As our last big event before winding down for the spring semester, YWWAV took a trip out of state to the annual Civil Liberties and Public Policy conference in Amherst, MA. This was my first time attending the conference, but I can definitively say that it will not be my last. Attending this conference gave me the opportunity to see the thousands of different approaches one can take to solving issues of reproductive justice. I was able to meet activists, organization founders, counselors, educators, doctors, sex workers, doulas, artists, and publishers from across the country who work every day to advocate for, fight for and protect the reproductive rights and health of communities everywhere. I was able to meet Loretta Ross herself, who coined the term reproductive justice, and led several of the conference’s workshops. But perhaps what I am most proud of is the fact that I got to see the YWWAV participants come out of their shells to engage in the workshops, network with the people there, and even find the courage to give speeches on their own experiences in front of the hundreds of conference-goers. With workshop topics that ranged from inclusive pleasure-based sex ed to revolutionary parenting to “hood girl healing,” there was something for each of the girls. For some of the young women in the program, it isn’t often that they are able to venture so far outside of New Orleans and given the exposure to such a wide range of worldviews that this conference provided. Driving back to our hotel each day, I noticed that they were asking different sorts of questions than usual and thinking about all the possible tracks their futures could go–what type of work they wanted to do. Some were even thinking of possible workshops they could hold at the conference in future years. In a world where Black girls are often told that they talk too much and too loudly, that they should instead sit back quietly, these girls found a place where their voices were heard, where they were asked to go on instead of shut up, and where they were encouraged to take up space. This trip reminded them that they matter and showed them that they have skills and knowledge and talents that are valued and needed. This was an experience that I will always will hold in my heart going forward in this field, and I hope they will as well.
