Juneteenth, Movement for Black Lives, and our Commitment to Freedom and Justice for Every Body
NARAL Pro-Choice America is an organization dedicated to upholding the rights and freedom of every single individual to make decisions about their own reproductive destinies, including the tools and resources to prevent unintended pregnancy, the decision to have an abortion, and the ability to parent safe and healthy children. We know racism is a public health crisis; a crisis that makes it impossible to achieve the freedom and equality towards which we strive. Preserving a culture of white supremacy is and always has been central to reproductive oppression and those who pursue it.
Put simply, there can be no reproductive freedom without freedom from tyranny and oppression. We believe unequivocally that Black lives matter. That’s why we stand in solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives, with Black leaders in the reproductive and racial justice community, and with the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the untold number of others whose lives have been lost to police brutality and entrenched racism.
This weekend, in commemoration of Juneteenth, we encourage all of our staff, members, and supporters to get involved with SixNineteen rallies and/or find other ways to support the movement — advocacy, donations, and candid conversations. NARAL stands with the Movement for Black Lives and their list of demands, especially the top priority to defund the police. These demands are critical steps towards ending systems of white supremacy and creating equity across communities.
The list of demands put forward are a response to hundreds of years of systemic oppression and the failure of reforms to address urgent needs and injustices. The call to defund the police comes after multiple attempts to change the culture of policing, which has failed Black communities and Black people. Budgets reflect our priorities. As such, the call to defund the police is also a call for investment in these same communities, in urgent needs that are currently underfunded, like healthcare, education, social services, and more. Through this investment, we can work to make sure every person, every parent, every family is able to thrive. These values are fundamental to the work of NARAL and we are more effective when we work towards them.
NARAL is a historically white organization. As we follow the lead of Black leaders on dismantling racism in the world, we know we need to do more to dismantle the systems of racism in our own organization. We are listening, learning, and reflecting on the experience of allies, members, current and former staff and board members to make good on our commitment to anti-racism. We know this requires daily discipline to live our values through our internal culture, our external campaign priorities, and our alliances within the progressive movement.
We know this work — these efforts to dismantle systems that uphold white supremacy and perpetuate racial disparities in healthcare, criminal justice, education, and more — is deeply entwined with NARAL’s mission to achieve reproductive freedom for every body.
Each and every person should have the freedom to chart their own futures — to decide if, when, and how to start, grow, and raise a family and to be able to raise their families in safe, healthy environments, free from state violence and systematic oppression. The NARAL community supports the fundamental truth in the M4BL demands and knows that that reproductive freedom starts with investing in our families and our communities.
You can learn more about the Movement for Black Lives, their principles, and their demands by visiting their website. And join us in getting involved with the Juneteenth actions this weekend (June 19–21).
