Our Mission

The mission of Mothers of Color Awareness Initiative is to provide the foundation for solidarity amongst women of color, children of color and our families.  We celebrate and explore our cultural diversity and heritage through playgroups, socials, and community outreach.  Our aim is to nurture, educate, and create a healthy life while maintaining a positive image of ourselves in an environment where our children can flourish.

 

Our Goals

  • Support women/children of color as they confront racial isolation.
  • Build community among women/children of color regardless of socioeconomic class.
  • Create safe spaces where women/children of color can support each other through their lives.
  • Prevent and reduce depression among women/children of color.
  • Encourage diversity awareness within our local community.
  • Increase political participation among women/children of color.
  • Develop leadership skills among women/children of color.
  • Educate our children on diversity and their rich heritage.
  • Support transracial adoptee, LGBTQA and foster families parenting children of color.

 

Our Story

Mothers of Color Awareness Initiative (MOCAI) was initially founded in November 2007 as a mothers group under the name the Pioneer Valley Women of Color Moms Group (PVWCMG).  Established to support and empower women/moms of color in the predominantly white Pioneer Valley of Western Mass, PVWCMG acted as a social group and playgroup at the local library in the first year of existence.  Every third Saturday, Bessie Jones, Founder and Director of MOCAI, provided healthy, organic snacks and a craft activity for the moms and kids that participated.

In June 2008, Bessie attended a Women of Color Networking Gathering hosted by MotherWoman Inc.  In the weeks following this gathering, a mentoring relationship was established with MotherWoman who began to cosponsor our programming with an annual stipend.  News of PVWCMG’s mission traveled fast and women of color representing all ethnic groups began contacting the organization with various issues and interests pertaining to people of color within our local community.  It quickly became clear to us that our community was in need of more than one social/craft group.

In January 2009, Bessie Jones was joined by a diverse group of mothers of color to form a core advisory group: Marisa Pizii, Assistant Director of MOCAI; Sofia Buford (formerly Bur), Public Relations Coordinator; and Sarah Scott-Kunkel, Program Coordinator.  The core group changed the organization’s name to Mothers of Color Awareness Initiative and set forth to provide the essential services to women/children of color and their families that make up our community.  We are a mission-focused organization committed to working for social justice for all.

Bessie Jones and Marrianne Bullock, co-founder of the Prison Birth Project, were the 2009 Ripple Effect Award recipients at the Women's Fund of Western Mass Annual Celebration on November5, 2009.