To “spark” the conversation, Esther Broner asks Ai-jen Poo to share her beginnings as a feminist.  Says Ai-jen, in a moving intergenerational tribute: “I got started as a feminist through Women’s Studies, and Esther Broner, you actually started one of the early programs, so thank you very much!”

Laura Flanders: “And Esther, tell us more about your start in Women’s Studies?”

Esther Broner:  “Anger is very important.  I got my start in the house of academe, at a time when all the addresses there were men.”

Ai-jen Poo: “My activism focuses right now on The Domestic Violence Bill of Rights.  There are over 200,000 women who are mostly women of color who do domestic work every day, supporting the families they take care of as well as their own families.  Historically, domestic workers have been excluded from nearly every labor law.  Their work isn’t considered ‘real’ work — it’s been thought of historically as ‘women’s work,’ and in particular, women of color’s work.  Yet this work helps to make ALL the work possible in New York, and deserves to be respected and protected. The historic victories of the New Deal exclude domestic workers.  We need a new new deal — a real deal — this times.”