Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice (Paperback)

~ Jael Silliman (Author), Marlene Gerber Fried (Author), Loretta Ross (Author), Elena Gutierrez (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"If you have come to help me, please go away. But, if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, let us work together."-Lila Watson, Aboriginal Activist

Vibrant. Strong. Fierce. Undivided Rights captures the evolving and largely unknown activist history of women of color organizing for reproductive justice-on their own behalf.

Undivided Rights presents a fresh and textured understanding of the reproductive rights movement by placing the experiences, priorities, and activism of women of color in the foreground. Using historical research, original organizational case studies, and personal interviews, the authors illuminate how women of color have led the fight to control their own bodies and reproductive destinies. Undivided Rights shows how women of color--starting within their own Latina, African American, Native American, and Asian American communities-have resisted coercion of their reproductive abilities. Projected against the backdrop of the mainstream pro-choice movement and radical right agendas, these dynamic case studies feature the groundbreaking work being done by health and reproductive rights organizations led by women-of-color.

The book details how and why these women have defined and implemented expansive reproductive health agendas that reject legalistic remedies and seek instead to address the wider needs of their communities. It stresses the urgency for innovative strategies that push beyond the traditional base and goals of the mainstream pro-choice movement-strategies that are broadly inclusive while being specific, strategies that speak to all women by speaking to each woman. While the authors raise tough questions about inclusion, identity politics, and the future of women's organizing, they also offer a way out of the limiting focus on "choice."

Undivided Rights articulates a holistic vision for reproductive freedom. It refuses to allow our human rights to be divvied up and parceled out into isolated boxes that people are then forced to pick and choose among.

About the Author

Loretta Ross (AUTHOR) has a twenty-five-year history of involvement in the women's movement-both in ending violence against women and promoting reproductive rights-in the United States and internationally. She was active in the Black Nationalist and Civil Rights Movements, conducting research on the far right and anti-abortion violence. She has written extensively on African American women and abortion, and has organized many events for women of color in the reproductive rights movement. Ross is a co-founder of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective. Currently, she focuses on the human rights movement and is the founder and executive director of the National Center for Human Rights Education.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: South End Press (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896087298
• ISBN-13: 978-0896087293
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #121,800 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Freedom of choice for every woman!, September 17, 2006

By	wildflowerboy (planet earth) - See all my reviews

This groundbreaking book documents the courageous activism of feminists of color fighting for reproductive freedom. Faced with the oftentimes blatant racism and classism of the mainstream women's movement and obstacles of sexism amongst many of the men within their racial communities, these women are bravely demanding access to abortions and an end to sterilization abuse. With the anti-choice opposition trying to control female sexuality and reduce women's bodies to baby-making factories, this book is more important than ever. Not to mention that race and class are still pressing issues in this country, as evidenced by the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and recent attempts to further criminalize undocumented immigrants . However, though the book details the thoughts and actions of African-American, Latina, Asian-American, and Native American feminists, I was disappointed that it neglected to mention the work being done by Arab-Americans. Nevertheless,this is an excellent book, and unfortunately an urgent one.