“We lift as we rise” : Activism through the framework of Reproductive Justice with Loretta Ross
“We lift as we rise” : Activism through the framework of Reproductive Justice
Prof. Loretta Ross is an academic, feminist, and activist who co-created the theory of reproductive justice. She co-written three books on reproductive justice and is currently working on her fourth book called Calling in the Calling out Culture. Throughout her journey, she’s served as an executive director for the first D.C. rape crises, co-founded Sister Soong, and actively advocates for reproductive justice, especially amongst women of color. She’s currently a professor at Smith college and teaches a course called white supremacy in the age of trump.
Background
As the daughter of a military man, Prof. Ross grew up in a conserved household and was forced to move around in elementary schools until settling in Texas, her mothers homeland. Sheltered by her family from political arguments, she didn’t embrace politics and black feminism until her time at Howard University, when she became the tenant association president. During this time, she met a black panther member, who led her to the first D.C. rape crisis center, where 3 years later Prof. Ross became the first black woman executive director of the rape crises. As a rape and incest survivor, her first political conciousness arose around violence against women, yet, it wasn’t until she had gotten sterilized at the age of 23 that she started to actively advocate for woman’s reproductive rights.
Reproductive Justice
Prof. Ross was one of 12 black women to create the reproductive justice framework in 1994 by splicing together the theory of social justice and reproductive health. The three main principles of Reproductive justice are (1) the right to have a child (2) the right not to have a child (3) the right to raise their children. The third principle is where there’s an overlap between reproductive health and social justice as it encompasses many inequalities and injustices including gun violence, educational reform, environmental racism, and so much more. The theory of reproductive justice theory and politics expanded further than she had even imagined. When addressing reproductive rights issues, she says, “If you don’t have an analysis that looks at race, gender, class and power, you really don’t understand what’s going on in reproductive justice” and provides great insight and knowledge on the multiplicity of social oppressions present in reproductive rights.
Calling in the Call out culture
The relevance of speaking about the call out culture, especially to people in our generation is crucial since millennials are constantly “cancelling” others for oppressive language or varying views. In her book, Prof. Ross proposes strategies to call in instead of call out by really self – assessing yourself before speaking out.
“We lift as we rise”
The last section of the podcast is centered around how to fight against systematic inequalities and the importance of votes, authenticity, and multidisciplinary/ integrative approaches to fighting oppression. I named this podcast “We lift as we rise”, because Prof. Ross emphasized the importance of lifting up other Black women during her journey. She talks about all the black women that have influenced her, helped her and believed in her. This really stood out to me as an ongoing theme in the way she speaks. As a professor, she’s dedicated to teaching the young about how to make the world a better place and she states the importance of authenticity and grassroots organizing to really bring about change.
Future Directions and Questions
A few questions I didn’t get to touch on are: what were her greatest challenges as a political leader? What are her leadership styles (both strengths and weaknesses)? Lastly, I wonder if she would have went into the reproductive justice realm if she herself hadn’t been a survivor of rape, incest, abortion and sterilization? Do most activists become activists because they have been personally harmed by the oppression they fight against?
References
Websites
Ross, Loretta. “Biography.” LorettaRoss.com, https://www.lorettaross.com Videos
Akanbi, Ayishat.” The Problem with Cancel Culture,” Youtube, Double Down News, 21 Jan 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3ZjTg1OpIE
Obama, Barack. “Barack Obama takes on ‘woke’ call-out culture: ‘That’s not activism’, Guardian News, 30 Oct 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaHLd8de6nM
Intelexual Media, “Sex History: Sterilization, Abuse, & Reproductive Justice,” youtube, Intelexual Media, 18 Sept. 2020, https://youtu.be/tOKW4U5sY_o
Mowatt, Judy. “Black Woman (Dub Version) | Instrumental Reggae Classic”, Youtube, Borka B, 6 Jan, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td0FHCS7CEc
Steinem, Gloria “#Inequalityls: Gloria Steinem on inequality and reproductive rights”, youtube, inequalityls org, Ford Foundation, 18 Jan 2016, https://youtu.be/ekkQnpg33xA
Slattery, Elisa, “How Reproductive Justice Serves as a Model for Progressive Organizing”, Open Society Foundations, 23 June 2017, www.opensocietyfooundations.org/voices
Daniel, Vanessa, “Groundswell Fund-Reproductive Justice” , youtube, Groundswell Fund, 10 Nov 2016, https://youtu.be/WwyNR1ke4Ng
Journals and Articles
Deirdre Cooper Owens and Sharla M. Fett, 2019: Black Maternal and Infant Health: Historical Legacies of Slavery American Journal of Public Health 109, 342_1345,https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305243
Jones, T. (2020). Race Selective Abortion Bans: A New Way to Prevent the Elimination of Minority Groups in the United States. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3622285
Rebecca, K. K. “Abortion Bans: 9 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 May 2019, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/abortion-laws-states.html