WELCOME to our new web page...
- Judi Jennings,
KFW Director
"KFW dedicates this space to the power and beauty of Kentucky women’s voices.
Some of the women quoted here are connected to the Kentucky Foundation for Women, some are working in allied organizations, and some are contributing as individuals to their home communities.
The brief words recorded here speak volumes about the deep commitments of these women to creating art and taking actions that make a difference to us all.
The KFW staff created this space, in honor of Women’s History Month, as a way to spotlight the diverse voices of women from all over Kentucky. We hope it will inspire you to explore further your own inspirations, dreams, and actions.
We plan to update the page every few months, so please check back often for new inspiring words and opportunities to submit your own statements for consideration."
“You reach summits by having the courage to take the next step. At W4W we’re all about helping the women and girls of our community take that step.”
-Ann L. Coffey,
Executive Director of Women 4 Women
(www.women-4-women.org), dedicated to improving the health and economic well being of women and girls in Jefferson County
“When interviewing the women who agreed to share their lives for my book, Courageous Paths, I listened to their stories, lived their lives of pain with them, rejoiced in their successes, and was impressed by their tenacity and determination. I found I took courage from them to lead my own life in a more courageous manner. We all benefit from our shared stories as women searching for self-awareness.”
- Jane Stephenson, Founder, New Opportunity School for Women in Berea
"The first priority in our work of creating plays is to honor the women who told us their stories--their words, their thoughts, their opinions, not our own, come first. We feel that giving voice to those that have gone unheard is the essential work of feminism."
-- Shannon Leigh Woolley, Artistic Director of Looking for Lilith Theatre
( www.lookingforlilith.org), a women's company that creates original plays about women’s history
“Kentucky’s women possess strong voices, voices that often fall on deaf ears, know no sympathy, have no outlet. They have long hidden themselves behind spotted steel sinks and sagging clotheslines, scrawling moments of memories and feelings on the backs of tattered envelopes and within dime store tablets. Some slam a frustrated fist into the wall; others paint the wall a new color, a color so subtle that it still allows the base coat to penetrate. Some whisper their true stories between the lines of their written words.”
-Trish Lindsey Jaggers, writer and educator from Smiths Grove
“Our programs are an opportunity for youth to discover the arts as language empowerment that fosters character-building and self-confidence. We are excited about their potential. By re-creating the stories and retelling them as a classroom on stage we rekindle the fires of our own humanity.”
- Nana Yaa Asantewaa, Founder, Kentuckiana African American Arts Series and the Arts Council of Louisville
(www.louisvilleartscouncil.org)
"One woman's agenda should not be another woman's agenda. The absolute power of feminism is choice."
--Virginia Speed, director of leadership initiatives for Louisville Metro United Way from 2003-2005. Quoted at the Jefferson County Women’s Summit 2005: www.louisvilleky.gov/
OFW/Reports.htm
“I have been writing about end-of-life issues. My work began with newspaper articles, public radio commentaries and a documentary radio series. The issues of the uninsured – more women than men, of course – are so important. Art is one way of getting people to pay attention.”
-Constance Alexander, author and playwright from Murray
“We see feminism as developing the ability of women to define themselves, independent of any definition a man may put on them – and of finding their place in taking leadership in the community and society at large to bring about change that benefits our population as a whole.”
-Anne Braden, writing about the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression
“Sometimes writing is cathartic for women. Sometimes women want to preserve something important for their children or grandchildren. Sometimes women want to write about things they cannot talk about. Many times women want to write because they can. Social change occurs when women realize they have this power. I firmly believe that, especially in Appalachia, social change begins with such self-discovery.”
-Denise McKinney, a writer living in Berea
“Feminism is a struggle to end sexist oppression. Therefore, it is necessarily a struggle to eradicate the ideology of domination that permeates Western culture on various levels. ”
-bell hooks, Distinguished Professor-in-Residence, Berea College
“Enabling a homeless single mother to obtain a college education widens her horizon, leads her to self-sufficiency, and enhances not only her child's/children's future but also the world's potential for peace.”
-Lucy M. Freibert, a Women's Studies pioneer at the University of Louisville and Founder of Project Women
