Dear Friend,

It’s Monica, Federal Policy Manager at URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, and I am here to tell you that Blackness is beautiful and lit!

Throughout this country’s history, Black people have endured white supremacy, violence, and oppression at every level of society. But we are more than our oppression. We are more than the tropes of “strong Black women” or perseverance through generational trauma. We are working to build a future in which we can thrive and our Blackness should be celebrated!

As Black History Month comes to an end, I want to remind you that we need everyone to fight for a world where Reproductive Justice and Black liberation is a reality. 

Developed by Black women, Reproductive Justice is a human rights framework that envisions a world in which everyone can live and love freely, have children, not have children, and thrive in safe and sustainable communities. If the last year has made anything clear, it's that we have a long way to go before we are truly able to achieve that vision.

As a Black, queer woman, I know what it means to have my trauma, pain, and very existence dismissed. But I won’t stop fighting, and neither should you, Friend. Give to URGE today to fund the young people's fight for Reproductive Justice.

The pandemic has impaired access to education, worsened intimate partner violence, and has intensified policing and economic injustice, with Black communities experiencing these terrible impacts the most. But it shouldn’t be that way. Our communities deserve to flourish. Let's end this Black History Month by demanding those in power work to bring real systemic change for our communities.

Our collective liberation depends on it.

In Solidarity,