Grantee Seeks a Broader View of Family Values – Share Your Story

Ms. Foundation grantee Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice is looking for 5,000 "Strong Families" willing to share their stories of challenge and triumph, as they push to reframe our understanding of the American family and fight for policies that benefit us all.

After more than two decades of the Right dominating debate over "family values," ACRJ says it's time for a new conversation about what our families actually look like and what their real needs may be. The Strong Families Initiative is a 10-year-long campaign rooted in the Reproductive Justice movement that seeks to dramatically change the cultural and political fabric of the U.S.

The Right has had a stranglehold on the family debate for over twenty years. They have advocated for, and won, policies that have benefited only approximately 20% of U.S. families - those who fit the traditional image of the nuclear family - while ignoring or demonizing others based on gender, sexuality, race, age, and immigration status. We are gathering stories to show what real families look like!

If your family happens to look somehow different from the "traditional" nuclear family -- if you're a single parent, multi-generational , gay, straight, immigrant, people of color or multi-racial family -- share your story with the Strong Families campaign. Help ACRJ build a movement for democracy that values us all.

Photo by Elizabeth Rappaport, woman and child (detail), United Houma Nation, Grand Bois, LA, December 2008