I Changed the World Today...

If you have been wondering what I have been up to lately, it's simple. Taking down anti-abortion activists terrorizing black women in black neighborhoods. In case you haven't heard, Georgia Right to Life, the Radiance Foundation, and Operation Outrage launched a campaign to demonize and shame black women. I have been on a media whirlwind since they have gone up. And tonight, the signs came down!

Now for those of you who have been living under a rock, here are the facts:
1-Thursday of last week GA Right to Life, a anti-abortion group) unveiled their new ad campaign, the Endangered Species Project. 35 billboards went up with the face of a black child and the slogan, "Black Children are an Endangered Species". The goal was to post 80 signs by the end of the month across the state and build support for the legislation they would drop this week.

2-Since Thursday, my co-workers and I have made an appearences on MSNBC(Click here: http://nyti.ms/8YFMFb ) WAOK 1380 AM, NPR, and several newspapers talking about these horrible ads. With the help of these appearences and our local allies we were quickly able to educate people and motivate the black community to speak out about these signs, which were strategically placed in black neighborhoods.

3-Today, the legislation dropped which would prosecute abortion providers from targeting black women and encouraging them to have abortions. The bill would in essence alter the racketeering laws of the state and create a new catergory of crime called criminal abortions.

4-This afternoon afternoon, though I received a call that CBS was removing the signs because the public outrage was so strong.

I have to say, I am amazed at the challenges I have had this week explaining reproductive rights as they relate to the black community. First of all, to call black children "a species" is racist and unacceptable on its face. Anthrolopologically speaking, human beings are a species. Everyone knows this. But a race of people, particularly one that has to overcome hundreds of year of racial degredation, is not a species. Black children are not animals in the wild to be objectified or exotised, and such comparisons must be challenged.

Secondly, these billboards are sexist. They imply that black women are murders of our children and perpatrators of genocide. And what must a woman who has had an abortion think as she passes these billboards? Most are shamed and blamed as their lived experiences are overlooked and ignored. My passion this week came from the desire to protect black women from the psychological warfare taking place in the intersections of black Atlanta. We approach reproductive health based on the context our lives and state of our community. This means that abortion is not an isolated subject, nor is it easy choice to make. And to watch the Radiance Foundation and GRTL oversimply those experiences was an insult to me, my mother, grandmother, and all the women in my life that have had to made hard decisions regarding their health.

Whether you agree or disagree with my position, I hope that you can see that the subject matter can be approached in a more empowering and humanizing way that is respectful to women and the lives we live. I have learned this week that dialogue is important but only if both sides are willing to listen and truly understand. As a result CBS claims that the signs will come down. While they have yet to give us a timeline for when all of the signs will come down, I am resolved to make it happen. Between now and then, I am actively working to defeat legislation that could be harmful to black women in the state of Georgia.

I changed the world today. What contribution will you make? A Black Girl Named Heidi