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Current Survivor Profiles A Conversation with Connie Chow: Activist By Claire Cummings   Each issue of Survival News features a profile of an outstanding woman activist. This time we chose to interview Connie Chow, Co- Founder with Laura Roskos of the Massachusetts CEDAW Project. CEDAW is the acronym for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which is a progeny of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. Connie’s Massachusetts CEDAW Project coordinates a Legislative Campaign, in collaboration with Amnesty International’s Northeast Regional Office, the Coalition for a Strong United Nations, Mass Welfare Rights Union, Survivors, Inc. and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, to pass a "Massachusetts initiative to infuse Human Rights standards and values into State Law". Together they are sponsoring House Bill 706, a piece of innovative social justice legislation that may transform the way people think about public policy. If adopted, the Massachusetts Human Rights Bill will set in motion a process whereby international human rights standards and protections can be integrated into our state’s legal code. The Initiative is called "Human Rights For All". Connie is the newest member of the Survivors, Inc. Collective Board. HERE WE ARE, CONNIE CHOW AND CLAIRE CUMMINGS, two CCs, on a beautiful sunny afternoon in Coolidge Corner, Brookline, MA, having a wonderful talk about being working/activists. A small portion of this much longer and fascinating interview follows: SN: Speaking about being activists for social change, you were saying that social change work is hard work and that activists don’t live right. (Laughing) CC: Yes, because we see so much injustice and so much that needs to be changed that we feel some guilt if we just take out some time for a movie. Maybe that’s just hubris that we think that we can actually save the world! SN: How did you become an activist trying to save the world? CC: Actually, my activism has come rather late, I would say, – mostly in grad school in Boston at Harvard. I grew up in Hong Kong, in a low income family, wanting others to be happy and have the dignity we are all given and should share. I was aware that I am very lucky in health, family and abilities and I am motivated by the idea that I do not deserve to be any more blessed than others. Ever since high school I have wanted to work for social justice. I remember distinctly that when I went to the UN as a freshman in college. It was my first trip to New York, and I looked at that document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I was almost in tears! It really spelled out the conditions we should all be living in. I didn’t really act on it right away, except in my personal life, but then when I got to grad school, I thought I should join an organization. I had heard of Amnesty Inter- national since high school. I saw a bulletin about an event they were having with an ex-prisoner of conscience from China. It was moving to hear of these experiences and so that’s when I decided to join the local chapter and do more. SN: That certainly speaks volumes of encouragement to the value of our political work to inspire activism from writing books, speakers, flyers, to the grassroots levels! Would you mind talking about how gender, race and class have been significant for you.. CC: Sure, I think what one believes is desirable depends on class. Linda Stout’ s book, Bridging the Class Divide and Other Lessons for Grassroots Organizing, influenced and impressed me and made me pay more attention to what I do in my work as an organizer. I found that when I was studying as a microbiology major at Brigham Young University, (in her other life, Connie is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Simmons College), it was considered to be a man’s field, and wanting a career and wanting to do something with my life  was taking a man’s place. There was the expectation there that women should not be smart or speak out. The class effects of poverty are debilitating for women – the Universal Declaration of Human Rights principles, as well as aspirations for science and art become peripheral when weighted down by poverty. As an Asian activist, it is odd to be a minority. I am aware and obser- vant that I am the only Asian in the room in some groups (Amnesty International is mainly white, but is trying to become more diverse). There has been no overt racism among the groups I have worked with. I am aware of ethnicity – I feel a split in myself – should I be in an Asian organization. SN: Would you talk a bit about your strategy with the Mass CEDAW initiative? CC: The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimina- tion Against Women is one of the Treaties of the United Nations not ratified by the US. Many groups are campaigning to get it ratified federally, but that has been stalled. Since the Beijing Conference on Women the emerging strategy is to get the human rights perspective written into state governance by passing the initiative on the local, grassroots level in county, town, city and state governments. SN: Can you believe we’ve been talking for over two hours? Thank you, Connie. Survivors, Inc., (617) 298-7311 Last Modified 5/2007 info..at..cqs.com This Internet site provides links or references to other sites that are provided as a convenience to users of this site. We have no control over the content of such other sites and shall not be liable for any damages or injury arising from that content. Survivors, Inc. 95 Standard St. Mattapan, MA 02126 Copyright © 2004-2007 Survivors, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Grassroots logo by Claire Cummings

Another Fallen Anti-poverty Warrior Mackie McLeod was a mentor to us. We met him while we were welfare mothers and students at the University of Massachusetts, Boston College of Public and Community Service along with a few other welfare mother students who were striving to get an education and jump the earnings gap to enable women to earn a breadwinners wage to support our families.