NARAL Pro-Choice America
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John—

Over the last few weeks, like so many of you, I’ve been outraged by the
unapologetic evidence of systemic racism on display across the country —
but more importantly, I've been inspired by the passion and power of those
fighting for racial justice and a new vision for our country.

As we know from our fight for reproductive freedom, systemic change
doesn't happen overnight, and progress can be slow. But if I know one
thing, it’s that with the dedication of NARAL members, we’ll keep moving
in the right direction.

This is bigger than just one email or public statement, and we are
committed for the long haul. We must keep having conversations, elevating
Black voices, listening and acting when called upon — even when the smoke
clears and the cameras disappear. We do this work because it’s our moral
and ethical obligation, and we do this work because racism is an inherent
part of reproductive oppression. We will never secure reproductive freedom
unless we also fight for racial justice.

I want you to know what we’ve done so far, what’s next, and how you can
get involved. I know this is a long email, but I hope you’ll read from
start to finish, John — and then take action.

Our commitment
Here at NARAL, we know that we need to be working every day to unlearn and
fight against systems of structural racism in order to be part of the
solution and not part of the problem.

As a historically white organization, we recognize that it is not NARAL’s
place to lead in the fight for racial justice, but instead to listen to
and follow the lead of Black staff, Black board members, and Black‑led
organizations. As part of our commitment to anti‑racism, we will be:

* Centering our internal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work to
examine our own role in — and make good on our commitment to —
upholding the value of racial justice.
* Elevating Black — especially Black-woman led — organizations who have
long been doing the work to fight for racial justice, reproductive
justice, and structural reform. (So far, together we’ve raised nearly
$50,000 for SisterSong, Higher Heights, and In Our Own Voice.
[ [link removed] ]If you haven’t gotten a chance to donate to these three incredible
organizations, please consider doing that now.)
* Working in solidarity for racial justice on Capitol Hill and beyond.
Over the past two weeks, NARAL has joined with hundreds of progressive
allies in an effort led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and
Human Rights, to [ [link removed] ]call on congressional leadership to take swift and
decisive legislative action in response to ongoing police brutality,
including murders and other violence against Black people, and [ [link removed] ]push
the Department of Justice to investigate the deaths of George Floyd
and [ [link removed] ]Breonna Taylor.
* Providing members like you with educational resources and
opportunities to use your voice. Just this week, we joined with
MoveOn, Indivisible, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and
Ultraviolet to host an anti-racism Facebook Live series. [ [link removed] ]Watch the
video of yesterday’s event here and [ [link removed] ]sign up for future events here.

Committing ourselves to racial justice work is deeply intertwined with
NARAL’s mission to achieve reproductive freedom for every body. Every
person should have the freedom to decide when, if, how, and with whom they
have families — AND every parent should be able to raise children in safe,
healthy environments, free from state violence. We can’t have true
reproductive freedom without dedicating ourselves to racial justice.

If you have thoughts on how NARAL can best serve the movement for racial
justice, please reply to this email. I welcome your thoughts and
perspectives.

Let’s talk about what’s next
Moving ahead for the rest of this year, we’re going to be focusing on 5
big priorities to tie together the work for reproductive freedom and
racial justice:

* Education — We pledge to regularly share and uplift anti-racist
resources for our members while integrating anti-racist priorities
into our campaigns going forward.
* Advocacy — Along with our partners in the racial justice space, we
endorsed a resolution introduced by Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar,
Karen Bass, and Barbara Lee condemning all acts of police brutality,
racial profiling, and excessive use of force. We’re supporting and
uplifting our partners who are calling for the implementation of
policies — at all levels of government — to end these injustices. In
addition, we’ll continue to work on the federal and state level to
protect and expand reproductive freedom.
* Fighting Disinformation — Many people are unaware that the anti-choice
movement grew directly out of the pro-segregation movement.
Reproductive oppression is one way the white Radical Right seeks to
keep women — especially those who are Black, indigenous, and/or people
of color (BIPOC) — from realizing their aspirations and equality. The
more people know about the anti-choice movement’s secret history and
their rise to political influence, the better we can fight back
against their disinformation. To help spread this awareness, I wrote
[ [link removed] ]The Lie That Binds to expose their ploys to control women and
maintain white supremacy. [ [link removed] ]You can read more about the book here.
* Senate Accountability — The Supreme Court is set to rule any day now
in cases that could gut access to abortion, roll back birth control
coverage, and strip away legal protections against job discrimination
for LGBTQ+ people and many others. We’re in this position because of
senators’ decision to rubber-stamp Trump’s nominees, despite massive
public outcry. Now, it's time to hold politicians accountable and elect leaders who will fight
with us for the world we want.
* 2020 Election — NARAL has launched our biggest and boldest electoral
program ever to flip the Senate, expand our majority in the House of
Representatives, and make Donald Trump a one-term president. But to
win, each of us is going to have to step up in new ways and push
ourselves to do more than we ever have before.

How we do it (it’s with you!)
Over the coming weeks and months, we’re going to be talking a lot more
about all of these plans and ways for you to get involved. But in the
meantime, here’s where you can start,
John:

* [ [link removed] ]Join the Movement for Black Lives for Juneteenth weekend (June
19-21) in your home, your city, or Washington, DC.
* [ [link removed] ]Pledge to get involved to help champions for reproductive freedom
win in 2020.
* If you can, [ [link removed] ]pitch in to help ensure freedom is for every body.


John, thank you again for being a part of this community. Your
support makes our work possible.

In solidarity,

[15]Photo of Ilyse Hogue
Ilyse Hogue
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America

[ [link removed] ]DONATE


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