Dear John,
Dismantling systemic racism is a moral imperative and the urgent issue of our time. We stand in solidarity with protesters demanding an end to police violence and the targeted, racist killings of Black people.
Black Lives Matter.
Ending police violence is a reproductive justice issue. We define reproductive justice as the right to parent, the right not to parent, and the right to raise children in safe and healthy communities. The reproductive justice framework was developed by Black women, and it centers women of color. We affirm that we Trust Black Women to lead forward to a better America.
We affirm our supporters on the ground who are swelling the streets to demand justice for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and other Black murder victims. We mourn with and for their families. We demand that municipal, state, and federal legislators do their job and pass meaningful, sweeping reform of how law enforcement is conducted in this country, including redistributing power and resources away from the school to prison pipeline and into assuring that everyone has access to good schools, clean water, health care as a human right, and the resources needed to thrive.
Organizing to end police violence is only the first step. Our country must grapple deeply with the racist systems of power that undergird our nation in all aspects of life. This reckoning has been long overdue.
Sincerely,
Erin and Pamela
Co-Founders/Co-Directors, Reproaction
P.S. We encourage you to check out Defending Black Bodies: A Reproductive Justice Townhall hosted by Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, taking place by webinar Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
