Thanks to the hard work of many FRIDAs and our friends, our trip to Alton, Illinois, to memorialize the life of Dorothy Dixon was an empowering success!

Nine FRIDAs from Chicago traveled to Alton for the Dorothy Dixon memorial service at 11 am on May 31.  Afterwards, we walked, rolled and drove in a procession to the home where Dorothy and her unborn child died.  We chanted “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” and “Up with respect! Down with abuse!”  The residents of the house joined us in a moment of silence.  We were escorted by patrol cars from the Alton Police.  Thank you officers for keeping us safe!

 We then gathered at IMPACT again for lunch and a break.  Several of us then visited the grounds of the old state hospital at the Alton Mental Health Center.  IMPACT Board member Susan Shobe gave us a tour of the field where state hospital residents were buried.  Security officers from the Department of Human Services joined us.  It was extremely hot but very moving to be able to visit these grounds.  Due to the heat and logistics, some of our group left, but four of us were able to then stop at Mt. Olive to visit the memorial to Mother Jones, the famous labor organizer.

 We really want to thank our friends at IMPACT Inc., for their hard work in making this happen, and also to our friends from Springfield and St. Louis who came out for the day.  About 30 folks showed up to make sure the right thing was done.  It was a really tremendous learning experience and the suggestion was made to have a Dorothy Dixon Memorial Parade every year.  That’s what we are all about—getting busy!  One small drop of water causes a whole lake to ripple.

To read the Alton Telegraph news story, please visit: http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/dixon_14619___article.html/people_group.html.

To see the Alton Telegraph video, please visit: http://www.thetelegraph.com/video/index.php?bcpid=1155236442&bclid=1155106981&bctid=1582123180.

To view some photos of the trip on Flickr, please visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/25181282@N04/sets/72157605386361303/.

To see more detailed comments at our blog, please go to http://fridanow.blogspot.com.

On Saturday, March 29, FRIDA will host our first ever Sex and Disability Town Hall Meeting!  This event will feature workshops, a speakout forum on sex and disability, sex stuff vendors, community organizations tabling, and a separate child care/art area for kids.  This event is targeted towards women and folks who identify as women, but we are also seeking volunteers of all stripes.  We will also have a raffle and there will be opportunities to buy things like disability pride t-shirts. 

This event will be FRIDAlicious!!!!

Our Town Hall will be from 10 am to 3 pm at Access Living, 115 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago.  You must RSVP for this event by March 21.  To get and fill out an RSVP form, call Monica at (312) 640-2100 or e-mail Amber at ambity(at)aol.com.  If you are interested in tabling or volunteering, just get in touch by March 21. See you there!