It has been inspiring to see how many people are moving into action for the first time when faced with the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade, the attacks on 2SLGBTQIA+ students and neighbors, and beyond. Take action this month to build momentum and grow the movement for human dignity, reproductive justice, and democracy for all!

What is the Activity? 

This month’s activity is to create a plan of action that extends past the rallies, Pride events, and more that allow for new folks to get to know each other and your group, and to get grounded in the movement that has made victories like Roe v. Wade, Pride, and more possible! We are in an overwhelming time, and we are fortunate to be part of movements that we can draw strength and inspiration from. With so many new folks engaging for the first time, or showing up for the first time in their new hometowns, it’s a great opportunity to create space for folks to build a relationship with your group (or start a new group if there isn’t one in your community!), to foster shared analysis and connect the dots between the issues that impact rural Oregonians most. And what better way to do that than a movie night or book group!

Inviting people to your event is a great chance to make new connections and deepen existing relationships in your communities, while also building up your group’s database!

Why this Activity? 

Earlier this week people across the state and the country rallied in protest against the latest attack on democracy, and many are redoubling their efforts to hold bold, powerful, and inclusive rural Pride events this summer. We know that it’s going to take all of us to turn the tides when it comes to the Supreme Court, Congress, and even the Oregon Legislature and local county commissions, city councils. Rallies and community celebrations are incredible opportunities to build a human dignity group’s base, or to start a human dignity group that will organize after the rally or event is over! As we always say at ROP, if you’re not growing, you’re shrinking! 

How to Complete the Activity:

1. As your human dignity group organizes or shows up to support reproductive justice rallies, Pride celebrations, and more, plan a series of opportunities that you can invite the great people you meet to build relationships and build your group! Consider how you want to bring people into organizing for dignity and democracy for the long-haul. Does your group already have a campaign you want to bring people into? Has your group been on hiatus for the last two years of the pandemic? Is it time to start a new group?
2. Check out this list of documentaries, movies, articles, and books and pick out one or more that you think would help ground your group and new friends in the legacy of powerful organizing! The list is also included below.
3. Choose your date, time, and location for these events, and make handy-dandy flyers to share at rallies, post at your local book store, and more!
4. Make a plan about where you’ll get the materials for your event! If you’re doing a movie night, can you use one of the free online resources like PBS, or borrow a copy of a movie from the library? If you’re doing a book group, can you see if your local library can have copies available for participants to check out, or if your local bookstore will give your group the wholesale price in solidarity?
5. Make a list of all the people you know that would want to join the conversation to increase our knowledge of our political history. Did you meet someone at a rally this week who you think would like to join your group? Call them all and invite them! As a handy rule of thumb, phone calls always yield the best results. Emails get about half as many people out to events, and social media event invites get very few. 
6. At the event, bring your clipboard with a sign-in sheet like this one, so that you can build your group’s list and stay connected! If you have events like movie nights already scheduled, bring a flyer to hand to people you meet to invite them personally!
7. Let ROP know what you’re planning! We would be happy to help amplify your outreach! Connect with your ROP organizer or email Sidra at sidra@rop.org to connect!  

Bonus points: Rural organizers, community leaders, and activists from across the state will be strategizing about how rural Oregon can take collective action to advance reproductive justice, support rural queer students whose rights are under attack, and more at the Rural Caucus & Strategy Session on June 25th! Be sure to register by May 25th for the early bird discount!

Warmly,

Sidra and the ROP Team

Reproductive Justice Resource List

This list is a starting place! Let us know what you are reading, watching, and sharing by emailing office@rop.org and we can update this page! 

Movies and Documentaries

The Janes is a documentary from Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes. It spotlights the members of the Jane Collective, an underground network based in Chicago that facilitated illegal abortions between 1969 and 1973.

Call Jane is directed by Phyllis Nagy, the screenwriter of ‘Carol.’ Call Jane follows a traditional housewife, Joy, as she seeks out an abortion and later joins the women of the Jane Collective.

Vera Drake is a fictional British film about a working-class woman who provides abortions to other women like her – and she is eventually arrested.

Plan B follows a straight-laced high school student and her slacker best friend who, after a regrettable first sexual encounter, have 24 hours to hunt down a Plan B pill in America’s heartland.

America’s War on Abortion is a 2020 documentary film by Deeyah Khan. In this documentary timed to coincide with the US Presidential elections, Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Deeyah Khan investigates one of the most divisive issues in American politics – abortion.

Stonewall Uprising: The Year That Changed America. When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City on June 28, 1969, the street erupted into violent protests that lasted for the next six days. The Stonewall riots, as they came to be known, marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States and around the world.

Articles and Recordings

Mobilizing for Reproductive Freedom in the Battle Over Bodily Sovereignty, A Roundtable Discussion hosted by Political Research Associates.

Movies With Abortion Scenes Are Becoming More Graphic—And More Vital by Vanity Fair.

We Are BRAVE: Race, money, and abortion access is a political education curriculum, developed by Forward Together and Western States Center, to support social justice organizations to build a shared understanding of abortion as one aspect of reproductive and sexual health; explore abortion access through the lens of racial, economic and immigrant justice; and find pathways to action in support of abortion rights.

All Above All Resource Database has pages and pages of great resources!

Political Research Associates have a ton of excellent resources on their website!

Books

Reproductive Justice: An Introductionby Loretta Ross and Rickie Solinger.

The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Serviceby Laura Kaplan.

9 Informative Books About Stonewallfrom Book Riot.

Books on Reproductive Justicefrom the Seattle Public Library.

Transformation: Towards a People’s Democracy by Suzanne Pharr. Check out Chapter 10 “Deregulating Women’s Lives and Regulating Greed: An Open Letter to the Conservative Right (1990)” and Chapter 11 “Rightwing/Whitewing Christians: Hel-lo Operation Rescue (1991).”

Reproductive Justice Organizations

SisterSong is a Southern-based, national membership organization. SisterSong’s mission is to strengthen and amplify the collective voices of indigenous women and women of color to achieve reproductive justice by eradicating reproductive oppression and securing human rights. “Our purpose is to build an effective network of individuals and organizations to improve institutional policies and systems that impact the reproductive lives of marginalized communities.”

Black Feminist Future (BFF) is a member-centered organization and our members help inform our work, campaigns, and initiatives. “At BFF, we’re centering leadership development, community care, and joy in order to build the political and social power that we need to win concrete changes in our lives, community, and beyond. BFF envisions a world where all Black women, girls, and gender-expansive folks are: safe, joyful, cared for, powerful, self-determining, and thriving. We envision a world where freedom is our birthright and we are in abundant, nurturing, and interdependent relationships with our communities and the earth. BFF is a political hub focused on the dynamic possibilities of galvanizing the social and political power of Black women, girls, and gender-expansive people towards liberation. We do this by building and nourishing the leadership of fierce Black feminists, fortifying aligned organizations and movements, and shifting cultural norms.”

Abortion Access Front “We are a coven of hilarious badass feminists who use humor and pop culture to expose the haters fighting against reproductive rights.”

Liberate Abortion is an effort comprised of more than 150 reproductive justice and rights organizations, groups, and abortion providers working in coalition to fight for abortion that is available, affordable, accessible, and stigma-free for anyone who needs it. Liberate Abortion is about more than just protecting the legal right to an abortion. Roe v. Wade alone has never been enough to ensure people, especially Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and people working to make ends meet, can get the care they need when they need it.

California Latinas for Reproductive Justice “CLRJ is a statewide organization committed to honoring the experiences of Latinas/xs to uphold our dignity, our bodies, sexuality, and families. We build Latinas’/xs’ power and cultivate leadership through community education, policy advocacy, and community-informed research to achieve reproductive justice.”