The week of July 12-19, Operation Save America, a violent anti-choice and racist organization, will fill the city of Atlanta with their message of hate and terror.
During this time we at SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW and SisterSong call on women of color,
our allies and reproductive justice and social justice activists to stand for justice and say no to Operation Save America.
As leaders, mothers, partners, students,
and beyond, women of color are faced with intricate realities that shape
our lives. For all of us that reality includes making decisions about
our bodies, our lives, and our communities. For some of us that means
we choose abortion. We unapologetically support women of color as creators
of their own futures and, in creating our paths of autonomy support
women's access to safe and legal abortion. Our struggle for abortion
access is anchored in our belief in reproductive justice or the complete
economic, physical, social, and political well-being and power to make
the best decision for our bodies, our families, and our communities.
Abortion has always been a part of our
lives. As healers, midwives, enslaved, free, colonized, and imprisoned
people, women of color have and continue to create a story of resilience
and resistance in which abortion, parenting, adoption, foster care and
beyond have all played a part. We will not allow Operation Save America
to reduce our lives into a simplistic sound bite that points the finger
solely at abortion and not at the impact of war, poor education and
healthcare to name a few. We resist our stories and our legacies being
co-opted by this group. We denounce images of our children used as
tokens by a mostly White group to justify their cause.
Operation Save America continues to play
on a history of shaming and blaming women of color.
As reproductive justice advocates and activists, we recognize our choices
are dictated by our circumstances; and the discussion regarding abortion
requires that we talk honestly about racism, health care, education,
sexuality, and poverty. OSA's presence is just another overt reign of
terror felt by women of color and our communities by an organization
whose membership and message aim only to point the finger without addressing
the real issues that impact the lives of women of color and our families.
For this week and beyond, women of color
and our allies unite to say no to OSA. Calling on the prophetic traditions
of the Black church, civil rights movement, and our women of color's
historical commitment to freedom and liberation, we have a firm understanding
that fight for our bodily autonomy, the safety of our communities, and
the demise of oppression and exploitation requires that everyone stand
for justice and say no to Operation Save America.
For more info and a calendar of events for the week, please visit www.sparkrj.org.
