NAWC/MXGM Statement in Support of the Trust Black Women Coalition Action - July 24, 2010

The New Afrikan Women Caucus (NAWC) of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) of Atlanta stands in solidarity with Spark Reproductive Justice NOW!, SisterSong Inc., and SisterLove and the Trust Black Women Coalition’s campaign to stop the disruptive tactics of a injudicious and corruptive anti-choice agenda. The attacks of the so-called “freedom rides” organized by right-wing pundits Glenn Beck and Adventa King, follow a time tested pattern of divide and conquer and use and exploit our communities to further an exclusive political agenda. We reject the hijacking of the historical narrative of our people’s struggle from white supremacy and apartheid and distort our victories against these oppressive systems.

One of the central principles of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement is the right of self-determination. We understand the recent and historical attacks of the right-wing, anti-choice movement against women, and Black women in particular, to be nothing less than an attempt to stifle the progress and gains of the women’s and reproductive justice movements.

The attempt to appropriate the name and images of the “Freedom Rides” of the 1960’s with the conservative political agenda of the anti-choice movement is offensive and dangerous. This right-wing “joy riding” appropriation is a distracting ploy to draw attention away from their true agenda. Their goal is to reverse the critical gains of the civil rights movement and restore the power of a patriarchial state over women’s bodies.

The messaging of the anti-choice movement is so distorted and manipulative that it often deceives elements in our communities, particularly the more spiritually observant sectors. This old agenda with new tactics appears to be more “compassionate,” more “concerning,” and promises outcomes that would support and strengthen Black communities. Not only is this not true, it is not their intent. Their objective is to divide the Black community and weaken our political power – concentrated power that when united, can defeat the agenda of the right.

Black and all oppressed people must unite and stand in firm opposition to this agenda and its manipulative ploys. We must end the legacies of colonialism and white supremacy rooted in the US empire which was built on the very ownership and manipulation of our bodies. We must demand self-determination and the unequivocal control over our own bodies. We will not be subjected to the oppressive whims of a white supremacist, patriarchial state!

The struggle for reproductive justice must be central to all the peoples’ struggles – Black, Indigenous, Puerto Rican, Hawaiian, Latino, Asian, etc. – struggling for justice in the US. Self-determination and liberation comes with having power over ourselves, our families, our communities, and our bodies. Weak ploys of an anti-choice agenda by anti-reproductive justice conservatives will not be allowed to gain further ground in our communities.

Now is the time to educate, agitate and organize to defend our bodies, realize our human rights and defeat this right-wing assault on our people and community.

We say
FREE THE BODY,
FREE THE MIND
FREE THE LAND!