Activism

COMMENTARY: Right Wing Judges Put Millions’ Rights and Access to Health Care at Risk

Don’t ever forget that the judges who are willing to sacrifice reproductive freedom are usually just as eager to allow states to restrict voting rights. The right-wing judges who vote to eliminate individuals’ right to privacy and health care are often the same judges creating new “rights” to protect corporations’ ability to buy elections, get away with harming workers and communities, and discriminate against some of their employees.

Published

3 years ago

December 8, 2021

Oakland Post

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way. Jealous has decades of experience as a leader, coalition builder, campaigner for social justice and seasoned nonprofit executive.

By Ben Jealous, President of People For the American Way

The political and legal movement to criminalize abortion in the U.S. is on the brink of its biggest victory in 50 years. Most at risk are those who are already among the most vulnerable in our country: Black and Brown women and LGBTQ people who will be denied access to potentially lifesaving health care.

On December 1, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of a Mississippi abortion ban. That law was written by a right-wing legal group. It was part of a long-term strategy to get the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that recognized that pregnant people have a constitutional right to make decisions about whether or not to terminate a pregnancy.

Groups that want to eliminate access to abortion like to describe themselves with terms like “pro-life” and “pro-family,” but those are deceptive. If we eliminate access to family planning and abortion services, the health of millions will be compromised. Some will die needlessly. Their families and communities will suffer.

Futher, the same groups call themselves “pro-freedom,” but they are aggressively trying to restrict people’s freedom to make decisions about their own health and families.

If you want a sense of how much parents’ and children’s health and well-being mean to backers of the abortion ban, take a look at Mississippi. When the state’s previous governor signed the ban, he declared that he wanted to make Mississippi “the safest place in America for an unborn child.” The current governor has used similar language, saying he made a commitment to God and to voters that he would do everything in his power to make Mississippi the safest place for an unborn child.

But what kind of commitments have these politicians made to children and their parents?

When the Mississippi law was signed, the state ranked 50^th in the health of women, 50^th in the health of children, and 50^th in the health of infants. It was the worst state for infant mortality.

Things haven’t changed much since then. Mississippi is also the state where Black people make up the biggest percentage of the population. During oral arguments at the Supreme Court, the attorney for the health clinic that challenged the law talked about a deadly reality: she noted that “it’s 75 times more dangerous to give birth in Mississippi than it is to have a pre-viability abortion. And those risks are disproportionately threatening the lives of women of color.” This is about political power and the corruption of our courts.

When Donald Trump ran for president, he promised conservative white evangelical leaders that he would put judges on the Supreme Court who would overturn Roe v. Wade.

Don’t ever forget that Senate Republicans refused to even consider President Barack Obama’s last Supreme Court nomination for a year.

They abused their power to create a Supreme Court vacancy for Trump to fill. Then these same shameless politicians took advantage of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death to rush Trump’s final nominee onto the Court a few days before the 2020 election — as voters were already casting ballots to dump Trump out of the White House.

And don’t ever forget that the judges who are willing to sacrifice reproductive freedom are usually just as eager to allow states to restrict voting rights. The right-wing judges who vote to eliminate individuals’ right to privacy and health care are often the same judges creating new “rights” to protect corporations’ ability to buy elections, get away with harming workers and communities, and discriminate against some of their employees.

Like the right-wing campaign to restrict voting, the campaign to eliminate access to safe and legal abortion has built power through organizing at the state and national levels.

We who believe in freedom must do the same. Among the activists and protesters who gathered outside the Supreme Court on December 1 was a group of interfaith leaders who provided the moral clarity and urgency that the progressive movement needs to more effectively defend our freedom and our families.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way. Jealous has decades of experience as a leader, coalition builder, campaigner for social justice and seasoned nonprofit executive.

Oakland Post

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Activism

LIVE! — TOWN HALL ON RACISM AND ITS IMPACT — THURS. 11.14.24 5PM PST

Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024, 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST

Published

5 days ago

November 12, 2024

Oakland Post

Discussion Topics:
• Since the pandemic, what battles have the NAACP fought nationally, and how have they impacted us locally?
• What trends are you seeing concerning Racism? Is it more covert or overt?
• What are the top 5 issues resulting from racism in our communities?
• How do racial and other types of discrimination impact local communities?
• What are the most effective ways our community can combat racism and hate?

Your questions and comments will be shared LIVE with the moderators and viewers during the broadcast.

STREAMED LIVE!
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/PostNewsGroup
YOUTUBE: youtube.com/blackpressusatv
X: twitter.com/blackpressusa

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Oakland Post: Week of November 6 – 12, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 6 – 12, 2024

Published

1 week ago

November 9, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Activism

Stop-the-Hate Message Shared with Tens of Thousands at Calif’s Largest Black-Themed Street Festival

Hundreds of thousands gathered at the 19th annual Taste of Soul Festival in Crenshaw — an event dubbed “California’s largest block party” — on Oct. 19. At the event, California Black Media (CBM) partnered with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) to spread the word about the California Vs. Hate, a statewide hate crime online resource and telephone hotline, launched in 2023.

Published

2 weeks ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Office of the Civil Rights Staff and CBM Representative. Courtesy Photo.

By Tanu Henry, California Black Media

Hundreds of thousands gathered at the 19^th annual Taste of Soul Festival in Crenshaw — an event dubbed “California’s largest block party” — on Oct. 19.

At the event, California Black Media (CBM) partnered with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) to spread the word about the California Vs. Hate, a statewide hate crime online resource and telephone hotline, launched in 2023.

“Held in the heart of south Los Angeles on Crenshaw Blvd, over half a million people attend the one-day event that brings out the best our community has to offer,” said Brandon Brooks, Stop the Hate project director at California Black Media.

“The festival promotes local businesses as well as it brings out local and statewide resources to assist community members, Brooks continued. “The day has proven to be a great opportunity to speak to people directly and provide information to combat hate crimes and incidents.”

During the event, Brooks said he, James Williams, Community Based Organization Manger for California Vs. Hate and Leah Brown-Goodloe from CBM informed and shared literature with tens of thousands of festivalgoers about the state’s Stop the Hate resources.

CBM’s Stop the Hate outreach was held at the beginning of United Against Hate Week (UAHW), a commemoration held annually across the country to recognize the fight against all forms of hate.

UAHW was first launched in 2018 by elected leaders, staff, and community groups from 13 cities in the Bay Area who organized a “United Against Hate” poster campaign responding to White supremacists marching in Northern California streets in the aftermath of Charlottesville riots.

In 2018, Los Angeles County, LAvsHate, a campaign that provided anti-hate crime information and resources to report hate incidents and hate crimes.

According to CRD director Kevin Kish, the L.A. initiative provided a model for the state’s program.

Today, UAHW has grown into a national movement with events organized across the country to mark the day.

In June, California Attorney General Rob Bonta released the 2023 Hate Crime in California Report. According to the report, hate crimes in California decreased by 7.1% from 2,120 in 2022 to 1,970 in 2023.

However, incidents and crimes against Black Californians remained higher than average with 518 reported cases in 2023.

When it comes to reported hate crimes, we know that Black Californians are the most targeted group for hate and discrimination in our state,” said Williams. “The California Civil Rights Department wants people to know that we are committed to reaching the Black community through outreach events and campaigns, including our first-ever billboard campaign, forging new partnerships, or increasing awareness about the hotline and available resources to historically hard-to-reach and underserved Californians.”

Williams said he wants to remind all Californians that there is “support when you report!”

“No matter your background or where you come from, if you’ve been targeted for hate, you can get help accessing legal, financial, mental health, and other services by calling 833-8-NO-HATE or by going to CAvsHate.org,” Williams added.

How To Report A Hate Crime:

CA vs Hate is a non-emergency, multilingual hate crime and incident reporting hotline and online portal. Reports can be made anonymously by calling (833) 866-4283, or 833-8-NO-HATE, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT or online at any time.

For more information on CA vs Hate, please visit CAvsHate.org.