02/06/2020
A statement from our current board sent to the membership this morning.
February 6, 2020
To: All members of the Romance Writers of America Chapter New York City
We the undersigned (Adriana Herrera, Lory Wendy, Kay Blake, Eliza Luce and Celestine Martin) tender our resignations as RWANYC board member and board volunteers, effective as of March 5th, 2020. First, we would like to express how heartbroken we are about this decision. Last fall we stepped up to fill the board positions of this chapter because we love this community and felt honored to lead it. We were proud to serve as a board fully comprised of black and/or q***r women. We wish the RWA leadership could have stewarded this membership better, but as women of color and some of us as q***r women, we have had enough.
For weeks we’ve seen RWA again and again mishandle this crisis which has shown a history of systemic racism and bigotry spanning decades. We’ve been misinformed, we’ve been ignored, we’ve been disrespected, we’ve been denied our experience, and we’re still awaiting an apology from this leadership. And that is why in good conscience we can’t let our names continue to be tied to the leadership of RWA.
We do not wish to leave this community we love and respect without any warming. So we are giving you 30 days to recruit our replacements, and to come up with a plan on how to move forward for those who wish to remain in RWA. The bylaws state that any board member can resign to any other board member. There must be one board member left in office for the chapter to continue to operate. To start the process, therefore, Adriana will accept the resignations of all other board members and board volunteers on March 5th or at any time before that if a new board is in place.
The bylaws state that vacancies are to be filled via appointment by the president. Adriana will therefore fill the vacancies with the new recruits, also on March 5th or at any time they are ready to serve, after which she will tender her resignation to the new board. Given the advance notice, the general members of RWANYC who choose to remain have sufficient time to recruit replacements. Those of us who are resigning will prepare handover notes and procedure documents for you by the end of February 2020.
We are aware that in the February general meeting we discussed a plan to consider disaffiliation, but this board cannot keep to a September timeline. We are just not willing to continue to give this national board more chances, just to be disappointed and condescended to, the emotional toll this last month has taken on all of us is just too much. That being said, we will work with the chapter to continue those efforts if they so desire, as we transition out.
We wish every single one of you well and hope that we can continue to thrive as the romance community of New York City. We have been a beacon for the best that RWA is and no matter what title we have we will continue to do so.
We know members will have questions and comments so please, email us. Adriana will be answering questions to the best of her abilities. Her emails are: [email protected] and [email protected].
All our very best,
Adriana Herrera, President RWANYC
Lory Wendy, Treasurer RWANYC
Kay Blake, Secretary RWANYC
Eliza Luce, VP of Programs RWANYC
Celestine Martin, VP of Communications RWANYC
