Reflections from the D.C. March for Women's Lives
By
Thandi Chimurenga

I am truly appreciative to the CA Black Women's Health Project for allowing me the opportunity to attend the March for Women's Lives in Washington, DC on April 25, 2004. This March was an historic event with an attendance in excess of one million people. It was also historic in that the concerns of women of color - our lives - were given space in what has historically been a predominantly white, female arena.

For me, being in a setting with so many people gathered together for the same cause was exhilarating enough; but gathering with so many other women of color for the same cause was truly wonderful. My sistahs came from far and near and from every strata, "makin' up a million" as Dazon Dixon-Diallo, founder of SisterLove, Incorporated in Georgia stated to me.

When Whoopi Goldberg took the stage and held up that white coat hanger, saying that before Roe v. Wade, "this was our choice," it was extremely moving. Since I was a child when Roe was decided, I am not one of those who experienced the time before. I do not know the horrors of life without access to safe and affordable abortion. Being a part of this March enabled me to sit next to and dialogue with my sisters - my mothers - who did know that time first-hand - women who had the experience of almost bleeding to death, or of being permanently sterilized from an illegal and unsafe procedure - because they were not allowed the right to terminate their pregnancy. Poignant - that is the word that resonated with my spirit.

For me, these were the highpoints of my attendance at the March for Women's Lives. On the whole, the experience was very positive. However, there was at least one low point for me. Since I am not a veteran worker in the reproductive rights field and therefore not an insider, my perspective is different. My concern is exactly how much coverage our issues received in both the mainstream press and in the mainstream movement.

The April 26th issue of the Washington Post devoted approximately 6 pages to coverage of the March for Women's Lives. The front page showed an aerial view of the March's one million-plus participants. The only photos of women/people of color were, aside from a sprinkling of women in the Planned Parenthood contingent, of an African-American anti-abortion activist arguing with a white woman who was a March for Women's Lives participant.

Additionally, I felt there was speaker overload at the rally. The majority of speakers - and there were a lot of them - were white, and although their messages were brief, their messages revolved around the theme of choice (and to a lesser degree, getting Bush out of office).

I do not mean to sound callous. I know that the issue of "choice" is very real and very necessary to women of color as well. I also know that for women of color choice means more - the "choice" to have a healthy pregnancy; the "choice" to have and raise a child in a healthy environment; the "choice" to exercise and enjoy their sexuality freely; and the "choice" to utilize safe and affordable means of contraception.

I felt that a good indicator of our inclusion in the March would have been for representatives of the major organizations to have echoed the concerns of women of color around reproductive justice. Additionally, the women of color who did speak/present could have been more prominently placed throughout the rally. The Women of Color contingent to the March spoke near the end of the day's rally.

These are my thoughts and feelings about the March for Women's Lives and the movement for reproductive justice. I am extraordinarily thankful to the California Black Women's Health Project for allowing me the opportunity to travel and be a part of this history-making event. I eagerly await follow-up and other work with the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective in this area. In the final analysis the March for Women's Lives was a one-day event, but the work of securing reproductive justice for our sisters, our selves and our families is a movement. It is a movement that predates me and it is a movement in which I look forward to participating in actively.

Thandi Chimurenga is a community organizer, radio producer and host in Los Angeles, CA. She is the coordinator of the Afriyie Collective and is a co-founder of "Some of Us Are Brave," a Black Women's Radio program on KPFK 90.7 FM.