An Explainer on Who We Are as an Organization

It may feel incongruent—even gross—to see an organization trying to sell something that feels like a faraway luxury when we are bombarded with horrors on the news all day. We feel it when we see influencers trying to sell us face cream or weight loss hacks with little to no recognition of the world beyond their empire. Though we have worked especially hard behind the scenes to confront, learn, and move this organization forward with intention, this may not always be clear to outside observers.

First, an apology: We were not quick enough to address ICE and our country’s potential downfall into fascism, not because it didn’t occur to us, but because we took for granted that y’all knew where we stood. But we all know what can happen when someone makes assumptions.

So let’s be very clear on where we stand. We believe ICE should be abolished and that it is a domestic terrorist organization. We see unqualified, poorly trained racists who have been deputized with a modicum of power that has gone dangerously to their heads. We see fear, sadness, and desperation in our neighbors and in our friends. But we also believe in the power of community and connection. What we are seeing in Minnesota—neighbors fiercely protecting neighbors—is our only way through this.

Here’s what our co-founders have been working on outside this Scribente Maternum space:

We don’t know anyone more committed and passionate about lifting up Black and Brown literary voices than Carla Du Pree. She has grown CityLit Project into one of the most prestigious and dominant literary organizations in the country. She has done it by unapologetically centering marginalized voices. Her trust in two middle-aged White ladies as her Scribente Maternum partners has helped all of us foster a vision of inclusion and justice. Working in Carla’s enormous shadow is a badge of honor, and we strive every day to ensure that Scribente Maternum meets (exceeds?) her expectations. Carla and CityLit also have been furiously at work ensuring that Baltimore writers are front and center at this year’s AWP conference and are also planning an off-site event that we all need so much right now, The Hard Times Require Furious Dancing dance party on Friday, March 6 (join us and register here!).

Over the past couple weeks, Rachel Berg Scherer, born, raised, and a current resident of Minnesota and an elected member of her local school board, has been volunteering with Latino Voices to help collect supplies and distribute them to people who are forced to shelter-in-place because of the occupation of their city. She is a fierce advocate for her state and community, and I have learned so much about the radical history of Minnesota through Rachel. Read her incredible love letter to Minnesota here!

And my day-to-day writing does not shy away from getting uncomfortable. You might also find it a little spicy (much more than you’ll see me write here) as there are F-bombs a-plenty in my weekly Substack, Cramming for the Apocalypse, where I’ve published stories specifically about ICE over the last two weeks. But the entire platform is anti-fascist, anti-capitalist, somewhat anarchic, and all the things that you might not associate with a middle-aged, White “PTA mom,” as I like to brand myself. I’m also a community organizer, working on the ground here in Portland to create hyperlocal networks to support and protect our neighbors affected by the ICE presence, as well as the Portland coordinator for Integrated Schools, working to desegregate public schools, one White family at a time.

Like all our other community work, Scribente Maternum is a labor of love. We believe in the power of mothers to bring out true and lasting change to this country, and we push against a world that relegates our roles solely to the home.

We believe in the power of writing as an act of rebellion, especially when it is within a diverse, brave, and inclusive community.

We have tried very hard over the last five years to make our events and retreats affordable. This, I tell you, is very tricky. In previous years, we didn’t charge enough to pay ourselves for the work that we’re doing, and we still forgo our own small compensation if anyone—absolutely anyone—needs financial assistance to attend one of our events.

Finally, I’m going to leave you with the intentions that we set for each other on the first morning of every Write Like a Mother retreat.

• Mothers, like any community, are not a monolith. We all have different lived experiences. We feel and experience the world in distinct ways that affect what we bring to our parenting. While we might all come to this space as writer-moms, the meaning of that is personal, and so much of that stems from other identities beyond the “writer-mom” identity. A White mom experiences the world differently than a Black mom or a woman of color. A trans parent will experience the world and parenting differently than a cis parent.

• Our definition of “mom” and “maternal” goes beyond the traditional sense of the concepts. Our definitions are inclusive and not necessarily linked to gender. The maternal role involves nurturing, the link to Mother Earth, and our everyday role as the parent doing most of the emotional labor. Our definition of the person in this role includes, among others, trans folx, genderqueer, non-binary folx, and cisgender women. It also includes those who yearn to be a mother, those who mourn the loss of a child, or those who fill a parental role in nontraditional ways.

• We, as people, as parents, as members of our communities, as participants in a global society, are constantly learning and growing. We lean into the challenging conversations. We listen and learn and evolve. We see this community as a manifestation of growing and challenging each other together.

• Creating the space for ourselves at this retreat and doing the work to restore ourselves does not mean we are walling ourselves off from the world. In fact, we see it as a way to create space to show up in ways where we are more restored. What is happening in the world and our society affects everything that we do and how we engage with the people around us. That is why today, in the middle of a global pandemic, in the midst of a global uprising for racial justice, and political upheaval, we acknowledge everything that is going on in the world. We acknowledge the visceral emotions they bring up and how they affect each of us uniquely.

• We are a community committed to social justice and racial equity. On a larger mission level, this means cultivating a community that is inclusive and open and welcoming (in all senses of the word) to everyone who comes to this space. We do this through our intentionality around creating a “brave space.” We intend to hold ourselves accountable to that.

• We know we won’t be perfect, but we will remain committed to this mission. What this also means at a personal level—this goes for everyone here, attendees and moderators alike—is that we also must have self-awareness, be open to being challenged, and ensure we are doing what we can to create a space that is welcoming and open. In particular, we speak to those of us with unearned privilege—white folx, straight folx, married folx—to occasionally take a step back to acknowledge those privileges and how ways in which we show up could affect others around us.

Thank you all for being on this ride with us, and we are eager to be more open about what we care about and how we do our work as we go forward. Thank you to the beautiful people who have stood alongside us these last few years. We are excited to continue this journey with you all.