Groundwork
Building the Reproductive Justice Movement in the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is experiencing a rapid growth in reproductive justice organizing and policy advances as a result of Groundwork, an exciting collaboration between Western States Center and EMERJ. The Groundwork cohort brought together eight social justice groups who developed a new and aligned analysis and approach to advancing reproductive justice in Idaho, Oregon and Washington: African Women's
Coalition, Chaya,
International
Center for Traditional Childbearing, Mujeres Unidas de Idaho, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum Seattle Chapter, POWER, Urban League of Portland, and Women of Color Alliance. Each of these groups is building a base and making change on a range of issues that are core to building strong families.
Groundwork is proof in action that reproductive justice is a bridge to new communities and an effective approach to policy change. It also reinforced the importance and value of EMERJ’s cohort model in breaking the isolation of small grassroots groups, particularly those who are volunteer led and in rural areas. Here are just a few highlights of the kind of impact that groups have made:
As a critical voice for African American communities in Oregon, the Urban League of Portland has won a significant policy victory by incorporating an explicit reproductive justice analysis into their advocacy work for the first time. Through its participation in Groundwork, this Black civil rights organization that had not previously used a gender lens in its work has increased their capacity to prioritize health issues impacting African American women and families. Last fall, the Urban League held a roundtable with city, county and state level decision-makers to present research and policy recommendations to reduce infant mortality and low birth weight in African American communities. Using an explicit reproductive justice frame for the first time, they gave a compelling presentation about the systemic inequities in maternal and women’s health and model programs that would ensure that families have a strong and healthy start. Moved by the magnitude and urgency of the issue, Multnomah County agreed to collaborate on implementing all of the Urban League's recommendations and is pressuring the state to do the same.
Engagement in Groundwork has increased the capacity of Women of Color Alliance (WOCA) in Idaho to mobilize their constituents for policy change in a state that is facing severe threats to reproductive justice. For the 2010 elections, WOCA developed a first-of-its-kind resource for encouraging women of color to take part in the political process to support strong families: The WOCA Roadmap to Voting: A Voter Guide for Women of Color. Since then, WOCA has been training and mobilizing community members to respond to legislative bills that impact families and communities. In the coming year, WOCA members will be speaking out against the budget cuts that have devastated the safety net for the state’s most vulnerable families, taking proactive steps to mitigate the harmful impacts of the healthcare refusal laws passed last year, and advocating for a ban on shackling pregnant women who are incarcerated. Read more about the political landscape in Idaho and WOCA’s work for building strong families.
Also in Idaho, Mujeres Unidas de Idaho has increased their capacity and built political power through Groundwork. Using EMERJ's sexuality education justice framework, they are creating strong messages that reinforce the reality that young people make life decisions every day with the information they need, and that parents and schools can be partners in ensuring a good future for children by bringing comprehensive sexuality education to the school district.
As part of their campaign development process, many of the Groundwork cohort members conducted community surveys to identify key reproductive justice issues in their communities. As the anchor of the Groundwork cohort, Western States Center will soon be releasing a compiled case study of lessons and best practices for community-based research for advancing reproductive justice in communities of color. Coming soon!
