#nn15

Violence against communities of color is a problem in the United States. And during the Netroots Nation 2015 conference earlier this month, activists from the immigration and #BlackLivesMatter movements came together to illustrate where our society must go if we are to win peace.

Puente Arizona made it their mission illustrate the harsh realities of living life as an undocumented immigrant by organizing a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Puente member, Berta, speaks about her experience in an Arizona detention center - she was given no water, food, or asthma medication in during her first five days in detention and nearly died from complications.

And #BlackLivesMatter activists addressed Democratic presidential candidates, highlighting violence faced by police, and demanding a plan to keep communities of color safer.

One thing is clear: we have reached a point where we will no longer look away from the systemic racism that is tearing our communities apart.

The Planned Parenthood family (IPPF, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and Planned Parenthood Global)  exhibiting at Netroots Nation 2015.

Planned Parenthood Global was proud to join colleagues at International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF) and Planned Parenthood Action as well as thousands of progressive bloggers, social justice advocates, organizers and activists gathered in Phoenix, Arizona for the annual Netroots Nations 2015 conference.

We were privileged to have powerful, meaningful conversations about social justice during the conference. At the “We Are One” panel,  we facilitated a talk among members of IPPF, Ipas, and NARAL Arizona about the global-local conncetions in our work, and the shared opposition that movement for LGBT rights and SRRH face. It’s no secret that the same people fighting against reproductive rights are also fighting to deny other communities, like LGBT people, of their own rights. It is our duty to hold those exporting hate accountable for their actions. 

Global reproductive rights fighters: NARAL Arizona, IPPF, and Planned Parenthood Global at the “We Are One” panel.

Another great conversation happened around the topic of allyship. During our “Beyond Diversity” panel, we discussed what it means to move beyond talk and truly show up for our colleagues in the struggle.

Kelley Robinson, Lori Adelman, Paris Hatcher, and Kaori Sueyoshi  speaking on the “Feminist Future: How Folks of Color, Queer Activists and Young People are Transforming the Movement” panel at Netroots Nation 2015.

Lori Adelman was also part of a third panel focusing on how people of color, queer activists, and young people are transforming the movement - another great conversation - and closed the conference with a 5 minute Ignite talk.

Check out Lori’s Ignite talk on how listening to global communities can help us create the healthiest generation ever, below:

Economic Justice is an overdue and a much needed political agenda in America. On the other hand, Black Americans are concerned with our literal survival today. Black people are being murdered by the state at alarming rates, and what the Black community is experiencing is the text-book definition of a real crisis and an existential one. 

The job of Black radicals on the left is NOT to “be reasonable” for all eternity so that White allies get to play the paternalistic Great White Savior. The political right is being dragged ever further to the extreme right. One of the duties of the radical left is to ensure that liberals—the political left—aren’t dragged along with them in a cloud of “reasonable” acquiescence. It is not the duty of White progressives to excoriate Black progressives when they think the AngryBlackPeople™ have “stepped out of line.”   

The Black Lives Matter movement is urgent. We have to be alive in November 2016 to cast a ballot, so perhaps you can see how our agendas aren’t nearly as aligned as they need to be.