InterGenerational

In our first oral HERstory project we paired our long-time NOW New Jersey feminists with young persons starting their own activist journey. The young women conducted interviews and authored pieces based on the material. Those articles are featured here. Five of these interviews were then used as inspiration for digital performances in the legacyNOW project that can be accessed on the coLAB Arts website (see right) or on the individual pages for the written pieces.

NARRATOR – Interviewer
Bear Atwood, Vice-President, National NOW – Zhamilya Bilyalova
Judy Buckman, President, South Jersey NOW – Shree Mehrotra
Alice Cohan, Political Director, Feminist Majority – Annabelle Jin
Skip Drumm and Dr. Alan Gross, Middlesex County – Lexi Abrams
Joanie Parks, Ocean County and Union County – Katie Zimmermann, 2020 NOW-NJ intern
Maretta Short, Former President, NOW-NJ –  Isha Mehrotra, Communications VP, NOW-NJ
Susan Waldman, Morris County – Vishwa Bhatt, 2019 NOW-NJ intern

 coLAB Arts, in collaboration with NOW New Jersey presents “legacyNOW”, a digital celebration of InterGenerational. The commissioned artists include a diverse group of five New Jersey women playwrights: Karen Alvarado, Stephanie Bond, Aizzah Fatima, Angela Kariotis, and Antu Yacob. These works are available on the coLAB Arts website.

BEAR ATWOOD

The ’70s and ’80s were a time of incredible transition and I feel very lucky that I was there to see it; on the other hand wish I hadn’t had to be on the forefront of it.



JUDY BUCKMAN

I knew they were getting a non-feminist message in society and in school. I wanted them to have something that said – Yes, it’s okay to cry. Yes, it’s okay to have a doll. Yes, you don’t have to be perfect at sports.

ALICE COHAN

…he told her that there were just some things in life that she could not change. Aghast, Alice resolved to spend her life advocating for societal reform.

 

 

SKIP DRUMM & ALAN GROSS

How has NOW impacted  my life? I don’t know that platform is the right word, but it’s given me the basis to live my life. To live out my values. To be an activist. To do things that made a difference….

JOANIE PARKS

She understands that the movement can sometimes be difficult, but encourages young women to “just keep putting one foot forward at a time.”

MARETTA SHORT

All my life I knew something was wrong. I was not being treated fairly.



SUSAN WALDMAN

So the next generation—get out there! Don’t let it die with us! I mean, we’re… we’re old and disappearing! We need young people to get out and pitch in.