Pittsburgh community honors trailblazers building the Reproductive Justice movement in PA and Ohio
PITTSBURGH – On December 4, New Voices Pittsburgh will celebrate a decade of leadership, community organizing and advocacy for women of color at their Living Our Legacy10th Anniversary Celebration. New Voices Pittsburgh is a local Reproductive Justice and Human Rights organization dedicated to the health and well-being of Black women and girls and they will mark the occasion with a fundraiser at the Andy Warhol Museum, 6-10p.
“New Voices Pittsburgh celebrates ten years of living our legacy committed to the basic principles of Human Rights for all people. When we began this journey, very few people believed that young Black women in Pittsburgh could build a powerful movement for Reproductive Justice,” says La’Tasha D. Mayes, Founder and Executive Director. “It is possible to achieve full Human Rights for Black women and girls in our lifetime.”
Since 2004, New Voices Pittsburgh has served over 10,000 women of color through groundbreaking programs, activism and unwavering commitment to solving the most challenging racial and gender justice issues in the Pittsburgh community through innovative culture change. “Our 10th Anniversary is not simply a celebration of our existence but our devotion to a movement and the people we love through our work. We have created with our hands, hearts and vision something new in the world that will be remembered forever and that will change the course of herstory,” comments Bekezela Mguni, Co-Founder and Director of Program and Strategic Partnerships.
As an intergenerational organization serving Black women and girls as young as 10 to late 60s, New Voices Pittsburgh understands that it is continuing the work of Black women who like Lois “Toni” McClendon, a long-time peace and justice activist and Co-Founder. New Voices Pittsburgh will honor McClendon and Alma Speed Fox, the Mother of the Women’s Rights and Civil Rights movements in Pittsburgh with the Living Legacy Award.
A Host Committee including County Councilmember Amanda Green Hawkins, Cheryl Kleiman and Claudette R. Lewis, sponsors including Dollar Bank, SEIU Healthcare PA and the Pittsburgh Pirates and performers including ABAFASI, BeLove and DJs Turntable Ruckus will honor the women who specialized in the wholly impossible. “We are humbled and proud to see the powerful movement that La’Tasha and the Staff, Board and Membership of New Voices Pittsburgh have built together,” says Heather Arnet, CEO, Women and Girls Foundation. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Councilmember Dan Gilman sponsored proclamations declaring December 4, 2014 “New Voices Pittsburgh Day.” The Living Our Legacy 10th Anniversary Celebration will raise important funds and new friends and showcase the genius of Black women and girls who are transforming the Greater Pittsburgh Region.
To learn more about New Voices Pittsburgh, visit newvoicespittsburgh.org and follow us on Twitter @NewVoicesPgh.
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