From the Margins to the Center: How Black Women Advance Reproductive Justice Policy, October 16

The Smith College Human Rights Initiative Presents: 

From the Margins to the Center: How Black Women Advance Reproductive Justice Policy

Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Smith College Campus Center, Carroll Room
Open to the public

• 6-7 p.m. Doors open to view the Black Reproductive Justice HERstory Walk Exhibit
• 7-8 p.m. Panel Discussion. Welcome remarks by Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton

2024 marks both the 30th anniversary of the co-creation of the theory of reproductive justice by Black women at a conference sponsored by the Illinois Pro-Choice Alliance in Chicago and the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt which challenged dominant population control narratives by the Global North.

How are Black women reproductive justice advocates continuing to lead intellectual, storytelling, and policy change today in ways that center the experiences of some of the most vulnerable populations? What is the importance of policy advocacy for advancing reproductive justice in this highly contested moment?

These and other questions will be considered by leaders in the Black women’s reproductive justice movement at “From the Margins to the Center: How Black Women Advance Reproductive Justice Policy.” 

The panel will feature:

• Marcela Howell, Founder, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda
• Sapna Khatri, Director, Reproductive Justice Unit, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office
• Regina Davis Moss, President & CEO, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda

Smith College President Willie-LeBreton will offer opening remarks.

Smith College Professor of Africana Studies, Crystal Fleming will moderate the panel.

The event is organized by the Smith College Human Rights Initiative and is co-sponsored by the Smith College Lecture Committee, Special Collections, the Program for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality, the Government Department, and the Africana Studies Department.

Light refreshments will be available following the lecture.

For disability access information or accommodation requests, call 413-585-2669. To request a sign language interpreter, email arc@smith.edu at least ten days before the event.

About the Panelists

Crystal Fleming is a critical race sociologist and scholar of antiracism whose work explores black feminist and Africana perspectives on racial justice, collective memory and spirituality. She is the author and editor of four books including Resurrecting Slavery: Racial Legacies and White Supremacy in France (Temple University Press, 2017); the critically acclaimed How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy and the Racial Divide (Beacon Press, 2018) and her young adult debut RISE UP! How You Can Join the Fight Against White Supremacy (Henry Holt for Young Readers, 2021). Most recently, she is the co-editor of Beyond White Mindfulness: Critical Perspectives on Racism, Wellbeing and Liberation (2022 Routledge). Fleming earned a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in sociology from Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude in French and sociology with honors from Wellesley College. 

She is currently completing a book on social justice for Beacon Press and undertaking an ethnographic study of Black/queer life, leisure and placemaking in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She teaches a variety of courses at Smith including Introduction to Black Women’s Studies, Black Europe and Black Magic: Africana Encounters with the Paranormal.

Marcela Howell was the founder and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda for nine years from 2014 to 2023. In Our Own Voice is a national-state partnership with eight Black women’s Reproductive Justice organizations with a stated goal of lifting up the voices of Black leaders on reproductive rights, health and justice.

An advocate and policy strategist, Ms. Howell is recognized for her expertise in strategic communications, leadership development and policy forecasting. With more than 50 years of experience advocating for reproductive justice and women’s empowerment, she has been devoted to enhancing the role of Black women in national and state policy debates on issues that impact their lives. She has testified before Congress on abortion access, reproductive justice and the empowerment of Black women and has been quoted in numerous publications, including Newsweek, Washington Post, The Hill, Ms. Magazine, Blavity, and Essence Magazine.

Ms. Howell is the author of Walk in My Shoes: A Black Activist’s Guide to Surviving the Women's Movement, a collection of inspirational essays to help young Black women navigate the women's movement and empower them to become leaders in the fight for reproductive justice. She is currently working on her memoir covering her 70+ years of experience.

Sapna Khatri is the Director of the Reproductive Justice Unit, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. She is a first-generation, Queer South Asian lawyer who believes every issue is a reproductive justice issue. That is why she works diligently across bureaus and divisions within the Attorney General’s Office to make reproductive justice a reality. She works to protect and expand access to abortion and gender-affirming care, address disparities in maternal health, champion vital privacy protections, and work across state lines to respond to national attacks on reproductive and sexual health care.

Sapna previously served as a Sears Clinical Law Teaching Fellow at UCLA, where she launched the law school’s inaugural Reproductive Justice Externship Program. She also led efforts to establish the nation’s first Medical-Legal Partnership at a Planned Parenthood clinic, in partnership with the Black Health Initiative at Planned Parenthood Inglewood and the Legal Aid Foundation of LA. Sapna also served as a legal fellow in the Women and Reproductive Rights Project at the ACLU of Illinois and as the organization’s Advocacy & Policy Counsel for privacy, technology, and surveillance matters.

Sapna is currently also serving as a Harvard Law School Wasserstein Fellow, a program recognizing exemplary lawyers who have distinguished themselves in public interest work.

Regina Davis Moss is the President & CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda and the In Our Own Voice Action Fund. She has over 20 years of experience in the public, non-profit, and political sectors. She has dedicated her entire career to advancing complete physical, mental, and social well-being for women of color through research, programmatic initiatives, and the development of innovative strategies for informing health policies. 

Formerly, Moss was the Associate Executive Director of public health policy and practice for the American Public Health Association (APHA), where she led women’s, children’s, and reproductive health initiatives; managed strategy with government agencies, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders; and oversaw APHA’s Advancing Racial Equity and Social Justice initiative. She has held senior management positions for a national healthy eating and active living education initiative for Black women and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. 

Moss served as a research supervisor for an epidemiologic study on uterine fibroid tumors and as a public health service fellow in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health. Her recent book, Black Women’s Reproductive Health and Sexuality: A Holistic Public Health Approach, explores the impact of government and society on the reproductive health and sexuality of Black women and offers evidence-based solutions that support Black women in leading healthy and thriving lives.

About the Black Reproductive Justice HERstory Walk Exhibit

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of In Our Own Voice: Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda, this traveling Black Reproductive Justice “HERstory” exhibit showcases the history, stories and continuing impact of the foremothers of the Black reproductive justice movement.

About the Human Rights Initiative

Launched in 2023 by Faculty Director and MacArthur Fellow, Loretta Ross, and Director, Carrie Cuthbert, J.D., the Smith College Human Rights Initiative expands opportunities for the Smith  and wider community to engage with the proposition that “all human beings are born equal in dignity and rights” (Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1948). For information, email Carrie Cuthbert at ccuthbert@smith.edu