Politics and Current
Don’t Let Our Freedom Rot in Hell: The Urgent Fight for Reproductive and Economic Freedom – Essence
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Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Harris’ latest campaign theme for president is Beyoncé’s hit song “Freedom.” It perfectly captures the urgency of this moment when reproductive justice, economic freedom, and the rights of LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized groups are under threat. With lower than 90 days until Election Day, we understand that the connections between these movements have to be acknowledged and motion taken. In the spirit of Beyoncé’s powerful lyrics, we won’t let our freedom rot in hell: it’s time to harness our collective power for justice.
Over the past two years, SisterSong has led the way in which in partnership with the Global Black Economic Forum (GBEF) conversations on reproductive justice on the Global Black Economic Forum Public Convention at ESSENCE Festival of Culture, the most important gathering of Black people in the United States. ESSENCE Fest is a love letter to Black women and an area where our voices are amplified, our stories are shared, and our issues are delivered to the forefront—making it the perfect possible venue for these conversations.
When Vice President Harris took the stage on the 2024 ESSENCE Arts and Culture Festival, he stated“Our daughters will have fewer rights than their grandmothers” if we don’t vote in this election was not an exaggeration or a hypothesis. After the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade and ended reproductive freedom in the United States, hundreds of thousands of girls, particularly in the South, were denied access to reproductive health care, and the impact of that can’t be overstated.
Some evaluation from the National Partnership for Women & Families and In Our Own Voice found that 57 percent of all black women in the United States ages 15-49 live in 26 states which have banned or likely will ban abortion. This lack of freedom is a matter of life and death for black women: In the wake of the Dobbs decision, “Maternal mortality rates are higher in states where abortion is restricted than in states where abortion is available, with the rate being 20 percent higher among non-Hispanic blacks.”
The urgency of this moment, especially for black women in the South, is heightened when limited access to health care is exacerbated by inequalities in economic opportunity. When laws and court decisions deprive a girl of the liberty to make decisions about her body, economic freedom becomes unattainable.
Too often, we treat the economic justice and reproductive freedom movements as separate struggles, especially in the company and advocacy sectors. But this siloed approach weakens our collective power. We are actively confronting opposition that’s coordinated and strategic, yet our movement stays fragmented. We must ask ourselves: If our opposition is united in its efforts to remove our freedoms, why are we not equally united in their defense? While we now have made significant progress in coordinating our movement, we’re a long time behind the infrastructure of our opponents.
In SisterSong National Conference “Let’s Talk About Sex” in Washington, DC, from August 23-25, we are going to have fun 30 years of the reproductive justice movement in an area that invites activists and newcomers to the movement to interact in these conversations. Often in our community, particularly in the Black church, there was a fear of discussing reproductive freedom as a result of the politics of respectability and discomfort with discussing sexual and reproductive health. While Black churches have a convention of being hubs for mobilizing our communities for social justice, we’d like to expand our comfort level and discuss reproductive freedom in community spaces where we now have not historically done so.
We saw the impact when Serena Williams shared her experience of nearly losing her life after giving birth as a result of medical neglect and racial bias. By continuing to share our stories, we may help organizations understand the challenges Black women face when in search of healthcare. In addition to data that clearly shows the disparities Black women face, qualitative evidence from our collective, lived experience is crucial to driving change.
We must proceed to work to finish the stigma around reproductive justice conversations. Our reproductive and economic freedoms are under attack and are on the ballot this 12 months. We cannot wait for others to mobilize our movement—we must act now to fight for our freedoms on the ballot box and be willing to work beyond the ballot box. We won’t allow our freedoms to rot in hell while we remain silent.
Featured
USAID cuts are already hitting countries around the world. Here are 20 projects that have been closed
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Countries around the world already feel the influence of Trump’s administration decision to eliminate over 90% of foreign assistance contracts and reduce the financing of around $ 60 billion. A number of hours after the announcement at the starting of this week, The programs have been closed, Leaving tens of millions of individuals without access to life -saving care.
About 10,000 contracts with the American International Development Agency were accomplished on Wednesday, in letters sent to non -governmental organizations around the world.
Letters said that the programs were rejected “for the convenience and interests of the US government”, based on an individual with knowledge of the content that they spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk publicly on this subject.
Many programs are present in the fragile countries that are highly depending on American help with a purpose to support healthcare systems, nutrition programs and stop hunger.
Here, several key projects around the world, which AP confirmed, have been closed:
1: In Congo, the motion of a bunch of help against hunger will stop to treat tens of hundreds of malnourished children from May, which, based on a charity, will make children put children in “deadly danger”.
2: According to the Committee on Cadastral Risk Management in Ethiopia in Ethiopia, help stopped for over 1 million people. The Ministry of Health was also forced to terminate the contract of 5,000 employees throughout the country, focused on stopping HIV and malaria, vaccination and assist in a difficult situation in coping with the trauma of war.
3: In Senegal, the largest malaria project was closed. According to a USAID worker, who was not authorized to talk over with the media. Mother and youngsters’s health and nutrition services were also closed. They provided look after tens of hundreds of pregnant women and treatment that would prevent acute malnutrition.
4: In South Sudan, the International Emergency Committee closed a project that provides access to prime quality health and nutrition services over 115,000 people.
5: The program closed by the Norwegian refugee council in Colombia left 50,000 people without saving their lives, including in the northeast, where the growing violence caused a humanitarian crisis once a generation. This included food, shelter, clean water and other basic items for people displaced in the region.
6: According to the International Rescue Committee, 90 community cuisines closed in the capital in the torn war of Sudan, leaving greater than half 1,000,000 people without consistent access to food.
7: According to Bangladesh, 600,000 women and youngsters will lose access to mother’s critical health care, protection against violence, reproductive health services and other life -saving care, in accordance with the United Nations Fund.
8. In small critical assistance, equivalent to access to water, food and health services for over 270,000 people, based on a help group, which didn’t wish to be listed for fear of repression.
9. Over 400,000 people in North Burkina Faso lost access to services equivalent to water. According to the help group, which didn’t want to get replaced for fear of a repressiveist.
10. In Somalia, 50 health centers serving over 19,000 people were closed per thirty days because health care employees are not paid, based on the American help group.
11. In Ukraine, based on money, humanitarian programs, which last yr reached 1 million people, were suspended, based on the spokesman for the Secretary General of the UN.
12. Hundreds of mobile health teams and other services were suspended in Afghanistan, they concerned 9 million people, based on the UN spokesperson.
13. According to the UN Secretary General in Syria in Syria, for about 2.5 million people in the northeast of the country ceased to supply services. Also in the north, a dozen or so health clinics, including the primary hospital recommending this area, closed, said doctors without borderlines.
14. In Kenya, over 600,000 people living in drought -harassed areas and chronic sharp malnutrition will lose their access to the rescue lifetime of food and nutrition, based on Mercy Corps.
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15. At Haiti, 13,000 people lost access to dietary support, in accordance with actions against hunger.
16. In Thailand, hospitals help around 100,000 Refugees from Myanmar According to the Border Consortium of the Help Group, closed.
17. According to the International Emergency Committee in Nigeria, 25,000 extremely malnourished children will stop to receive food assistance until April.
18. A program to enhance access to warning systems for disabled people for disabled people was detained in the Philippines.
19. In Vietnam, a program helping disabled people through training carers and providing medical care at home stopped, in accordance with humanity and integration.
20. In Yemen, 220,000 resettled people will lose access to mother’s critical health care, protection against violence, treatment of rape and other life -saving care, in accordance with the United Nations Fund.
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The Associated Press Writers Sylvie Corbet got here in Paris, France, Robert Badendieck in Istanbul, Turkey, Evelyn Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, Thalia Beata in New York and Edith Lederer in the United births contributed to this report.
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(tagstransate) @AP
Politics and Current
Speaker of the New York Council Adrienne Adams is considering Burmoral Run
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The speaker of the City Council in New York Adrienne Adams submitted documents to the financial council of the New York campaign to be able to create a campaign committee in the upcoming mayor’s race.
“We currently have chaos and we have reduced confidence in the other side of the town hall,” Adams said in an interview with Gothamist. “That is why I am seriously considering the campaign to become the first woman of the mayor of New York.”
In addition to becoming the first woman chosen as the mayor, Adams could be the first black woman and the first speaker of the city council who took the highest elected place in New York.
confirmed that Adams would do it Wait until the next week to make the final decision to launch. It is expected to offer the address of the “city state” on March 4.
“I wasn’t looking for it; It was not in my plans – she said, adding, “I believe someone have to be the soul of the city.”
A possible Adams offer for the mayor comes amongst the precipitation with the current mayor, Eric Adams. Adams, who is not related to the mayor, recently joined other city leaders, asking him to subside because of the corruption scandal.
If he joins the race, Adams will join the crowded, qualified field. Comptroller City Brad Lander and his predecessor Scott Stringer, Queens Assemblymber Zohran Mamdani, senator of the state Queens Jessica Ramos and senator of State Brooklyn Zellor Myrie.
There were also rumors that the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was considering returning to politics and applying for the mayor.
A recent survey with the Honan Strategy Group showed that Cuomo has a most important role in a democratic basic race of 38%. Mamdani is second at 12%, and the mayor of Adams is in third place with 10%. The Adams speaker received only 2% support from survey respondents.
(Tagstranslate) Mayoral Race (T) Adrienne Adams (T) New York City (T) Eric Adams
Politics and Current
Voting of Trump agent IRS takes place when the renovation of the Muska government appears to his new job, informed about “stopping” after complaining about the destruction of life
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Newly employed agent IRS Robert McCabe he said He voted for Donald Trump because he believed that “there are many things in the government that require repair.”
That is why he decided to work for the government.
“To help change. Help change things that are bad in the world, you know? “McCabe said. “I thought that someone with his business penetration would appear with a meticulous comb.”
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Instead, a resident of Philadelphia said that Trump got here with the destructive ball “destroying people’s lives for no reason.”
On Thursday, McCabe was one of about 400 IRS employees who lost their jobs as part of Trump’s efforts, appointed with Elon Musk to improve the government.
Curator employees, corresponding to McCabe, were the easiest goal for the team shooting Musk, because they don’t yet protect relationships. “It was illegal. My performance was good. I did every part I used to be supposed to do – he said.
According to government data obtained by AP220,000 federal employees had lower than a yr of work from March 2024. Most, if not all, are to be released.
Many voted for Trump, unaware that their work was on a chopping block. Last week, a primary generation farmer, Skylar Holden, said that he would really like him to be more cautious in voting when he faced the loss of his farm after freezing after freezing by President Donald Trump in the financing of key protection programs.
Holden has signed a USD 240,000 contract with a USDA natural resource protection service (NRCS) under the environmental quality motivation program (EQIP) to improve water lines, fences and wells on its farm.
USDA officials have recently notified him that his contract was frozen – after Holden has already spent $ 80,000 on materials and work. He counts on these funds, however it shouldn’t be clear if he’ll get the money he promised.
Even Bootlicker Trump, Jesse Watters, begged Trump and Musk to be “less soulless” after the friend of the Fox News host lost his job in the Pentagon.
Trump’s critics showed little sympathy for Holden or McCabe – probably not the best way to dissatisfied voters away from Trump.
“Agent for the Internal Revenue Service is not satisfied with the man he voted for, for what you voted for, stop complaining …”, said one of the commentators About a strict historyleft message aggregator.
“You are often, Mr. Robert McCabe: You can’t read/hear messages and interpret what is really happening,” a distinct one.
“His lies can not be seen, especially at his rallies, you can’t understand what will happen when you vote to put a criminal with a huge power. Yes, yes, you are really far behind, so I’m secretly happy because of you and your other agents who voted for imbecile, because you are not all intelligent enough to be in the agency. “
In the Philadelphia office itself, 250 to 300 IRS employees lost their jobs on Thursday, Alex Jay Berman, executive vice chairman of the Treasury of the Treasury Association Chapter 71, said nbc10. He expected that this number would reach 400 until the end of the week.
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