Month: June 2022
Our Commitment to Reproductive Justice
Our Commitment to Reproductive Justice
Today the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade and we are overwhelmed with feelings of anger, frustration, and determination to fight. Thirteen states have trigger laws making abortion immediately illegal and we know there are more to come. We are inspired by the immediate wave of organizing against these laws and for systems to help birthing people access safe, affordable abortion. The resistance we have seen is only possible by long-term investment into the ecosystem of organizations leading this work. Reproductive justice is intersectional work. It is essential for Black liberation, economic justice, trans liberation, and so many of the movements that Solidaire members are devoted to.
There is hardly any more fundamental human right than the ability to control what happens to our bodies. This is why we say: reproductive justice is central to Black liberation. —Paris Hatcher, Black Feminist Future
We are steadfast in our commitment to abortion access and body autonomy. We know that reproductive justice is essential for our collective liberation and that it requires both full abortion access and gender-affirming health services. Denying these rights disproportionately impacts Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and working-class birthing people. Now more than ever we need to uplift the work of our movement partners leading in this field.
Groundswell Fund is a fund dedicated to intersectional grassroots organizing for reproductive justice that we contribute to through our Social Justice Fund portfolio. Please sign the pledge from our coalition of philanthropists committed to reproductive justice and learn about the powerful organizations we are able to support through our partnership with Groundswell. Our movement partner Feminist Women’s Health Center provides safe, affordable abortion in Georgia. Also in our Black Liberation Pooled Fund are SisterSong, the largest national multi-ethnic Reproductive Justice collective, SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW fighting for reproductive justice across the South, and Sister Reach reproductive advocates in Tennessee.
Our current movement partners fighting for reproductive justice and body autonomy include:
- Black Women’s Blueprint
- Feminist Women’s Health Center
- Official Black Lives Matter Memphis Chapter
- SisterReach
- SisterSong
- SpiritHouse NC
- SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW
- Hmong American Women’s Association
- Monsoon Asian and Pacific Islanders in Solidarity
- Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains
- Groundswell Fund
- Third Wave Fund
Our movement partner Black Feminist Future launched their Abortion is Freedom campaign to mobilize Black-led actions across the country. We want to highlight our movement partner the Movement for Black Lives recommendations for how to support local abortion funds and abortion access hotlines.
Our members have been educating themselves about the urgency of this movement using tools like our Reproductive Justice Reader and Black Feminist Future’s Abortion is Freedom Action Toolkit
We will continue to flank reproductive justice and trans liberation and prioritize the work of those most impacted. As Paris Hatcher from Black Feminist Future wrote in her timely op-ed today, “There is hardly any more fundamental human right than the ability to control what happens to our bodies. This is why we say: reproductive justice is central to Black liberation.”
Abortion Access Is Indigenous Sovereignty
Defund the Police for Funders
Solidaire members and staff in the Decarceration Working Group co-created Defund the Police for Funders. This document is a tool for philanthropy to understand better the demand to defund the police and to support work in that regard.
“We want to work towards a future for Black people and all impacted communities where they can move freely through the world without being harassed, intimidated, or harmed by police.”
In the wake of the George Floyd Uprisings, the controversial rally cry of #DefundThePolice entered the mainstream discourse. The mainstreaming of this demand was an exciting leap forward for organizers working against mass incarceration and police terror for decades. This demand and work mark important shifts from reacting to the losses of an ever-increasing carceral state to proactively demanding another approach to true public safety. For the first time, there is a national conversation about taking taxpayer dollars away from criminalizing our people and toward social services that address the root cause of crime.
For many who consider themselves allies of the movement for racial equality, defunding the police seems to be a foolhardy demand. Our primer addresses the trepidation many feel by outlining the history, strategy, and urgency of the demand to defund the police. It provides tips and resources for having conversations about police budgets. Our primer offers examples of community alternatives to policing and the common mistakes funders make in this space. At a time when philanthropy needs to double down on long-term support of movements working toward racial justice, we hope this primer helps you and your organizing of philanthropy.
We will host meaningful conversations about these issues in our Beloved Fridays space over the coming weeks. We hope that you will find this tool useful for organizing more individuals and institutions toward resourcing a world where everyone can live without fear of police violence. Feel free to share Defund the Police for Funders widely and contact us for support in your decarceration organizing efforts.
Read Defund the Police for Funders here.