Making good trouble on the screen and in your communities, Women 4 Change's Indiana's April 26th Newsletter
Making Good Trouble on the Screen and in Your Communities
Friday April 26th, 2024
'John Lewis: Good Trouble' Presented with Women4Change
Join Women4Change Indiana on May 8th, 2024, at 6:30 pm as Kan-Kan Cinema screens "John Lewis: Good Trouble," which chronicles the extraordinary life and legacy of the late Congressman John Lewis, a towering figure in the civil rights movement and a tireless advocate for voting rights.
Through archival footage and interviews, the film offers a powerful testament to Congressman Lewis's lifelong commitment to social justice and his unwavering belief in the power of nonviolent protest.
In 2024, voting will take center stage as we prepare for the gubernatorial and presidential elections. It is more crucial than ever for us to come together as a community, educate ourselves on the issues, and exercise our right to vote.
By joining us for this screening, you'll not only gain insight into the life of a remarkable leader but also be inspired to take action and make your voice heard in the upcoming election.
Movie screening- $15
Full VIP Experience (panel discussion and refreshments) -$30
Purchase your tickets here: https://www.goelevent.com/Kan-KanCinemaandBrasserie/e/JOHNLEWISGOODTROUBLEPRESENTEDWITHWOMEN4CHANGE
Mayor Sharon Tucker and Fort Wayne Make Indiana History
On behalf of Women4Change, we want to congratulate Sharon Tucker for becoming Fort Wayne’s first African American mayor and first African American woman mayor!
Congratulations to the communities of Fort Wayne and to Mayor Tucker!
Women4Change to Participate in Maternal Mental Health Conference, University of St. Francis, Fort Wayne on May 1st.
With an emphasis on addressing maternal mental health, maternal mortality, and maternal substance use disorder, the Maternal Mental Health Conference will take place on the University of Saint Francis campus and is open for all state, regional, and local healthcare providers and community-based organizations with programming specific to maternal health.
Learn more Women4Change Indiana — Maternal Mental Health Conference
Women4Change at Ball State University
Earlier this month, Ball State University’s Dr. Christina Doll enlisted Women4Change’s experience in legislative and public health advocacy to enable her HSC 330: Legislative Policy & Advocacy in Public Health students to see what policy advocacy looks like, why it’s necessary, and to explore the paths less taken to careers in policy advocacy. Women4Change’s Aimee West visited her alma mater Ball State’s beautiful campus as a guest lecturer at the brand new Cooper Science building in an effort to help students complete their final policy advocacy projects surrounding reproductive healthcare access in the face of Indiana’s zero week abortion ban, particularly in rural areas and reproductive health deserts, and a 3 year-long effort among W4C partner organizations to define feminine hygiene products as medically necessary and repeal the “tampon tax”, which generates 5.6 million dollars annually in the state of Indiana.
In a former role, West managed a public education foundation, and underscored the continual need of public-school teachers to build a reserve of feminine hygiene products in their classrooms because their students simply couldn’t afford them. When asked to share why she chose policy advocacy, West also cited other experiences having worked in cancer care, with neighbors facing eviction or living in deteriorating neighborhoods, and working as a court-appointed special advocate for children and with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She said that Indiana policy isn’t doing enough to protect the safety and futures of women and children, or to preserve neighborhoods and tenant rights, and she feels compelled to help improve these conditions at the policy level.
Dr. Doll has incorporated a wide variety of advocacy voices to help inform her students into her academic curriculum to help students plug into the issues that matter most to them, and shared the following feedback surrounding the student/guest lecture advocacy experiences:
Aimee West, Women4Change Indiana, guest lectures at Cooper Science, in HSC 300 Legislative Policy and Advocacy. Photo: Christina Doll, Ball State
“Civic Lex” -Civic Health and Community Building Practices that work in Lexington, Kentucky
We also attended guest speaker series “Civic Lex” at Ball State, in the College of Architecture and Planning, to glean insights and civic engagement best practices from Civic Lex, a quasi-municipal organization tasked with bridging community information gaps, improving citizen involvement, voter turnout, and civil discourse conditions in Lexington, Kentucky. In contrast to state policy advocacy, guest speaker Meghan Asha, Executive Director of Civic Lex, shared that one of the most valuable takeaways from working with citizens locally, is that citizens are more likely to become involved in their neighborhoods and local governments versus tackling state and national policy issues, and advises citizens to first get involved in local decision making, where you’re likely to have the greatest impact.
Megan Asha, Executive Director, Civic Lex- College of Architecture and Planning, Ball State University Speaker Series, 2024
Women4Change at the 2024 Indiana Civic Summit, Ivy Tech, Indianapolis
Women4Change participated in the Indiana Civic Summit hosted by the Indiana Bar Association, to gain a clearer understanding of the state of civics in Indiana, to learn what actions other civic education organizations are taking to improve Indiana’s bottom-ranking civic health index, and where Women4Change can lend support.
Key findings: On civic participation, Indiana ranks 5th in the country for the volume of social media political posting but drops 45 places to 50th in civic health index and voter turnout. Indiana ranks 40th in voter registration and combined with the social media political posting rate, voter registration rates, Hoosiers have chosen social media over voting in elections. Attendance in public meetings has decreased and contact with elected representatives is unchanged.
Indiana Citizen Editor/CEO Bill Moreau’s overarching observation is that “Indiana’s civic health is poor, has severe problems, and that the Indiana Bar Associations findings have not transferred to action among IGA.” Moreau issued a call to action: “To get outside of elite, high-minded orgs, connect with real citizens, and to get the political class out of the room.
What does real connection with Hoosier citizens look like?
What can Indiana do to turn it around?
The consensus answer among panelists and organizational representatives is going into neighborhoods, schools, and youth voter engagement.
Moreau says other states successfully combat low voter turnout by installing online and same day voter registration and voting, allowing students to use college ids, and he underscores that Indiana has placed additional barriers for young Hoosiers to vote through HB 1264, through burdensome BMV cross-referencing.
Angela Nussmeyer, representing the Secretary of State’s office, challenged Indiana’s 38 college campuses to become election sites, and for county clerks to champion this effort. She cited SB 1211, legislation that sets forth high school civic education standards and creates student civic engagement criteria and designation for Hoosier students to earn on their high school diplomas. Nussmeyer shared that Indiana provides opportunities for students to serve as poll workers, and she sees this as an important opportunity in enlisting the help and leadership of young Hoosiers.
Linda Hansen, President, Indiana’s League of Women Voters, offered up the LWV’s comprehensive “one-stop-shop”: Vote 411: an aggregation of candidate and ballot information and voter resource. She also praised the Marion County Prosecutor’s second chance program to get formerly incarcerated people back on the voter rolls.
Bill Moreau, Editor, Indiana Citizen, Indiana’s Bar Association’s Indiana Civic Summit, April 2024
JoAnn Hoskins, Chair, Women4Change Indiana and Aimee West, Indiana Civic Summit, April 2024
Voting by mail, demystified.
Since the election of 2020, there have been false rumors and misinformation about voting by mail circulating, and we’re here to tell you that voting by mail is safe, and that election fraud of any kind is extremely rare. However, the process of requesting an absentee ballot in Indiana is a little more complicated than in years past.
W4C’s Claire Farrington tells you how to vote by mail and demystifies the process.
If you missed the 11:59 PM, Thursday April 25th deadline to request an absentee ballot for the primary election, and you know you can’t vote in person for general election, request an absentee ballot before November.
A note from Women4Change CEO Angie Carr Klitzsch
From Angie's Desk
We’re still basking in the glow from our Next Chapter celebration and the love and support shown by our partners and supporters, last week. Reflecting upon what we asked of our community: where to focus our efforts, here’s one powerful call to action:
“To nurture working environments and careers for women and to look out for one another.”
Looking at the work ahead, here’s what W4C’s CEO Angie Carr Klitzsch has to say about our most imminent priority: Getting Out The Vote.
W4C Voices
Women4Change’s platform W4C Voices amplifies the actions, ideas, and perspectives of those working to improve the lives and futures of Hoosier women.
We heard from Sanai Mavindidze about the minority maternal mortality crisis in Indiana and across the country and she believes more resources and research need to be devoted to understanding and addressing maternal mortality among minority mothers.
Here’s her story.
Have your own story or idea on how to improve the lives of Hoosier women, Indiana’s voter turnout or civic health?
We want to hear it. Reach out to Aimee West at aimee@women4changeindiana.org
