Round-up Of National Nurse-Ins
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Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Reports are pouring in from around the country and it looks like the national nurse-in against Delta was a success across the country. I've already posted with the tale of our Columbus gathering, but thought I'd post a round-up of what's going on in other areas of the country...We're still waiting on numbers from three airports, but right now it looks like we had 773 participants at three dozen airports across the country!
Here's how it breaks down...
Boston
Boston has a turnout of 7 moms at Logan International and attracted the attention of local media including crews from channel 4 (CBS), the AP, the Boston Globe, Reuters and New England Cable News (NECN). Boston coverage is being updated on the Human Lactation Information blog.
New York (JFK)
Apparently airport officials met mothers at the door to the airport and refused to allow them to enter as they were not "ticketed passengers." No head count was gathered as it was simply too cold for mothers and babies to gather outside.
Sacramento
Twenty moms and their children showed up at the Sacramento airport and attracted the attention of reporters from the Sacramento Bee and Channel 10 news.
Indianapolis
Half a dozen moms gathered at the Indianapolis airport this morning with their children. WISH-TV and The Indy Channel in Indianapolis have coverage.
Baltimore
The BWI nurse-in attracted a total of 50 people and five different news outlets. There's a video up on the WJZ web site reporting on the issue.
Santa Barbara, California
While there was no local news coverage, five moms and six children showed up for the Santa Barbara nurse-in.
Columbus, Ohio
There were thirteen moms and 19 children that gathered at Port Columbus International airport. While we were asked to leave by airport officials who claimed we needed to apply for a permit, they left us alone when we pointed out that we were not protesting (but simply nursing on public property) and would be staying put. We were met by reporters from The Columbus Dispatch, Channel 10 News, NBC 4 News and a photographer from the Associated Press.
Dallas/Fort Worth
Six moms and nine children spent 15 minutes at the airport before being kicked out for lack of a protest permit. The nurse-in did get coverage on WWJ 950 radio however, which mentioned that the "nursing mothers protesting Delta airlines were chased away by police."
Bradley Airport in Connecticut
Seven moms, one dad and a gaggle of kids showed up for this protest. They also had quite a bit of media...local newspapers and crews from the local NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX stations. The Hartford Courant has coverage. The local organizer also made mention that she was approached by a TSA representative who asked what they were doing. When she was told they were having a nurse-in, she replied "That is awesome! Breastfeeding rocks!"
Philadelphia
One mom showed up, no local media coverage.
Daytona Beach
Two moms and a handful of news crews, though the nurse-in only lasted for about half an hour.
Albuquerque
Thirty people (moms, babies AND dads) gathered at the Albuquerque airport this morning for their nurse-in. So far, they've garnered coverage in the Albuquerque Tribune.
Reno, Nevada
No head count yet, but they did get coverage in the Reno Gazette Journal.
Los Angeles (Burbank Airport)
No media, but two moms who stated they got mostly good feedback from passers-by.
Phoenix
Great turn-out with twenty moms, three news crews, two radio stations and AP photographer and even Emily Gillette's uncle. Local media is already running coverage.
Tucson
Seven moms accompanied by quite a few kids. Two TV crews showed up.
Louisville
Coverage is already showing up for the nine adults (8 moms, one dad) that showed up to this Kentucky airport. The moms in Louisville were approached with the same "you need a permit" line that we heard in Columbus though no one bothered them until they were leaving. ;)
Fort Lauderdale
Thirteen women and thirteen children showed up at this south Florida airport. They passed out stickers and flyers and attracted the attention of some photographers and the local Fox affiliate.
Houston
Three moms showed up in Houston along with two news stations.
Washington Dulles
Five moms were met by a CBS news crew at this D.C. airport.
Cincinnati
Only one mom showed up but she did get to speak with some media crews that were there to cover the Comair Pilot strike.
Reagan National
The largest nurse-in so far that I can find record of. 28 moms, friends and family added up to more than 70 people. They had coverage from The Washington Post, NPR, AFP International wire services and their local Fox, ABC and NBC affiliates.
Burlington Vermont
More than 45 moms showed up at the airport where it all started. As expected, they were swarmed with location and national media crews. I'll add news links as I find them.
Portland, Oregon
More than 40 moms gathered with their kids (and one grandma) at Portland International. Crews from the local ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates showed up along with reporters from The Seattle Times and the Associated Press. The Portland crew had stickers and flyers and said that they were very well received by both passers-by and representatives from the airport.
Jacksonville, Florida
I don't have a head count yet on Jacksonville, but they did manage to snag local coverage from News Channel 4 WJXT.
Detroit
Ten moms and an equal number of children gathered at Detroit Metro Airport this morning. The Detroit Free Press reports that the moms were gathered for just twenty minutes before an airport representative came and told them that they could not gather without a permit. (Again, the same line used on us in Columbus, though we stayed.)
I don't have reports, but I do have numbers from the following cities...
Anchorage Alaska - 5 adults, 4 children
Boise, Idaho - 5 moms
Manchester, New Hampshire - 3 adults
Harrisburg, PA - 25 (total moms and children)
I'll be updating this thread throughout the day as I find more links to articles and stories. Especially since the story is evening getting International Coverage now. I'll also post a round-up tomorrow when we get the full versions of all the Columbus stories. I do hear that the issue will be on the O'Reily Factor tonight and I expect we'll also see it covered on the national evening news.
Labels: Lactivism, Nursing in Public
It looks like ATL had about 30 people show up (I didn't attend, but my LLL leader told me this). E-mail the coordinator, Valarie Roney, to double-check the numbers(judo_val@yahoo.com). She spoke with the airport PR director before the nurse-in began and agreed to terms in advance. They used no signs, and did not approach passengers, and were not harrassed. Airport staff were very polite. The ATL group was on the local NBC affiliate twice, Fox news once, and were in a few papers- also, Valarie was on a local talk radio station 640AM.
Well, I'm just now reading of the nurse-in (I do tend to avoid mainstream news) and am so proud that Kentuckians showed up! I nursed my son for +-15 months starting 14 years ago and I do recall how certain environments were downright hostile. I am so disappointed that Gillette was forced to leave her flight...disgusted but not at all surprised that the objector was another woman.
Ladies, until we can support each other with our whole hearts, we will forever be doomed to live out the sitcom caricatures of women.
God bless you all, take care of yourselves so you can keep making babies and baby food!!
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