February 12th-18th launched this year’s annual #BlackGirlFreedomWeek. Hosted by the Black Girl Freedom Fund and the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign, the hybrid event is a week-long celebration of Black girls and gender-expansive youth, and what is possible when philanthropy invests abundantly in their dreams and safety. The week of Black joy and liberation is selected not just in honor of Black History Month, but in celebration of the late Toni Morrison and Audre Lordes birthdays.
It was only right then that I spent the afternoon of Valentines Day in a space that felt like a love letter to Black feminism and the reproductive justice framework. The intergenerational space titled “Reproductive Justice or Nothing: The Fight for Bodily Autonomy and Freedom” featured the transformative voices of Ashlei Spivey and Lolah-Belle Bunch (from iBeABlackGirl) Ponny White,(Girls for Gender Equity) and was moderated by Loretta Ross (a professor at Smith College and a co-creator of the term Reproductive Justice).
Offerings of Healing Justice
Each speaker gave offerings of how the reproductive justice framework brought them into this movement, what the movement’s legacy meant to them and how it guides their work, how they navigate respectability politics while living the Black feminist Praxis, and what healing justice means to this space.
As a Black feminist and reproductive justice organizer, I am thankful that space was curated to amplify conversations about the experiences of those on the frontlines of reproductive justice, specifically what it looks like to hold this work as Black women and gender-expansive people. And while I am certain that the conversation reached across sectors within the audience, my PSO listening ear couldn’t help but interpret what the panelist shared into call to actions for my funder comrades.
New Voices for Reproductive Justice, Executive Director Beulah Osueke grounded the space by sharing her Black Girl Freedom Dream. Her love offering details her dream that “Black girls and young femmes across the globe recognize that the limitations placed on them are lies and unjust. She hopes that they’ll be able to sever whatever person, place or thing that does not fully serve them, and that they’ll intimately know their worth and potential, and that they’ll be surrounded with the support needed to exceed their highest aspirations.”
Osueke’s words reflected my time and experiences as a reproductive justice organizer and prepared myself and other attendees for the thoughtful word that was about to be delivered by the panelist.
Below is the transcribed X thread:
In hope my funder counterparts are watching Reproductive Justice or Nothing: The Fight for Bodily Autonomy and Freedom #BlackGirlFreedomWeek #philanthropy
@newvoicesrj grounding and opening the space is only right
Hearing how the panelists saw themselves and what they were experiencing in real time in the RJ framework is a reminder that if Black women and femmes don’t see ourselves in the work, it’s not actually RJ #blackGirlFreedomWeek #philanthropy
“Inter-generational work in the RJ movement is imperative, the passing of knowledge and space, support and healing make a difference in how we show up” AshleySpivey-Arthur @ibeblackgirl #blackgirlfreedomweek #philanthropy
Also on intergenerational organizing in RJ “We innately don’t believe in letting one another go, it’s so important to know where you come from, know the work of your ancestors and be able to shout-out the work of the people that came before you” Ponny White @GGENYC
Lola’s-Belle Bunche @ibeblackgirl on the generations of RJ organizers before her “I wouldn’t be here today without my elders, without them passing the torch following in their or them giving me a lead to really help and see this world succeed” #BlackGirlFreedomWeek
Ponny White came through with a word on healing when this work takes a toll on you. “This work isn’t easy, and we can’t romanticize it, this is not just one person’s job or work, it’s generations of effort and work.“ @GGENYC #blackgirlfreedomweek
“And within that generations, its generation of joy and rest, so when you do feel like you need to step back, it’s okay to step back but it’s not okay to step away from community and isolate yourself” Ponny White @GGENYC #blackgirlfreedomweek
“Healing justice is the foundation of Black joy and Black liberation” Ponny White @GGENYC #BlackGirlFreedomWeek
Lolah-Belle Bunche on how she shows up in spaces where her presence might make others uncountable “I know that I have enough self-love and community, where I can succeed and accomplish all that I need to accomplish” @ibeblackgirl #BlackGirlFreedomWeek
Ponny White @GGENYC Black Girl Freedom Dream “That Black girls get to be authentically themselves, that they get to exist in a society and in communities that uplift them, support them and celebrate them” #BlackGirlFreedomWeek
Lola-Belle Bunche @ibeblackgirl Black Girl Freedom Dream is “I want to see them complete their dreams and be a part of the generation that sees tons of success” #BlackGirlFreedomWeek
Glad that @G4GC_org @BlkGrlFreedom were able to amplify conversations about reproductive justice and what it looks like to hold this work as a Black women and femme. They touched on so many of the gaps that #philanthropy has created with some of their funding practices
Attending this panel on reproductive during #BlackGirlFreedomWeek reminded me why holding space for Black joy and liberation is such a crucial part of the work we do. It allows us to imagine a world where philanthropy invests in the possibilities of Black girls and the safety they deserve to pursue those dreams.
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