Cyberquilting is responding to the needs of women of color both the new and old realities that are affecting their lives: (1) Women of Color and the constant threat of Violence; (2) Stretched Resources and Organizing: (3) Information and Communications Technology; and (4) The Need to Connect.

Women of Color and the constant threat of Violence

Often, women of color and transwomen of color are marginalized by mainstream women’s organizations that purport to represent the interest and issues of all women. Given the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, and class, women of color need their own mediums, spaces, and organization to advocate for issues that affect their

Be Bold Be Red National Day to End Violence Against Women of Color, October 31, 2007

lives. The imprisonment of the New Jersey Four, the legalized violence committed against women of color immigrants, the unfair denial of tenure of Andrea Smith, and the constant violence committed against women color by the media and the government demand that women of color and transwomen of color have leadership over their spaces of activism. The nature of how violence is constructed and carried out against women of color requires that women of color have their own unique forums to organize, discuss, and collaborate.

Stretched Resources and Organizing:

Given that there are constant cuts of government funding from organizations that offer services and resources to marginalized communities and a growing need for those services and resources, never before has there been a need to find creative and alternative ways to support the work of community organizations, groups, and associations. The constant threat to budgets demand an alternative infrastructure of resources and how resources are distributed which many require rethinking how we view the term resource.

Information and Communications Technology:

Social Medias like social networks, publishing cites like Live Journal, 3D worlds like Second life, Youtube, and blogs have made connecting and organizing a matter of accessing the internet. However, since people of color are more likely than other groups to lack access to the internet, we must develop multiple access

Beyond Web 2.0 to the Emergence Social Media

points where computers and the internet resource are accessible. The definition of accessibility entails access to physical hardware and training on how to use computer and internet technologies.

The Need to Connect:

Often, because of resources and geographical location, individuals and groups who are committed to social justice work in isolation from each other. Given that many of the problems facing communities of color like affordable housing, prison industrial complex, HIV/AIDS require various groups collaborating and working together therefore “cross pollinating” cyber spaces of interaction need to be developed to assist in connecting activist with each other.

The Intersection of the Four Trends/Needs

Given the above trends and how they intersect the work of women color and transwomen of color activisms, requires an infrastructure like Cyberquilting that can facilitate the distribution of resources human, social, capital, cyber technologies as well as connect women of color activist in simultaneous geographical spaces.