe – every
single thing that we’re experiencing
regularly – they were not built by
women. They were majority built by
men, and predominantly white men,”
said Sen. Biaggi. “Right now, the focus
is both creating new spaces and
transforming the laws, but it’s also
dismantling a lot of the systems that
only worked for a certain number of
people for a very set period of time.”
The roundtable discussion was
open for response by any of the attendees.
Nnaemeka posed the fi nal question,
submitted by a community member:
What motivates you when you
become discouraged or frustrated?
A lively conversation ensued as the
women, with shared camaraderie,
weighed the triumphs of their positions
against the heartbreaking injustices
they so often see. Even through
a virtual meeting, the Town Hall participants
shared knowing smiles and
laughed, or sighed, at each other’s anecdotes.
The women passionately came
to an unshocking, yet still inspiring,
consensus – they persevere for the
sake of the communities they’re representing.
“I think about work that wouldn’t
happen if I weren’t here. That’s always
what I come back to,” said Septimo.
“We see women doing this all the
time, in communities every day, being
rooted in their purpose. Whether its
on a microlevel like family or broader
in community or broadest in politics.
Women lean into their purpose and
bring the rest of everyone else along
with us. We’ve seen it for years and
we’re seeing it in this room now and
I’m really proud to be a part of this.”
The full video of the meeting is
available on Senator Biaggi’s Facebook
page.
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