Our Bodies, Our Vote

By Shavon Arline-Bradley

For Black women, reproductive justice is not solely about abortion. Reproductive justice is about equal, competent, and just healthcare. What better team to have than a woman who knows her body and a physician who is stellar at their practice of medicine who provides her the facts to live a long, healthy life as a mother! How do I know this you may ask? It is my story, as I had the opportunity to make an informed decision about my pregnancy after miscarrying more than one time, to be blessed today with my beautiful son.

One of the most unprecedented political healthcare discussions we have seen has been about the autonomy and agency of women to make decisions for their bodies. The conversation for Black women is not abortion, but reproductive access, saving Black women's lives in childbirth, and healthcare access. When we see a Black mother not being believed because of her pre-labor pains resulting in the death of a child, and Black lives not deemed important due to prejudice, we cannot afford to be silent.

Healthcare is a billion-dollar industry and along the way we have sacrificed the patient protection approach to the work in exchange for big profits. In this fight, the Black community has "lost the game" around issues on health disparities and health inequities. How do we make change? By creating opportunities for more Black women at the political table because we have an innate nature to make sure that everyone has a voice. Understand, I wholeheartedly believe that with Black women leading the charge, we can get back to addressing this issue.

Black women must pay attention to policy on all levels - local, state, and federal. An emphasis should be made on the state level as reproductive access is now in the hands of what is mostly white men walking the halls of many statehouses.

Informing, educating, and advocating on behalf of ourselves are tactics we must master to be sure we are included and heard to evoke change. These policy changes will need to be rooted in the mastery of feelings toward the humanity of it all.

In addition to this, we as Black women must also realize our voting power. At NCNW, we understand the power of Black women when it comes to voting. Black women are one of the strongest voting blocs in the United States. We know statistically, more than two-thirds of Black women turned out to vote in the 2020 presidential election - the third highest rate of any race-gender group. NCNW seeks to be the convener of our collective agency to make sure the power of the vote is utilized to voice our opinion against policies that do not support reproductive justice.

We are once again galvanizing the decision-making process. We will actively participate in leadership roles - including but not limited to community, government, and corporate sectors - and exercise our collective power through the vote. I encourage Black women to never allow us to be silenced or deemed invisible on the subject of reproductive justice. Please understand that our next steps will be strategic, and the results of our actions will be witnessed by the masses at the polls on Nov. 5.

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Rev. Shavon Arline-Bradley is the president and chief executive officer for National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and brings 21 years of experience in healthcare, diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEII), government affairs, and executive leadership.