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An anti choice group led by Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is planning to embark on a new kind of ‘freedom rides’ that seek to limit a woman’s right to choose. Dr. Alveda King, conflating the language of the civil rights movement with her anti choice rhetoric, calls the “fight against abortion…the civil rights battle of the 21st century.” [1] Specifically targeting the black community, she proclaims that abortion is a “tool of genocide against …black people.” [2]
The use of civil rights imagery and language to support the anti-choice movement is upsetting to say the least. Making abortion unaffordable and inaccessible directly takes power away from women to make choices about their lives and bodies. Low income women of color are likely to be the most affected demographic when choice is limited. While the true freedom riders sought to bring equality and access to people of color the new contingent does the exact opposite. Pamela Merritt writes, “There is something uniquely insulting about a tactic used to fight against the denial of rights and access now being used to fight for the denial of rights and access.”[3]
In response, Advocates for Youth would like to organize a series of counter protests to demonstrate how much we need to protect our bodies and our choice. Please contact me directly at Julia@advocatesforyouth.org if you are a youth activist who is able to be part of protests in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and DC.
Also, check out Meg’s blog on this subject about a month back. http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/AFY_Meghan/2010/4/27/Abortion-billboards-and-bus-rides-in-the-South
[1] Berkowitz, Bill. "Freedom Rides for the Unborn Is the Latest Attempt by the Anti-Abortion Movement to Turn the Civil Rights Movement on Its Head | BuzzFlash.org." BuzzFlash.org | Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash. 3 May 2010. Web. 16 June 2010. <http://blog.buzzflash.com/contributors/3175>.
[2] Merritt, Pamela. "Anti-Choice "Freedom Rides" Seek to Curtail Freedom | RHRealityCheck.org." RHRealityCheck.org | Reproductive Health Information, News, Commentary and Community. 7 June 2010. Web. 15 June 2010. <http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/node/13608>.
[3] ibid
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I am excited to be a part of the protests Julia is organizing in DC!
what about linking this to glenn beck's upcoming rally @ the lincoln on the anniversary of the "i have a dream" speech? there's already a lot of anger about that, and it points to a larger pattern of right-wingers defiling the legacy of MLK + the civil rights movement. sounds like a worthy media hook to me!