Last week SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective held their second Let’s Talk About Sex conference in Miami Beach at the swanky Eden Roc Hotel on South Beach. The Eden Roc, considered a luxury resort hotel, seemed a distant fantasy for me and the atmospheric energy told me I wasn’t alone. My personal class identification is working which doesn’t provide for much wiggle room for anything termed luxury or resort-like. Upon arrival I was met with 90 degree weather, ocean views and four different pools to choose from. Immediately I began milling around in my head for what karmatic opportunities I’d propelled forward to deserve this. Gratuitous banter filled the air as we roved the marble floors, pillared entry ways and sculpted architecture. Oakland seemed galaxies away.
With upwards of 600 participants, conference administrators were met with a challenge to meet the emotional, intellectual, professional and scholarly needs of a variety of women of color. Attendees varied from youth to seasoned experts in the fields of reproductive health, rights and justice providing a rage of experience and familiarity. Participants were offered workshops around birthing justice, sex & spirituality, white allyship, queer and trans politic and more. There were spaces for youth, artists, birth workers and Spanish only speakers. Both sexual health and sexual encouragement workshops were offered providing a spectrum of sexual edification. Really, who could ask for more?
On behalf of all of us who have worked on the campaign to remove the racist, anti-choice billboards in Oakland, I want to say thank you for all you did. So many of you emailed CBS Outdoor and spread the word about the action that we were able to generate thousands of emails to CBS Outdoor insisting on the removal of the billboards. At the height of the action, over 500 emails an hour were going into their local and national offices.
When the billboards were removed early Monday morning, all of us were relieved, and held our heads high as we walked our own streets. It is critical for us to name and claim Oakland as a place where each woman’s right to access the reproductive health care she needs is preserved, no matter her race, income, or immigration status. We are honored that several elected officials have joined their voices with ours. Congresswoman Barbara Lee reacted with a powerful statement condemning the billboards, and Mayor Jean Quan worked closely with us to ensure CBS Outdoor knew we had the full support of her administration.
Our coalition accomplished so much in a few weeks…from reaching out to thousands of supporters, to talking with local and national media, publishing our own OpEds and blog posts, and engaging elected officials. And in the final days of the billboards’ presence on our streets, we took a camera and a microphone and headed out to hear from Black women themselves what the billboards meant to them. These powerful videos were the result.
The racist billboards are part of a nationwide effort to wedge communities of color, and divide us from each other. Oakland reacted powerfully, with a unified voice to say, “Not here!”
But as we look around the country, we see a different picture. In addition to the highly-publicized attacks on reproductive and civil rights at the national level, in the first six months of 2011, states enacted 162 new provisions restricting reproductive health and rights.
Many of these laws and regulations are about how abortions are paid for, with limitations on Medicaid, insurance exchanges, and other funding sources. We all know that these limitations hit women of color and low-income women the hardest. The billboard campaign has reminded us of the myriad ways in which our opposition continues to limit access to health care, including abortion, and how these attacks deeply impact communities of color. The billboards are a visible reminder of the strategy to stir up feelings of stigma and shame, and to try to turn families, congregations and communities against each other.
But that didn’t happen here. A multi-racial coalition stood together and said no. Two of our most powerful elected officials, both women of color, raised their voices loud and clear, with no apologies, and stood up for the right for women to access all the reproductive health care they need.
Black women on the street said it, Trust Black Women said it, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, Access WHR, ACLU of Northern California and Law Students for Reproductive Justice said it. NARAL-CA, Generations Ahead, Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice and Strong Families all said it. Our allies in Los Angeles including California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Black Women for Wellness, and California Black Women’s Health Project said it. Allies who joined us, including California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom and the Center for Media Justice said it.
All of you who called, wrote, posted and tweeted said it. We stand together against these attacks, and we will work together to ensure that all women can access the care we need.
The billboards could have been a distraction, but our small and mighty group was able to turn them into a powerful opportunity to reach out to each other and all of you, and raise our voices in support of women, families and communities in Oakland.
Heartfelt thanks to all of you. We are not done, but we are together.
As the Radiance Foundation moved from city to city with it's racist billboard campaign, one thing has been notably absent. How are people in the community responding? Several reproductive justice leaders and allies have written moving posts, bloggers have analyzed, journalists have interviewed key leaders from both sides. But other than very short quotes in the news stories, no one has really spent time on the streets getting the reaction of regular folks walking by.
What does it feel like to see this billboard? When was the first time you heard the words "Black is beautiful" and what do they mean to you? What do you think about this campaign? About abortion in the black community?
We asked...check out the moving, insightful answers we received. Here are two..check out our YouTube channelfor two more. If these move you, please share with your friends and family. What a powerful reminder: women of color will speak for ourselves, on abortion, strong families, and all things that matter.
Deep gratitude for the amazing crew that talked, listened, filmed, and edited: Alicia Walters, Melinda James, Mervyn Marcano, and Shanelle Matthews.
Peace ACRJ supporters, friends, family & allies. I am humbled and honored to be the new Communications Manager here at Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice. As a Los Angeles native who was birthed from a long lineage of strong women, I’ve been committed to advocacy and activism within the reproductive justice framework for most of my adult life.
By profession I am a journalist with a deep-seated feel for the needs of those on the margin. Using media as a tool for social change can foster a future where the traditionally disenfranchised and oppressed can have their voices heard, their needs met and the support they so desperately need. I chose social justice media because it is uniquely sensitive to the needs of marginalized communities, from which I come.
We recently had the great pleasure of speaking with Sarah Noble, managing director of the Reproductive Justice Collective in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and learned that they too engaged in a campaign to take down the racist anti-abortion billboards sponsored by the Radiance Foundation. With their permission, we are re-posting their Op-ed December, 2010 on this issue. By Sarah D. Noble
Milwaukee is the latest target of a billboard campaign paid for by groups that claim to be pro-baby but are truly against the rights of black women and families. Thirteen offensive, anti-abortion billboards are scattered across Milwaukee's central city neighborhoods.
The campaign is part of a movement organized by Pro-Life Wisconsin and funded by the Radiance Foundation. These groups already have made their way to other states - Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, Illinois, Missouri and Florida - and were soundly defeated in Atlanta. Their Milwaukee ads, which state "Black & Beautiful" and "Black children are in danger," exploit images of black babies.
This is a tired strategy that uses black people as "the face" and messengers and aims to drive a racial wedge into the pro-choice movement. Their end game is to criminalize women who make decisions about their lives and to push legislation to ban abortions, as well as challenge Roe vs. Wade.
