NORTH COUNTY
SAN DIEGO
WOMXN'S MARCH
We believe that when people can use their voices, they are empowered!
ABOUT US
WHAT WE DO
MISSION
The NCSDWM's mission is to provide a platform that empowers, elevates, and amplifies the voices of all womxn to be heard in North County San Diego, and beyond.
VISION
The NCSDWM's vision is to build a society where womxn have an active voice and participation in social, political, economic, and cultural life with equal rights and opportunities free of oppression, poverty, and violence.
We are a nonprofit organization open to ALL womxn-identifying, trans, non-binary LGBTQ+ and other community members.
We advance our mission through three core strategies:
BRAVE & SUPPORTIVE SPACES
•The NCSDWM creates brave and supportive spaces in which womxn can tell their stories, listen to other womxn, and feel heard. We provide a platform for stories of womxn to be heard through our channels: NCSDWM YouTube channel, NCSDWM Facebook, NCSDWM podcast, and in-person educational spaces and events.
CIVIC EDUCATION
• We provide an extensive online collection of resources on social, political, economic, and cultural awareness concerning historical and recent events affecting communities in the United States and abroad.
• We create roundtables on issues including civics, government, law, social justice, womxn’s rights, and environmental rights. Our roundtables are face-to-face and virtual spaces where community members can amplify their voices and stories, listen to womxn’s stories, and feel heard.
• We offer training in Storytelling, Community Organizing, Reproductive Justice, and Social Change Leadership skills to develop informed and skilled community members. Our training provides opportunities to develop transferable skills for people’s personal and professional lives. In addition, our training nurtures the next generation of social justice leaders that will serve the North County community and society in general.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
• Facilitating collaborations and networking among individuals and groups to raise collective power in areas of need in North County and beyond.
• Organizing and mobilizing a large base of people (especially womxn from diverse backgrounds) via social media for advocacy on the rights of marginalized people in North County San Diego and beyond.
• Providing referral sources for services in the community and opportunities for people to network.
Photo thanks to Joe Dusel Photography
OUR STORY AND WORK
In November of 2016, after the 2016 election, community organizers Tazheen Nizam and Sue Alderson met to talk about the women's marches that were being organized around the nation. During their conversations, they realized that North County San Diego needed to host a march that met the needs of the North County San Diego Community. Tazheen and Sue understood that NCSD is often overlooked and is always fighting for a place at the table. They both have the core belief that our organizing needs to ensure that we hold space for voices of communities that are not often heard.
Together, Tazheen and Sue pulled together a group of people to organize the inaugural North County San Diego Womxn's March, January 2017. The perception regarding activism in North County was that we had a strong community of people committed to social justice, however our numbers were small, estimating a crowd of maybe 400 people for that first event.
At our first March in January 2017, over 10,000 members of the North County Community arrived at the Civic Center in San Marcos. We marched through the rain to Palomar College where we held the rally. The weather did not dampen the energy that permeated the crowd that day.
Since our first march in 2017, we have hosted an action every year. We have held marches, rallies and virtual events.
CONTINUING THE WORK OF RAISING OUR VOICES
In 2018, we held a march and rally in North County San Diego where the voices of North County San Diego were loud and clear. People connected and became involved in their communities joining and forming community-based organizations that were committed to ensuring the needs of their communities were heard. We believe that when people can use their voice, they are empowered.
Photo thanks to Joe Dusel Photography
In 2020, we held a womxn’s rally and clothing drive for survivors of gender-based violence. We also held a candlelight vigil for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
In 2019, The NCSDWM hosted a rally in Oceanside. The voices of newly elected womxn were centered. We campaigned against period poverty and provided menstrual products to all Womxn in need throughout Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and Escondido. We also held a Womxn’s conference at San Marcos University, which focused on the power of storytelling.
Photo thanks to Joe Dusel Photography
Since 2021, the NCSDWM has embraced Reproductive Justice as the conceptual and activist framework of our three core strategies of Brave & Supportive Spaces; Civic Education & Civic Engagement.
In 2021, we hosted a Virtual Event Womxn’s March, featuring spoken word and voices from as far away as Spain, Mexico, and Brazil. Our theme was Reproductive Justice, with the message speaking to the disproportionate access to reproductive health for womxn and all who identify as womxn, because of race, ethnicity, gender, and poverty. In preparation for the virtual event, we organized a Facebook exhibition of community members’ posters in solidarity with our Reproductive Justice Campaign. In 2021, we also organized a Reproductive Justice Round table with experts, activists, and community members.
In 2022, the virtual event focused on meeting members from Sister Song, the oldest Reproductive Justice Organization in the US, through interviews, spoken word from North County San Diego Community members, and an opportunity to raise the voices of the members of the NCSD community through storytelling. Before the virtual event, we had Reproductive Justice Awareness Week with interviews and RJ awareness videos available on Facebook and YouTube. In addition, we had the 2022 NCSDWM Digital Art Show during our virtual event.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, watch NCSDWM member Venus Johnson and interview with Theodora Polamalu, philanthropist, as they explore the intersections between reproductive justice and community development.
We also organized two virtual round tables (English and Spanish) on Reproductive Justice.
Next…
The NCSDWM 2023 to 2024 strategic plan focuses on civic education and engagement of the North County community and beyond. Our programs provide educational awareness and constructive discussions on Reproductive Justice and Social Justice and Collaborative Leadership guided by activists, highly qualified academics, and practitioners who share the mission of NCSDWM. All the subsequent events organized by the NCSDWM remain true to the mission.
CONTACT NCSDWM
Get in touch with NCSDWM to learn more about our work and how you can get involved.
(760) 420-3229