This weekend Third Wave and our Reproductive Justice Network will be out in full force for the 30th anniversary “From Abortion Rights to Social Justice” conference, held by the Civil Liberties and Public Policy program at Hampshire College. For three days, social and reproductive justice activists from around the US converge on Amherst, MA for workshops and informal opportunities to network and build connections across the issues they’re most passionate about. For those who can’t attend, be sure to follow along with the conference liveblog.
Author Archive
Celebrate 30 Years of CLPP’s “From Abortion Rights to Social Justice” Conference
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011April 7-9, 2011 / Women’s Funding Network Conference
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011Women’s Funding Network Conference
April 7-9, 2011
Brooklyn, NY
Join Women’s Funding Network for a global conference that brings together women’s fund leaders, donors, experts and activists from around the world! The conference will mobilize women leaders to activate, harness and amplify the Power of Global Networks. Register and read the full schedule and presenters’ list online.
Chicago Abortion Fund: Anti-Choice Billboards Shame Black Women
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
(anti-choice billboard image via Feministing)
Third Wave grant partner Chicago Abortion Fund released this statement today, denouncing a new series of anti-choice billboards targeting communities of color — this time, in their hometown Chicago:
Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF) is against the billboard being unveiled at 58th and State Streets on the South Side of Chicago on Tuesday, March 29, 2011. The ongoing anti-choice movement to target women of color in cities across the country is both despicable and deplorable. Not only is the ad attempting to shame black women but placing a picture of the President Obama alongside the message stoops to a new low. CAF demands that elected officials and community leaders immediately reject this racist billboard campaign.
Life Always, the organization responsible for the billboard, is just one of the many anti-choice organizations seeking shock value through a message that many don’t believe. These organizations and their billboard campaigns fail to address the social conditions that create the need for abortions, including poverty and a lack of access to contraception and reproductive health care.
Says Gaylon Alcaraz, executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, “These people who insist on shoving down our throats their anti-women messages through lies and misleading information should be ashamed of themselves. Women have a legal right to access abortion services and should not be shamed regarding the personal choices they make. Abortion is a personal decision, not a political discussion. We will not be moved by this anti-choice attempt to hijack our communities. Only we, women of color, can speak for our communities. Only we, women of color, know what is best for our families.”
Last year, similar billboards first began to appear in Georgia. Third Wave grant partner SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW successfully mobilized their community and allies in Atlanta to denounce the billboards and speak to the truth of black women’s fight for reproductive freedom.
For more on the network of anti-choice organizations funding these billboards, check out Miriam Zoila Pérez’s investigation at Colorlines.
Update (March 30, 2011): Gaylon Alcaraz on NBC Chicago, at yesterday’s protest against the billboards:
Reproductive Justice & “Political Southernization”: Paris Hatcher from SPARK on GRITtv
Monday, March 28th, 2011Earlier this month, Paris Hatcher of SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW appeared on GRITtv with Laura Flanders, where she discussed the recent surge of attacks on reproductive justice and responses led by young women of color activists.
Coming Out of the Shadows: National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health Stands with Undocumented Immigrant Youth
Monday, March 28th, 2011Stephanie Alvarado, National Field Organizer at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), spoke in support of the activism of undocumented immigrant youth at the March 2011 Coming Out of the Shadows Rally in New York’s Union Square. NLIRH has been a major force in bringing the struggles and triumphs of immigrant women to the forefront of the reproductive health and women’s movements. “We stand with the DREAMers,” said Stephanie. “Your bravery will not be in vain.”
Why Comprehensive Sex Education is Part of Ending Violence in Schools
Thursday, March 10th, 2011Gender JUST is a grassroots organization that seeks to build power and develop leadership among queer youth of color by organizing for racial, economic, and gender justice. Gender JUST has worked successfully within Chicago Public Schools to implement policy changes to ensure that all young people receive a safe and affirming education. With Third Wave’s support, Gender JUST will apply their successful organizing strategy towards winning comprehensive sexuality education and increased access to health resources for queer youth of color in Chicago.
In this video, Sam Finklestein, an organizer with Gender JUST, explains why comprehensive sex education that includes all students is a critical part of ending violence in schools. He also discusses their leadership development model for building young people’s power to make this kind of change in their own community.
Women With A Vision
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011Women with a Vision (WWAV) seeks to promote wellness and disease prevention for women and their families living at or below the poverty line through health promotion, advocacy, and community based research. WWAV is a harm reduction organization that has, in response to the rapidly changing political context in New Orleans, adopted a focus on women who are impacted by street economies, the sex trade, who are or were formerly engaged in sex work, or who are homeless or street-based. With Third Wave’s support, WWAV will increase the engagement of young people in their NO Justice Project, which challenges the criminalization of sex work under the Louisiana Statute 14:89, the Solicitation of a Crime Against Nature (SCAN) statute. This statute is currently being challenged in federal courts.
Link: Women With A Vision
Power U Center for Social Change
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011Power U seeks to organize low-income communities directly impacted by institutional oppression to create an equitable and just society. Third Wave’s grant will support the POWERful Women and Families project, which addresses maternal and child health disparities in communities of color. Childbirth classes are an entry point for young leaders to engage with Power U’s birthing justice campaign, which advocates for policies that are baby-friendly, support breastfeeding infants and mothers, and expand access to the midwifery model of care within the Jackson Health System.
National Sex Worker of Color Leadership Development Institute
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011The National Sex Worker of Color Network’s Leadership Development Institute (LDI) is a collaborative effort on the part of Different Avenues, Young Women’s Empowerment Project and Women with a Vision. The LDI will foster leadership among people of color involved in sex work or the sex trade to build a national network of activists who can support policy analysis, community-based research, and develop joint strategies with other social justice movements.
Justice Now
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011Justice Now is a human rights organization that partners with people in women’s prisons, former prisoners and people with family in prison to build a safe, compassionate world without prisons. Justice Now bridges movements for reproductive justice, human rights, and prison abolition through their campaign to end so-called “gender-responsive” prison expansion and their Right to Family human rights documentation program. Third Wave’s grant will support Justice Now in their campaign to halt illegal and coercive sterilization in California prisons.
Link: Justice Now
