NAFC:

The website, with a new look and a new color palette, is coming along nicely and we expect to roll it out soon!

Stay tuned....we will be sharing updates as we get closer to launch!

After a report of ICE thugs being spotted at Caraluzzi's, members of community groups pressed Newtown Police Department, Chief Kullgren and First Selectman, Bruce Walczak for a public statement informing community members of the town's policy regarding ICE.

Click here to read the statement in the Bee and to link to other information on the Trust Act.

NAFC is trying something different in 2026.

After a very successful and meaningful study, via Zoom, of this life-changing book last year, we’re now offering an online version. Each Wednesday, we’ll be discussing Me and White Supremacy, by Layla Saad, “together” our Facebook group. A new chapter will be presented each Wednesday and you can check in at any point during the week to share your thoughts and see what others have to say.

Throughout March be sure to check out our Facebook page as we highlight historical facts, influential figures, meaningful moments and stories that celebrate the impact and contributions of women of color.

*Thank you to all the allies that contributed posts for Black History Month! What a great way to learn from each other. Keep it up in March for Women's History!

Every March, we celebrate Women’s History Month to honor the vital contributions, sacrifices, and achievements of women who have shaped American society.

This year, the observance takes on a more focused lens, highlighting the overlapping disparities found at the intersection of climate change, economic inequality, and healthcare access. The 2026 theme specifically examines how these systemic challenges disproportionately affect women of color and those in marginalized communities.

A critical part of this year’s conversation is the impact of environmental racism. This is defined as discrimination in environmental policymaking, such as the deliberate targeting of communities of color for toxic waste facilities or the exclusion of these groups from environmental leadership. While these issues are rooted in racial and ethnic discrimination, they create a unique burden for women, who often act as the primary caregivers and health advocates for their families.

For scholars and advocates of women’s health, these disparities are more than just policy concerns, they are urgent health crises. By understanding how environmental hazards and economic gaps specifically threaten women’s well-being, we can better work toward a future of true equity. This month, we don’t just look back at history; we look forward to the systemic changes necessary to protect the health and leadership of all women.

March is National Reading Month, a month-long initiative aimed at fostering a love of reading and improving literacy for all ages

Once the snow melts a bit, head over to the LFL, located in Treadwell Park any day in March and feed your love of reading!

Read daily or weekly, nobody will be monitoring!

Stay tuned for more dates this year

In the beginning of Black History Month Newtown Allies for Change (NAFC) posted a public facing message, encouraging people to reflect on Black History and the many people who had a positive impact on American History. It took all of one day for one commenter to distract from the positive interactions we hoped would take place and steer the direction elsewhere.

This poster’s attempts to distract us towards her own personal agenda about women’s health care. This got me thinking; White people need to stop policing Black people’s bodies. If we understand the history of Black women and healthcare we can understand why it is important to know this portion of Black History.

James Marion Sims

James Marion Sims is considered the “Father of Modern Gynecology”. He was a physician during the early 1800’s, back when it was considered distasteful to specialize in women’s health. In spite of this reputation, Sims spent a significant amount of his time researching female reproductive anatomy, eventually inventing the speculum so that he could better examine the vaginal canal. He used his research to perfect surgery on women to fix vesicovaginal fistulas, a common 19th century injury experienced during childbirth where a tear between the uterus and bladder would cause chronic pain and bladder issues.

However, like much of medical history, his research and experiments came at the cost of Black women’s bodies. Like many people, Sims believed that Black people did not experience pain and discomfort like white women. Because of this belief, Sims would perform various medical procedures on enslaved women without anesthesia or other pain relief.

While this was bad in itself (and not the only case of using Black bodies without consent) the purpose behind it was equally nefarious. Sims was sought out by many rich, white plantation owners who wanted their enslaved women to be “fixed”. Not only so that they were more productive in their work (it’s hard to get good work out of someone who is in constant pain), but also because the ability to bear children was a way in which plantation owners earned money. Enslaved women were forced to have more children in order to have more free labor. Women who couldn’t work or produce children were useless to their owners. In addition to this, Sims argued that there was a benefit to working on enslaved women. When these women were entrusted into his care by the “owner”, he had access to bodies whenever he wanted. Sims states in his autobiography, “there was never a time that I could not, at any day, have had a subject for operation” (The Story of My Life, Dr. James M. Sims, M.D., L.L.D.). According to Sims, this was the most memorable time of his life.

In addition to experimenting and perfecting his skills on Black women, Sims moved on to experimenting on Black children. Believing that they were not as intelligent as white children (due to the size of skulls), Sims would perform craniotomies, using tools to loosen their bones and pry apart their skulls. Furthermore, he later moved to New York where he opened up a women’s clinic. There he continued to experiment on women using other controversial methods. Any time anyone died under his care, he passed the blame fully onto the shoulders of the Black midwives who were taking care of his patients.

Some may argue that the harm done on Black bodies was justified. This view holds that although people were harmed as a result, the studies increased the knowledge of women’s reproductive medicine, which benefits many. However, the repercussions of these experiments echo on in today’s modern health care.

Sims tried arguing that Black women were voluntarily subjecting themselves for the experiments. He stated that they were given the option to go and get help from him and that they could have declined. However, consent is not always about saying “yes”. Consent also means the freedom and ability to say “no”. Enslaved women were literally someone’s property, there would most certainly be retaliation in the form of physical abuse if they did not cooperate.

Modern Implications

It isn’t enough that Black women were forced to endure awful experimentations in the name of science. One might argue that we have moved past these barbaric exercises and understand that all human beings experience pain in their bodies. Because of the experiments done on Black people (including many which continued well into the 20th century), myths have been perpetuated that affect Black people to this day.

First of all, there is still a myth among the medical community that Black people do not feel pain like white people do. This has caused doctors to mistreat their Black patients who experience pain, leading to unnecessary suffering. Physicians have even held back pain medication rom black patients because they perceive that patient as a potential drug addict, simply looking for their next high.

Secondly, to this day Black women are four times as likely to die in childbirth than are white women. Doctors refusing to believe Black mothers recognizing when things are not going right in their bodies and lack of trust among Black communities that white doctors are going to cause more harm than good is a potentially deadly combination.

Understanding the role of Black women during Black History month is vital. but it is equally important during Woman's History Month. Not only do we celebrate the many Black people who positively impacted America with their inventions and innovations, but we need to remember those who were used and abused. Those women are often ignored or glamorized. Instead, we should learn about them and honor their memories.

“Harriet Tubman is most recognizable for her acts of securing justice for many

enslaved by freeing over 70 enslaved individuals as a conductor on the Underground

Railroad, and a hefty 700 more at the Combahee River Raid as a Union spy. However,

there are other elements of Tubman’s life story that can provide contemporary

audiences with a sense of inspiration... Her story is one we can look to in order to feel

we are not alone in our endeavors, but rather that we can be guided by those who

came before us.”

Read here

Susan La Flesche Picotte became the first Native American woman to graduate from

medical school, and is notable for founding an independently funded hospital on the

Omaha reservation in Nebraska.

Click here

This podcast discusses the extraordinary Mabel Ping Tau Lee, who was born in China

in 1896 and immigrated with her family to the U.S. in 1905. In the United States, Mabel

Lea campaigned for women’s suffrage, even leading the New York City Suffrage

Parade on horseback at the age of 16. Later, she was the first Chinese woman to earn

a PhD in Economics in the United States, graduating from Columbia University in 1921.

She then spent her life advocating for suffrage and helping the Chinese community in

New York City.

Click here

.

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the courage, brilliance, and resilience of women who fought to expand freedom, opportunity, and dignity for generations that followed.

But in 2026, the celebration feels complicated.

For decades, many believed women’s rights were settled. We were sure that the battles fought by our mothers and grandmothers secured a permanent foundation.

We thought we all had the right to make decisions about our own bodies. The right to equal opportunity in education and the workplace. The right to live safely, speak freely, and participate fully in democracy.

We assumed progress continuously moved forward.

Now, we are witnessing a different reality. Rights once considered secure are being reconsidered, restricted, or removed altogether.

The sobering lesson is that rights are never guaranteed. They exist only as long as people are willing to protect them.

Protection of rights come from voices raised, communities organized and people willing to challenge injustice even when it is uncomfortable.

This month asks us an important question: What kind of history are we creating right now?

Are we protecting the freedoms that generations fought to secure? Are we ensuring that young girls grow up with more choices not fewer than those who came before them?

Women’s History Month is not only about reflection. It is about responsibility.

Each generation inherits both the victories and the unfinished work of the last.

Now, it is our turn to decide what comes next.

Donations help fund our crucial work in education and community initiatives.

Donating, in March, amplifies the message of Women's History Month by providing resources to organizations doing vital work, like NAFC.

If you'd like to support NAFC and the work that we do with a monetary gift, click here

*monetary gifts are not tax deductible

March: Women's History Month

Wednesdays in March: Online Book Discussion

Have a question about NAFC? Please reach out to us at: newtownallies@gmail.com