Sex is great! So is having access to birth control to protect yourself from pregnancy. What’s not great is having to explain to your employer why you need it. It is only March and so far this year there have been over 430 attempts made by policy makers to cut access to reproductive health services.
Recently a new controversial billregarding birth control has been advanced in Arizona which would allow employers to fire women who take the pill to prevent pregnancy, rather than for health purposes, based on religious and moral beliefs. WTF?!?!
What can you do?! Visit this TUMBLR and speak your truth about why you love sex and access to birth control and tell the government to get the fuck off your body!
This week we celebrate the 39th anniversary of Roe. V. Wade, the landmark decision by the Supreme Court to guarantee a woman’s right to privacy and the legalization of abortion. This decision dramatically changed the way women and families live their lives –for the better. It offers a safe and legal way for women to make decisions for themselves and their families based on need, access to resources and family planning. Women all over America are able to freely express their reproductive autonomy by choosing to have children, not have children and parent their children with dignity. While we are fortunate to live in a country where abortion and birth control are legal in all 50 states, there are policy makers and politically motivated movements who have prioritized controlling women’s access to reproductive health care – and our bodies.
In 2011 women’s bodies monopolized political debate as the right attempted to defund Title X facilities and strip reproductive healthcare access for millions of women nationwide. Congress pulled out all stops to slash funding for women’s reproductive services targeting Planned Parenthood and gunning for families with the greatest need. Fortunately anti-choicers and their political muses were unsuccessful, but 2012 is looking like another tough year for reproductive rights activists in the fight to secure and sustain access for women and families.
While it is important to highlight abortion as a key hot button issue this election year (and every year), we must also focus on the importance of contraception and access to other facets of reproductive health care. Last year pro-choice activists suffered a huge loss when Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Katherine Sebelius overruled a much-awaited decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make emergency contraception (EC) available over-the-counter (OTC) to women of all ages. More recently, some conservative candidates have taken a firm stance against contraception – one even stated “contraception is a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.” In addition five of this year’s Republican presidential hopefuls have signed personhood pledges, promising to acknowledge the “equal and unalienable rights” of zygotes while disregarding the free will and self-determination of fully formed women. Last November, Mississippi voters faced and defeated a ballot initiative that would have declared life begins at fertilization, making contraceptives like the IUD lethal weapons and we are certain to face even more threats to reproductive autonomy with the upcoming election.
For decades the sovereignty of women’s choices has been threatened by the irresponsible and self-interested conservative agendas of bible yielding, hypocritical tyrants whose quest for power leave women and families in precarious positions. Those on the margins, with access to the least resources including low-income women of color will suffer most from policy that restricts access to family planning. In 2012 we face restrictions on birth control and abortion, limited funding for reproductive health care including pap smears and mammograms and after all of this damage is done there will be no options for assistance to mother’s whose choices were limited by those who have no vested interest in their well-being. If women’s access continues to be a leading issue for the current Republican presidential field, pro-choice advocates are looking at another heavy year of advocacy and push-back and push-back we will give them!
It is my hope that we celebrate another 39 years of Roe v. Wade. Another 39 years of reproductive freedom for women and families who deserve tangible options for family planning and who can make their own decisions about when to have sex and when to have a family. We don’t need policy makers telling us how to make choices for ourselves, bodily integrity is one of the most important facets of human dignity – it should be that we are the governors of our own physical being. Here’s to another year of celebrating Roe, another year of freedom!
In the last two weeks I’ve attended both the D.C. & Oakland Occupations. I have a different analysis of both and won’t go into detail about either right now but I do want to share some photos I’ve captured.
I will say that on a fundamental level there are some serious communication breakdowns, some divisive energy and issues of patriarchy, white supremacy, classicism, heteronormativity, and other layers of oppression that exist in the broader society, continue to be perpetuated within this movement.
What seems to be caught up in the red tape and messaging is the over-arching oppressive cake topper, capitalism. Sub-themes directly descended are racism, sexism, heteronormativity, social exclusion and if we deal directly with capitalism we can guarantee some dissipation of the sub-themes of this socio-political climate. The isms within the “movement” are another beast entirely – how those who fight to be released of economic oppression can oppress others is beyond me.
We lack individual and cohesive selflessness. Almost everything we do is for self, even these protests. There is an inherent, irreversible selfish ambition we peruse with reckless abandon. Those White-identified people fighting tirelessly for economic security and an end to corporate greed are not interested in inserting a racial analysis because it dilutes and makes more complex their demands. Similarly those able-bodied people dismiss a disabled analysis, men dismiss a gendered analysis, straight folx dismiss a queer analysis, etc. We are so deep down, digging ourselves out would take a compete mental overhaul for most of us.
Oakland’s culture incites an artistic nature and an artistic analysis has been applied to the occupation as it has evolved. Visual art, music, dance, poetry and other mediums have been used as tools for organizing ans social change.
Check it out.
Frank Ogawa Plaza has been named Oscar Grant Plaza during occupation
Alicia, Shanelle & William
Messaging was clear - STOP FUCKING PEOPLE OVER!
Thank you, to the Ohlone People, for allowing us to use this land
Anita, Lanese, Shanelle, Akasha & Lailan
I was in D.C. for the Echo Justice Convening for communicators in the movement and each day afterward I headed to Freedom Plaza to check out the occupation taking place. From the least judgmental place in my heart, I was underwhelmed. It was what appeared to be a rallying of “the usual suspects” (Vietnam war vet activists, the ladies of code pink, etc) whose causes are equally important ( and share similar messages) but seemed to detract something (not sure what) from the broader message. What was observed by a colleague of mine was that their messaging hadn’t evolved, their frame was reminiscent of three decade old propaganda that has been heard again and again and was no longer resonant. I am grateful people were present, grateful for the moment and the opportunity but just a little more, just a clearer, streamlined conscious effort to invest some tactic into the movement would have made this that much more powerful.
Shanelle with James of the Vermont Workers Center
Shanelle with Clayton Thomas-Muller of the Environmental Indigenous Network
Last month I attended NLNI (New Leadership Networking Initiative) & CLPP (Civil Liberties & Public Policy) conferences at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA as a representative of my organization Law Students for Reproductive Justice. While I was looking forward to experiencing something new I was nervous and apprehensive to rep LSRJ for the first time in a professional setting. GAWD! Am I glad I went!
My co-worker and I flew into Hartford, CT. I’d lived in NYC and traveled through New England by way of train to D.C. but never found a reason to visit the perennial rolling hills of long-established Massachusetts. The air was brusque; I’d packed horribly dawning an old hoodie from my alma matter and faded black yoga pants – I could feel the cool air cut through my body as we exited the airport. The air smelled fresh – not like California’s haze-ridden skies that often smell of spoiled salt water and some varied {and I am sure toxic} pollutant.
I was excited to be in an unfamiliar place. I went into sensory overload taking in all of the sights and smells and thinking of the historical significance of this space, daydreaming of what it was like here hundreds of years ago when the indigenous peoples of America served this land.
{{Excluding my traditional tirade on omission of indigenous peoples in everyday discourse}}
As we drove the scenic route (what route in Mass isn’t scenic?) to our hotel I felt a sense of privilege and gratitude. Here I am several hours and 3000 miles away from my home, in a new state and surrounded by new people and new things. I can’t help but think of all of the people I know who’ve never had the opportunity to leave their state let alone travel cross country. I am prayerful and meditative.
We shared a van with colleagues from ACRJ (Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice), BWRJ (Black women for Reproductive Justice) and The St. James Infirmary. Upon arrival at the HOJO (Howard Johnson Hotel – a relic of the elder hotel chains) we were greeted by people from all over the country there to attend the conference. As homely as the HOJO in Hadley, MA may have been it was inviting and the presence of the other attendees made me forget the rash inducing soap and scratchy towels, and I mean that in the most gratuitous of ways. {Thanks CLPP!}
Early the next morning we headed to Hampshire College where our conference was held. Hampshire is a small, student centered liberal arts college that focuses on alternative education. The campus felt familiar, like I’d gone there in a previous life. It was green and earthy with rolling hills as far as I could see. The buildings were spread out forcing students to walk, observe and socialize. I wondered what my educational career would have looked like had I attended a school that focused heavily on cultivating my ability to be an activist.
I felt energized and excited but apprehensive. Would I have anything to add to the discussion? In my manic state I reminded myself that I didn’t always have to be the conversationalist, that there would be countless people there that would teach and motivate me to be better at what I do; who would plant seeds of inspiration in me; who would peel back the layers of complex social justice concerns and breakdown the subconscious oppressions I may have been harboring. I didn’t have to talk, I would practice soulful listening … and practice I did.
I heard conversations of pronoun appropriation, gender binaries, subversivism, and cisgenderism. I soulfully listened to explorations of genderqueerness, sex & sexuality as they related to gender identity and learned the phraseology non-gender conforming and trans people prefer. Initially I felt inundated with the new verbiage. I wanted to be sure I got it all down so I wouldn’t offend or insult – I didn’t want to be that person, the one who daydreamed when one individual expressed their pronoun preference & I later called them something else. There were so many to remember … zi/zer/he/she/his/her/they/we. This conversation was so foreign to me. I was awe struck at the complexity but more taken aback by the comprehensibility and clear idea that this is what it is – an ubiquitous part of everyday life, just like everything else.
Working in reproductive justice means realizing the reproductive health concerns of EVERYONE. Not just those who identify with genders we’re comfortable with acknowledging.
That night there was an abortion speak out, where women who had personally experienced an abortion could tell their stories free of judgment.
The following day was full of awesome workshops. I attended three:
Impacts of the War on drugs on Communities of Color :
“With the U.S. home to 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prison population, a generation of children are growing up in the absence of their incarcerated parents. Driven by media hype, and not science, pregnant women and mothers are also losing children to the foster care system after being accused of using drugs. This panel will focus on the war on drugs’ devastating effects on women and families, particularly in communities of color, and potential measures to change these laws.”
Empowering Birth:
“Explored how women’s control over our own birthing experiences has been part of the broader fight for sovereignty and against colonialism and oppression. Speakers discussed Black women’s birthing traditions and the role of Blackmothers, midwives and birthworkers in building community and movement toward liberation in the South, the history of medicalized birth, racism’s role in moving birth out of the hands of midwives, and efforts to expand the doula and midwifery models of care.
Reproductive Technology & The New Eugenics
“From the targeted application of new reproductive technologies to discriminatory social and reproductive policies, eugenics assumes many guises to reinforce prejudices against people with disabilities, women of color and sexual minorities.”
They were all equally informative and inspiring.
That evening we drank & danced at Divas Nightclub in North Hampton. My co-workers, colleagues and I had a great time but the DJ was lame. Read my review on DIVAS HERE
NLNI & CLPP were two of the most intellectually exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had. I am still stirred and stimulated by the energy and power that radiated throughout. It was an out of body experience to share a space with hundreds of people who, for the most part, shared my views on issues of social justice and specifically reproductive justice. I hope to be back next year.
“Wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut out.”
— Gloria E. Anzaldúa (Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza)
NOTE: Due to my 2 month hiatus this post is delayed, however I think the contents are relevant so, READ IT
In February I attended the 26th annual Empowering Women of Color conference held at UC Berkeley’s MLK Student Union. With hundreds of registrants, conference administrators were met with a challenge to meet the emotional, intellectual and scholarly needs of a variety of women of color. Attendees were made up of youth of all ages, collegiate women from undergraduate freshman to doctoral candidates and seasoned women with decades of experience in the departments of social justice and education.
The schedule of events was diverse, intriguing and exciting. I wanted to attend all of the forums as they ranged from pop-culture’s impact on teenage girls of color to male feminist of color to white allyship and even a class on how to learn to be a DJ. But only having the option to choose three I chose:
1. What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life?
This workshop focused on empowering women of color through reproductive justice and filmmaking. The founders of ImMEDIAte Justice, a summer program that empowers young women from Los Angeles to share their experiences of reproductive justice through film, showed us two of their shorts and
My Critique: When I read through the forums offered for the first session of workshops I was moved by thedescription of this class. My deep-seated interest and work in the RJ movement pressed me to choose this class over others. I found the concept of introducing young women of color to issues of reproductive justice through film interesting and a formative and visionary way of teaching girls at the high school level about issues relevant to their reproductive health – unfortunately the actual workshop proved to be lackluster. The leaders of the forum showed us two of the films the girls they mentor created which were informative and creative but afterward, instead of a discussion on how to further introduce them to issues surrounding RJ or expressing their experiences with teaching the youth they passed out pieces of paper and encouraged us to write on them “if you could tell the media one thing what would it be?” which I thought was less interesting and stimulating than a discussion.
Dylcia Pagan
Dylcia Pagan
If you’re unfamiliar with Dylcia Pagan, she is a Puerto Rican political prisoner who was captured April 4, 1980 along with other comrades, for participating in the underground wing of the Puerto Rican independence movement. She served 8-years of a 55-years sentence on charges of seditious conspiracy, among others. Learn more about Dylcia here.
2. Birthing Justice: Mothering & Childbirth as a Liberation Praxis
Birthing Justice: Mothering & Childbirth as a Liberation Praxis
My next workshop was Birthing Justice: Mothering and Childbirth as a liberating praxis. As most of you know I am passionate about issues surrounding Black women’s maternal health and I am so grateful I tool the time to participate in this workshop. The women on the panel told their birth stories and their narratives moved half the room to tears.
Their experiences were diverse in nature. Some women faced extreme ageism in wanting to procreate later in life, deemed irresponsible and selfish they were disregarded by medical professionals. Some found that their interests in holistic home birth practices were not widely accepted by their loved ones and they were encouraged to seek medicalized, western birthing practices in order to “have a healthy birth.” Other stories detailed giving birth while imprisoned and having their baby taken away from them just 48 hours after delivery.
I would feel uncomfortable retelling these stories in detail, the way these women expressed their intimate experiences with birthing cannot be recounted and I would be doing them a grave injustice. However I am please to announce that we have since created a collective surrounding birthing justice called the Black Women’s Birthing Justice Project that will be up and running in the next month. Each of these women will be giving their personal narrative on our website. I will keep you all abreast of upcoming features and events. {{YAY!!!}}
Linda Jones-Mixon, Harriet Davis, Cherisse Harper & Julia Oparah
The politics of birthing justice is complex and I will be dedicating a full post to it in the coming weeks.
Erika Huggins
Erika Huggins
Erika Huggins, former Black Panther and political prisoner spoke to us next. Huggins participated heavily in the Black power movement of the 60s and 70s and she was the first Black woman appointed to the Alameda County Board of Education here in Oakland. She currently teaches in the Women & Gender Studies Department at Cal State East Bay. Read more about Erika here
3.Building Community for Women of Color in a Predominately White Academic Institution: The Making of the Women of Color Creative Collective {WOC3}
Women of Color Collective
Workshop number three was interesting and very informative. Women of color staff from UC Davis came to discuss how to feel comfortable and at home when you {and people who look like you} make up a small presence on a large campus or organization. In their case, they are mainly Black identified women who are on staff at a predominately White University. Their isolation encouraged them to create the Women of Color Creative Collective where they could meet once a week and discuss pressing issues they didn’t feel comfortable discussing in mixed company. Some issues that came up were:
Alienation of white identified women
How they chose the women who would be a part of the collective
If this was feasible at a private organization
Their group processes
Having went to a predominately white academic institution {LSU} I know first hand what it means to be surrounded by people who do not share your world view. We created orgs like this {not as formal} but often it seemed like self-segregration and isolated groups by race and gender, I think my institution would have benefited from a program like this. Maybe I’ll shoot them an email and encourage it
ARTIVIST (ARTIST + ACTIVIST) PANEL
Goapele, Ka'ra Kersey, Favi, Hannah Moore
This panel, for me, was just okay. I was expecting to be enlightened by local artist on how they juggle being both an activist and an artist in mainstream America but it turned into an awkward {{no disrespect to the panelists}} back & forth passing of the microphone. Goapele shed some light on she and her families community & coalition building – probably the highlight of the panel.
Angela Davis
The keynote speaker was none other than former Black panther, political prisoner, current distinguished professor emerita and founder of Critical Resistance, Angela Davis. As she always does, she impressed with seasoned words of wisdom imparting profound quotes and advice on eager listening ears. She answered questions from the audience about the non-profit industrial complex, the injustices in foster care and of course the prison industrial complex but more specifically geared toward women in prison. She quoted Gloria Anzaldúa from the famous “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (1981) and she disclosed personal narratives of struggle and sacrifice. Read more about Angela Davis here.
Talent:
The conference administrators did a pretty a-maz-ing job at snagging talent for the event.
This group is called Aguacero – they were Fantastic!
Last but not least Goapele performed at a post conference concert shedding all of her beautiful light on the crowd.
Goapele
Overall I’d say the conference was a great success. I walked away enlightened, stimulated and having met a host of phenomenal women of color with whom I’ve stayed in contact with. I am looking forward to next year’s conference and encourage you , if you’re a woman of color in California to attend
East Side Arts Alliance: 2277 International Blvd. Oakland, CA 94606
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iBelieve …
I’m an idealist, a liberal, a free thinker and an analyst. I read, write, research and question. I speak, protest, shout and criticize but what I do not do is pretend to know something that I don’t and make irresponsible assertions and judgments based on that ignorance. There seems to be a lot of that going around. An opinion is only as good as the facts you base it on. {{in my opinion}} ;)
Too often are services in the name of social reform performed in some clandestine search for monetary or materialistic gratification. With all of the technology and expertise offered, today’s society has lost touch with the mental and collective rewards community service and advocacy has to offer.
We live in a society that has failed to acknowledge the full extent of our debt to women. Ending the use of cutting hate language could be the foundation for this revolution.
“There are inherent dangers in building an identity based on the prejudices of one's oppressor; eventually the line between myth and morality becomes dangerously irreversibly blurred.
-Joan Morgan
"I am a Black Feminist. I mean I recognize that my power as well as my primary oppressions come as a result of my blackness as well as my womaness, and therefore my struggles on both of these fronts are inseparable."
