EMERJ Strategy Team
The EMERJ Strategy Team works together to explore critical questions facing the Reproductive Justice Movement in order to develop long-term strategies, common vision and values, shared goals and language, collective campaigns, non-competitive relationships, and increased funding for the whole movement.
The Strategy Team consists of Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Center for Young Women's Development, Choice USA, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Rebecca Project for Human Rights, and Western States Center.
Strategy Team members are taking an active role in the Strong Families initiative. Here are three examples of how Strategy Team members are moving Strong Families on the ground:
Center for Young Women’s Development is committed to justice for women in the criminal justice system and their families. As part of this work, they recently led efforts to pass AB 1900, a bill that would end the shackling of women in California prisons during labor and delivery. With EMERJ’s support, the Center raised the voices of incarcerated pregnant women through a successful communications campaign, placing five Op-Eds in newspapers across the state that told stories of the impact of shackling from a Strong Families perspective. While Governor Schwarzenegger ultimately vetoed the bill, the Center has successfully shifted the terms of debate around the practice of shackling, making the case that better care for incarcerated mothers and their babies and giving them a healthy start is good for all families and communities in California.
Western States Center is using the Strong Families framework to strengthen women of color-led reproductive justice organizing in the Pacific Northwest through the Groundwork cohort. Many cohort members have developed Strong Families messages to support their organizing campaigns around issues such as sexuality education and health disparities in communities of color. In Idaho, the Women of Color Alliance has developed a voter guide for women of color and their communities to support them in taking action to support strong families in the midterm elections.
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health has long been a leading voice in advocating for immigrant women and their families. In response to the passing of SB 1070 in Arizona, the Latina Institute brought light to the inhumanity of the bill by revealing the horrific impact of anti-immigrant attacks on women and families, such as children coming home from school to find their homes raided by ICE and their parents missing, or the inhumane detention of pregnant women without access to health care. Together with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, the Latina Institute is developing communications and advocacy approaches using a Strong Families frame to counter the anticipated continued attacks on immigrant communities in the coming year.
All Strategy Team members are collecting stories from their members and constituents as part of the Strong Families story collection project. Collectively, the Strategy Team will lead the development of a national policy agenda for the Strong Families initiative that will evaluate state and national policies and their impact on low-income families and families of color.
