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Roe v. Wade: Why We Care

By: Rev. Adwoa Rey, President and CEO of Women of Praize and SCLC National

Women’s Health Liaison

Rev. Adwoa Rey, Bans Off Our Bodies March in Washington, DC

For the past few weeks, I have had the privilege of representing SCLC as the National Liaison for Women’s Health at the Bans Off Our Bodies marches and rallies in Washington, D.C. Here, in the heart of our nation, I stood at the Washington Monument and near the Supreme Court and Capitol buildings with thousands of women and men from different races and ethnicities, sexual preferences, and social economic and religious backgrounds in a protest of the Supreme Court’s egregious assault on women’s health and reproductive rights. Feelings of dismay, disbelief, and downright outrage filled the air as we lamented together in response to the Court’s expected and eventual ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion. As a student of political science, the significance of this moment in history is not lost on me. As a 41-year-old single black mother in America, these dangerous and uncertain times are all too familiar. In 1973, when the landmark Roe v. Wade decision was handed down, I was not yet born, but I benefited from the bodily autonomy it granted in reproductive matters. It troubles me to think that my kids won't enjoy the same freedom.

The Christian story of redemption from humanity’s fall from grace is predicated on freedom of choice. The woman’s right to choose whether to have an abortion is a sacred right, that must be extended to all and protected. For Black women in particular, the constitutional right to abortion is critical in a country that neither prioritizes nor adequately supports their health and well-being. The U.S. has the highest black maternal mortality rate among developing countries, and many black women lack quality and affordable healthcare for themselves and their families. Black mothers are less likely to have access to programs and services needed to raise their children in a safe and healthy environment. Black women are at a higher risk of sexual violence, which may result in unwanted pregnancies. For too long, America’s ostentatious melody has overshadowed its beautiful composition of freedom, justice, and equality. The Supreme Court’s decision to end the constitutional right to SCLC National Magazine/ Spring 2022 Issue 17

abortion further marginalizes women of color already on the fringes of society longing to be welcomed to the nation’s tapestry of citizenry. God is love.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves, which is the second greatest commandment. One cannot refuse, limit, and remove the structures of love around mothers and children, yet profess to be pro-life. Failing to provide basic human needs of children and their families—like quality and affordable healthcare, education, livable housing, healthy food, and clean water and air—aborts “the least” and most vulnerable among us. We must continue to focus on building a community of love and support for all of God’s children regardless of their color, where they were born, how wealthy their parents are, or who they choose to be with. I am disheartened by the Supreme Court’s ruling to end the constitutional right to abortion. But I am not defeated. I have a renewed spirit for love and justice. I will fiercely advocate for the rights that I have as a woman and an American.

The issue of reproductive rights is critical to the mission of both SCLC and Women of Praize. As an organization that provides spiritual support to women of color throughout our nation, we will continue to educate faith communities about women’s health. We will be holding panel discussions with SCLC and other partner organizations to educate people about reproductive rights. We will provide fact sheets for clergy to share with their congregations and toolkits to facilitate conversations with family and friends at the dinner table. Through our healing circles, we will support women of color as they feel the devastating and traumatic effects of the Supreme Court’s harmful decision.

As I addressed the crowds at the recent marches and rallies, I thought about my children. I am doing my part to create a hopeful future for them. I thought about the many women, my sisters in Christ, who saw abortion as their only recourse, that no longer have that freedom. I carry their pain and grief on my shoulders. I thought about those who marched before me. The brave women and men who risked their lives to further the work of peace, justice, and equality for all. It is their faithful examples that give me hope at a time when options are few. I am proud to stand with the SCLC in this fight. Together, we will “Keep On Walking, Keep on Talking until we are Marching Into Freedom Land.

On February 14, 1957 a group of pastors and leaders, gathered under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to form an organization to bring nonviolent direct action to empower and bring freedom to Black Americans under the umbrella of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

April 4, 1968, a tragic day, when an assassin ’ s bullet took the life of Dr. King. But it did not take the life out his movement, instead it provided the spark that brought light to his life ’ s work on nonviolent direct action and change.

The Love and Light Campaign supports the history, the work and the future of the SCLC. As you join, you help us continue to fulfill our mission of “Redeeming the Soul of America!”

Please head to http://nationalsclc.org/lal for more information

The Dream and the Hope of the Slave: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

By: Michelle Simpson, Esq

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in to the Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday, June 30, 2022 as the 116th justice, fittingly replacing Justice Stephen Breyer for whom she clerked a little over two decades ago. She is the first Black woman to have ever even been nominated. Her confirmation on April 7, 2022 was understandably a joyous day for many and included multiple celebrations throughout the nation, both planned and impromptu. As a daughter of parents who both attended segregated schools and graduated from HBCUs, she is a true embodiment of the memorable line from the late Maya Angelo’s poem “I Rise”: Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.

Justice Brown Jackson has a very diverse resume, more diverse than any current justice and among the most diverse of any justice in the 232 year history of the Court. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University and before attending Harvard Law School, she was a researcher and staff reporter for Time magazine. After graduating from HLS cum laude she was a law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit before clerking for Justice Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court. She spent time in private practice in Washington, DC and Boston, MA. She was an assistant federal public defending in DC for cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. She was also an assistant special counsel to the United States Sentencing Commission and eventually nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the vice chair. During her term as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the guideline range for crack cocaine offenses was reduced retroactively. Justice Brown Jackson’s first judicial appointment was to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was nominated by President Obama in 2012 and SCLC National Magazine/ Spring 2022 Issue

United States Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

confirmed in 2013. Justice Breyer swore her in. As a federal district court judge she wrote approximately 600 opinions, of which less than 2% were overturned. President Joe Biden nominated Justice Brown Jackson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in 2021 and she was confirmed last June. As a district court judge and on the appeals court, she has made numerous rulings that were of significant importance regarding labor rights of union workers and administrative actions of the government. A well-known quote from one of her opinions, “presidents are not kings,” was found in a federal district court decision against the Trump administration when the then White House counsel would not comply with a legislative subpoena. Not only is Justice Brown Jackson the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and only the third Black person, she is the first public defender. Similar to our beloved Justice Thurgood Marshall, her representation of indigent defendants will most certainly provide a much needed perspective to a court with such a wide and lasting impact. Also comparable to the late Justice Marshall, Justice Brown Jackson was successful in obtaining exceptional rulings for her clients that were rare and hardfought. Her cases primarily involved appealing convictions, so her victories lead to shortening the length of or even erasing her clients’ prison terms. Civil Rights Organizations have long pushed for the White House to nominate judges with work experience in fields other than just prosecution and corporate law. “There is a direct line from my defender service to what I do on the bench, and I think it’s beneficial,” Justice Brown Jackson stated during her confirmation hearing. Despite this monumental appointment and all that there is to celebrate about it, we have to also consider the limitations of the impact of Justice Brown Jackson. Currently the Supreme Court has six justices nominated by Republican presidents and three justices nominated by Democrat presidents. Justice Brown Jackson will replace one of the three so the division will stay the same. Although the justices are free to vote in any way they see fit, and they have a life-time appointment to increase the chances that they will do so without any political pressure despite the party of the president who nominated them, the history of the Court proves that decisions made along party lines are more common than not. With several recent decisions leading to numerous protests that are expected to continue for an uncertain period of time into the future, the most notable being Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which overturned Roe v. Wade, the impact of the division is even more obvious than it has been in recent memory. Justice

Brown Jackson has a track record of being involved in much needed changes to the courts and organizations she has been apart of and at just over 50 years of age she hopefully has several decades of service to provide as a justice. However, until the Supreme Court is more balanced in terms of the voting proclivity of the justices serving on it, we most likely won’t see any immediate significant impact of her appointment. As a fellow Harvard Law School graduate and Black woman who practices law, I am most certainly filled with hope and pride to witness the representation Justice Brown Jackson’s appointment on the highest court in our country exemplifies. No race or gender is a monolith; however, we do possess many shared experiences based on how we are treated by others and what we contend with systemically because of our identifiable appearance. It only serves to make our nation better to have a federal supreme court look like our population. We still have a significant journey ahead of us to get to that point; but looking back to our enslaved ancestors, we have also come from a mighty long way. The poignant words of SCLC co-founder Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. must forever compel us forward, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

A Howard University and Harvard Law School graduate, Michelle Simpson, Esq. practices transactional law in Atlanta, GA. While others have hobbies that are fun and amusing, her hobbies include pushing for equality, equity and justice. Pray that she enjoys life a little more...but also VOTE!