CASA ATABEX ACHÉ

O U R H E R S T O R Y

In the 1960's young people began to seriously organize their communities in response to the oppressive conditions in education, housing, health and the general deterioration of our communities nationwide. In New York, the Young Lords party and the Black Panther Party started attacking the problem by organizing garbage protests, freedom schools, and health care actions. As a coalition they began Health Revolutionary Action Movement (HRAM), which organized against lead poisoning, took over Lincoln Hospital and the Department of Health Immunization Van to do community TB testing and began to develop grassroots community health care programs and models. Among the participants was Walter Basque, Mutulu Shakur and Urayoana Trinidad who founded the Lincoln Detox Acupuncture Clinic.

In the early 1970's the Women's Union of the Young Lords Party began to struggle around sexism in the radical movements and were the first women to stand against machismo and make serious demands on how to end serious oppression. Among those demands was the need for health care. As a result of their work the Latin Women's Collective (LWC) emerged. An organization established to organize women in our community as leaders in the areas of health, education, and employment.

Originally in Harlem and then operating out of St. Ann's Church in Mott Haven during the 1980's, the vision was continued with the Peoples Alternative Health Center founded by Urayoana Triniday, Doctor of Acupuncture. The Health Center provided low cost fasting, acupuncture, massage, meditation, and herbs. Further the Center established Vida Positiva/Life Positive bringing alternative healing to the HIV/AIDS community of color. Out of this work, at the end of the 1980's, began the First World Women of Color Healing Circle founded by Esperanza Martell, Urayoana Trinidad, Marta Morales, and Beverly Hutchinson. The Healing Circle targeted community organizers to train them in the areas of natural healing and emotional release. The mission was that they would in turn take the information and heal their communities. The Healing Circle utilized ancient healing techniques to work with community organizers who were in deep emotional and physical pain and burning out fast while trying to do grassroots work. Serving hundreds of women in all areas of work (teachers, social workers, organizers, health care workers etc.) the Healing Circle was successful in providing an alternative for emotional healing for our community and helping realize many women's dreams.

The Harlem Birth Action Committee (HBAC) concentrated work around providing Harlem women with education and referrals for healthy reproductive health and pre and post natal care. The HBAC had a midwife home delivery program facilitating home births for babies in Harlem and the greater NY community. Now located in a storefront in Harlem they conduct teen pregnancy conferences where they celebrate the gestation period of homeless and low-income pregnant young women of color. During 1996 and 1997 Esperanza Martell, Haydee Morales and Akosua Williams (Board Members of Casa Atabex Ache) provided workshops. Nakawe Cuebas and Nonkululeko are two of the HBAC founders.

Daya Associates in Harlem which provided alternative healing through colonics, yoga, meditation and other ancient healing systems was instrumental in training other women as health practitioners who in turn became part of the First World Women of Color Community. Vetora Joseph and Esperanza Martell are just two of many who trained with Daya.

During the 1990's, out of the People's Natural Health Center and the First World Women of Color Healing Circle, flourished ACHE. ACHE (Action for Community Health and Empowerment) located in the Mott Haven Section of the Bronx, a grassroots organization providing training in stress reduction techniques and preventative options to African/Caribbean/Latina women and their families living with environmental stress and HIV/AIDS. Founded by Beverly Hutchinson with support of Haydee Morales, Esperanza Martell, and Nakawe Cuebas, ACHE served to provide a safe and nurturing space for South Bronx women.

ProLibertad, the amnesty campaign to free Puerto Rican Political Prisoners, held a Puerto Rican Women's Forum at City College during 1994. At this forum, where Josephina Pantoja from the Puerto Rican Working Women's Organization of Puerto Rico was the keynote speaker, it was concluded by the participants that what was needed to help raise consciousness and political awareness in our communities was a grassroots women's organization that would address the personal and political. Given the repression that our community suffered during the late 1970's and 1980's we lost many activists to imprisonment, the social ills of oppression such as alcoholism, drugs, and estrangement from self and community. This surge of urgency was the water to flourish the seed that had been planted in the hearts and minds of Emily Lopez, Haydee Morales, and Marta Morales by the work at the First World Women of Color Healing Circle.

Although collectively serving communities through grassroots organizations serving youth, women and families the founders were disheartened with the oppressive nature of community based service organizations and their leadership. Feeling that it wasn't enough to simply service the community but rather that it was necessary and imperative to address all facets of the social political growth which also includes the emotional, spiritual, physical, intellectual development of our people the founders embarked on creating an organization that would not fragment women, their families and the community but rather would use a holistic model to create change.

We looked at women organizing models and explored organizations such as the Dominican Women's Development Center, Medgar Evers Women's Center, and the Puerto Rican Working Women's Organization in Puerto Rico.

We, in Casa Atabex Aché, are proud to say we follow the legacy and are part of the history of struggle for empowerment, healing and action of our community.

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