Making Black Maternal Health a Priority for Us All
nclrights.orgWhen Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed last week as the first Black woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court, many of us rejoiced as we saw yet another crack in the symbolic glass ceiling that has historically kept women, especially Black women and women of color, from reaching our full potential.
This week is Black Maternal Health Week, and while I am still elated for what Judge Jackson represents, I can’t help but feel disheartened by the barriers and inequities that still exist for Black women and Black trans and nonbinary people seeking agency over our reproductive health.
The founders of the Reproductive Justice movement were acutely aware of these challenges. While supporting the goals of the reproductive rights movement, which focused on the legal right to access abortion and contraception, they sought to advance a broader, more inclusive and holistic vision that included the right to have children, start families, and parent in safe and healthy communities.
I think about these principles a lot in my role as Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. When we were founded nearly five decades ago, our primary focus was protecting the parental rights of LGBTQ people at a time when being part of this community was often considered disqualifying.
