Florida is still under a 6-week extreme abortion ban!

President: Debbie Deland 

Vice President: Arlene Ustin

Secretary: Diane Lebedeff

Treasurer: Suzanne Southard

Membership Director: Judi Marraccini

Legislative Director: Kat Duesterhaus

Communications Director: Kaitlyn Kirk

President: Julie Kent

Vice President: Debbie Deland

Secretary: Kim Elmore

Treasurer: Suzanne Southard

Membership Director: Jessica Willson

Legislative Director: Judi Marraccini

Communications Director: Kaitlyn Kirk

People in ban states are still accessing abortion care. Learn more with the resources below.

My name is Judi Marraccini and I have been your FL NOW Membership Director for a few years.  At the FL NOW State Conference, May 2nd - 4th, we held FL NOW Board elections and we now have a new Membership Director, Jessica Wilson.

I was elected FL NOW Legislative Director.  So, this is my last FL Feminist Issue.  I thank you for your support throughout the years.

Keep up the good work and I'll be right along side of you.

You are what makes FL NOW fantastic!

Thanks for all you do, Judi

The past four years spent as Secretary of Florida NOW have sped by, filled with solidarity, friendship and feminism. As I reflect on our achievements, we made steady progress – from little things like recovering passwords to big things like endorsements of wonderful candidates who represented us so well and some terrific conferences.

These memories hold a special place in my memory and heart. It was my goal to assure we would create a place of kindness, understanding, and connection by showing up, being present, and encouraging constructive action. For me, Florida NOW has been that place.

As I move forward, I remain motivated by the same thought I had as a girl child – which I now know as the goals of feminism – that women are entitled to full social, economic, and political equality in law and in practice. It has been thrilling to join with others who have the same goal, a goal we all continue to pursue.

When people hear the word feminism, they often think of it as a movement for equality—the idea that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men. While this is important, it’s a narrow view of feminism that doesn’t capture the full picture.

Feminism isn’t just about treating everyone the same. For many people, it’s about equity, which means recognizing that people have different needs. Equality means giving everyone the same resources, protections, or opportunities, but equity means giving people what they truly need to overcome unique barriers and dismantling the systems that inflict harm. A Black woman, for example, doesn’t just need equality with men—she needs solutions that address both sexism and racism. The same goes for a disabled person, a trans person, or anyone whose experiences don’t fit the narrow Western ideal, and have been exploited currently and historically.

This is why there are many feminisms: intersectional feminisms, Black feminisms, disability justice feminisms, eco-feminisms, Indigenous feminisms, and more. Intersectional feminism must be flexible enough to address the different struggles people face.

Feminism is a web, a network of interconnected struggles. Each thread is important, and when we fail to acknowledge certain threads, we weaken the whole movement. This is where decolonizing our feminisms comes in. Feminist movements have often been shaped by colonial and white supremacist influences, leaving out marginalized voices. Decolonizing feminism means confronting these histories and making space for everyone’s experiences.

By embracing diverse feminisms, we can create a stronger movement that truly supports all women and people in their fight for collective liberation and justice.

Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is an opportunity to reflect on the incredible contributions of AAPI communities to the ongoing fight for justice, equality, and liberation. AAPI women, in particular, have played pivotal roles in reshaping our understanding of feminism, often doing so at the intersections of race, gender, and culture.

From activists like Yuri Kochiyama and Grace Lee Boggs to the ongoing work of AAPI-led organizations fighting for reproductive rights, immigrant justice, and racial equity, the AAPI community has always been central to feminist movements. It is critical to recognize the unique struggles faced by AAPI women, including issues of immigration, anti-Asian violence, and the model minority myth, all while highlighting the strength and resilience that has fueled their activism for generations.

As we honor AAPI Heritage Month, let’s not only celebrate AAPI culture, but also commit to dismantling the systems that oppress these communities—systems that intersect with patriarchy, racism, and colonialism. The work of AAPI feminists is the work of all feminists, and it is a reminder that true liberation must be collective and intersectional.

Haitian Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the culture, resistance, and revolutionary legacy of Haiti—particularly the leadership of Haitian women who have always been at the forefront of struggle and survival. Haiti’s 1804 revolution, led by formerly enslaved people, remains one of the most powerful acts of anti-colonial resistance in world history.

But the end of formal colonial rule didn’t mean freedom from exploitation. France demanded "reparations" from Haiti for lost “property”—including enslaved people—and international interference has continued ever since. Economic extraction, political destabilization, and foreign occupation have deeply impacted Haitian communities for generations. These are not just historical events, they are ongoing realities devastating the Haitian community for generations.

Haitian women continue to lead in the face of these injustices, organizing around reproductive justice, food sovereignty, housing, and safety. Their work is rooted in care, resistance, and community, not in the systems that have historically devalued their lives, but in the power they’ve always held.

This month, honoring Haitian heritage means learning about the legacy of colonial harm and amplifying the work of Haitian feminists, not just in moments of crisis, but year-round. Solidarity with Haiti means opposing foreign intervention, challenging extractive aid models, and standing with movements for Haitian reparations, self-determination, and collective liberation.

Jewish American Heritage Month is a time to recognize the deep and diverse contributions of Jewish communities to art, culture, and justice movements. From labor organizing and radical feminism to civil rights and anti-war activism, Jewish Americans have long been a part of collective struggles for liberation.

This legacy includes a powerful tradition of Jewish dissent—activists who have refused to let their identities be used to justify violence, occupation, or apartheid. Jewish feminists and anti-Zionist organizers have stood at the frontlines of movements for peace and justice, often at great personal risk. Their work challenges the false binary that says we must choose between fighting antisemitism and standing in solidarity with Palestinians. In truth, both are necessary, and both are deeply connected.

Organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow, and CODEPINK carry this tradition forward. Rooted in diasporic, anti-fascist Jewish values, these groups call for an end to occupation, an end to militarism, and a future where safety and liberation are collective—not built on the backs of others. These Jewish feminists and organizers remind us that fighting antisemitism must go hand in hand with resisting all forms of state violence, and that safety will never come from borders, bombs, or surveillance.

To honor Jewish heritage is to honor the resistance of those who have challenged fascism, empire, and genocide—not only in history books, but in the present. It means celebrating the Jewish activists putting their bodies and voices on the line for a world where no one is disposable, and where liberation is shared.

Eleven women were launched into space last month. For some, it's being celebrated as a major feminist milestone. But here on Earth, where people are being evicted, flooded out, and left behind, it feels less like liberation—and more like a spectacle.

This is not what feminist progress looks like. This is corporate, state-funded escapism dressed up in empowerment language. It’s a flex of elite access, packaged in the language of liberation. We’re told to be inspired. But inspired by what, exactly? That a select few can escape the consequences of the world they helped destroy, while the rest of us organize sandbag lines and mutual aid drop-offs in flood zones? That the face of climate collapse and billionaire-led joyrides into space now includes women?

It’s not just tone-deaf—it’s disconnected from the realities most people are facing. And while it's true that representation matters, we have to stop pretending that inclusion in oppressive systems is the same thing as liberation from them. Eleven women on a rocket doesn’t dismantle patriarchy. It doesn’t stop the surveillance state, or the fossil fuel industry, or the prison-industrial complex. It doesn’t help the Black and Indigenous land defenders criminalized for protecting sacred land. It doesn’t stop the rising tide of climate displacement, the corporate hoarding of resources, or the war on bodily autonomy.

None of this is to say space itself is inherently bad, or that people shouldn’t be curious or moved by scientific exploration. But we have to be honest about what this moment represents. When feminist milestones are framed through access to elite programs built on resource extraction for Jeff Bethos, they obscure the broader politics at play. Progress becomes symbolic, not structural. Representation gets emphasized while redistribution remains off the table.

True liberation isn’t about joining the privileged few who escape to space—it’s about building a world where no one needs to escape at all.

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