on our own terms:

Girlhood and the Politics of Place

“…3 I analyzed these texts to examine the organizations' agendas and used them to provide background and context for the girls' political engagements and practices. Both collectives have co-authored and published critiques of their own organizational dynamics and transformative justice processes, incorporating this process into their documentation (see Sista II Sista 2006;Burrowes et al 2007;Russo and Spatz 2007). I also use their own critiques of their work to address the confl icts that occur in organizing.…”

“…Through their dedication to community accountability processes, SIIS remains process-oriented rather than result-driven, practicing ongoing critical refl ection rather than assuming that there is a moment of fi nishing or arriving. By rooting itself in the principle of self-determination and remaining a volunteer-run collective, SIIS has resisted becoming co-opted like other anti-violence organizations beholden to the criminal injustice system (Sista II Sista 2005Burrowes et al 2007;INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence 2009;Smith 2010).…”

“…SIIS became aware of this symbiotic relationship between the NPIC and the carceral state when their foundation funding was slashed aft er their collective started the SLG project, which directly challenged carceral and imperialist state violence at home and abroad. SIIS was able to transition from being a non-profi t organization chasing aft er foundation grants back to being a volunteer-run, non-hierarchal collective in the wake of 9/11 (see Burrowes et al 2007).…”