Five Black Women Who Changed Your Reproductive Rights

So many Black women, with their breadth of personal experience and expertise, drive the fight for reproductive rights and health equality. Their tenacity matters more than ever as the rights, health and lives of Black women are under constant threat by the anti-reproductive health care legislation of state and federal administrations. And politicians undermining access to abortion is only the beginning -- a gag order for Title X is on the table that would ravage national programs for affordable birth control and access to reproductive health services. These policy choices disproportionately disadvantage women of color as the uninsured population of Black women has increased since 2017 and people of color are far more likely to be uninsured.

When the Congressional Black Caucus convened in Washington, DC for its annual legislative conference in October to address this unacceptable trend, a

consensus emerged that health policies cannot change without the advocates, legislators, influencers and medical professionals who champion the fight to protect equitable reproductive and sexual health care. In an effort to uplift some of these voices, here is a list of a few Black women who have shaped reproductive health care.

Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner

Keenly aware of the stigma surrounding menstruation and the societal limitations that left women confined to their homes for days each month, Kenner proposed a sanitary napkin belt equipped with a liquid-proof pocket to reduce leaking. In an era when women were still using cloth supplies, the concept of a menstruation pad was revolutionary. Jubilant after making contact with a company prepared to market her idea, Kenner arranged a meeting with a prospective representative whose interest in her ideas dissolved when he learned she was Black. Racial and gender discrimination would prevent Kenner’s idea from being patented until 1957, but regardless, Kenner’s tenacity would lead her to eventually file five patents.

Khiara Bridges

Anthropologist and UC Berkley Law Professor Khiara Bridges drew the dots connecting the quality of prenatal care to race. Careful to gather a wide range of perspectives, Bridges included under-documented and uninsured women whose experiences with the healthcare system differed greatly. Her work defined the racial stereotypes that affect the quality and access to reproductive care in the United States, contextualizing our national conversation regarding equity in medicine.

Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm

Former congresswomen and presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, also organized the group African American Women for Reproductive Freedom to stand behind Roe v. Wade. In doing so, she defined what we today consider the framework of reproductive justice. Throughout her seven congressional terms as the first Black woman ever to serve in Congress, she was an unwavering advocate of reproductive rights and pioneered the conversation regarding access to healthcare in the Congressional Black Caucus.

Monica Roberts

The founding editor of the blog TransGriots, Monica Roberts, was the trailblazing leader for the trans community who painstakingly tracked and reported the murders of Black trans people before the national media took interest in the topic. TransGriots provided the blueprint for ethical and sensitive reporting practices for trans-related topics. She is one of many women credited with the construction of community and pride in being Black, trans and unapologetic.

image source:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5370590/