Reading & viewing: Our best of 2017
This was a year of stories. A year of lies, secrets, and “fake news,” and the investigations, truths, and #metoo movements that revealed them. Racism, sexism, greed and hate filled the halls of power. Hope, cooperation, courage and love filled the streets.
This year we learned how much we stand to lose, and also how much we each have to give. Our stories reveal our vulnerabilities and our strengths. But if the news cycle has felt like an un-reality, the stories you’ve shared this year have staying power and reveal deep meaning.
Here’s the best of what YOU did this year:
Stories you told:
- Sasha Bittner, Medicaid Has Made My Life Possible
- Kate Duva, Domestic Workers Really Keep America Safe
- Farah F., How 3 Parents Are Building Community & Resisting Trump at Daycare
- Lindsay Imay Hong, The Danger is Real But our Determination is Greater
- Our domestic worker colleagues at NDWA pushed us to be more vocal as employers
- Many of you told stories about your families and lives in your #SanctuaryHomes stories and fasting commitments
Stories the media told that broke that are shaping the culture around care:
- How to Be a Good Boss at Home, Real Simple
- How to Ethically Hire a Nanny, Lifehacker
- My Family’s Slave, The Atlantic, one of the most read pieces of journalism this year on the internet. NDWA’s director Ai-jen Poo published her response, Lola Wasn’t Alone.
Stories told in pictures:
- Domestic workers & domestic employers protested with one voice on May Day
- Fighting for healthcare and Medicaid in the Bay Area
- Hudson Valley Care Congress, a panel discussion and documentary screening
- Tony winning artist Eve Ensler joined #SanctuaryHomes
- Children wrote and delivered holiday wish letters to Congress to defend Dreamers and DACA recipients
This year was so big we could go on and on. This list doesn’t even begin to cover how we met with gubernatorial candidates in California, launched a first-of-its-kind report on employers in New York State, and participated in the largest march in American history.
What’s on your personal best-of list when you think about love, care, support, justice, resistance, and hope? Tell us a story, send us a picture, show us a Top 10 list. Reply to us directly or tag us on social (facebook.com/domesticemployers and @hihemployers on Twitter).
