All of us on the ACP Board have been encouraged about the tremendous changes brought about by the people of the Black Lives Matter movement who have enlivened every community in the U.S. In our conversations with each other and our friends, we found that the personal stories were the most compelling. Knowing people personally or hearing stories told at rallies and in the media brings home the pervasive racism and violence that Black people endure. This threat of violence is insidious and affects children and how parents must try to instruct and protect them. We have been re-telling stories that move us to deepen others' understanding, increase our empathy, and embrace the changes that Black Lives Matter stand for.
We realize our strategies about change at ACP are also about conversation and the power of story-telling. We encourage everyone, but especially white people, to listen to the extraordinary, and the everyday, injustices that Black people experience. We encourage the re-telling of those stories so that others understand the urgency of this historical moment. National polls are recording the shift in public opinion which is grounds for hope and we believe that the protests and conversations must continue until there are not only real changes in policy and practice, but also in attitudes.
Ultimately, a cultural shift has been underway on many fronts for a long time, with some successes and many backlashes. The forces that support both White Supremacy and the Radical Right are powerful and every step forward brings actual and rhetorical assaults. Those of us in the abortion world understand this trajectory all too well. More people favor abortion rights and the harm of abortion stigma and yet the number of laws enacted against access to abortion is unprecedented.
The death of George Floyd, and the many deaths of Black people before him, have revealed the racist underbelly of the police, governments at all levels, and among segments of our communities. These revelations make room for change, hopefully enough changing of hearts and minds to create a cultural shift. Black Lives Matter has accelerated change. This work needs steady pressure and commitment to the long haul. We all need to be prepared for more backlash and not back down. Everyone who wants a better world, free of prejudice and stigma, needs to add their strength to move this change forward.
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