Statement Against Police Brutality and Racism

We join the world in mourning the recent deaths of Breanna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade and we remember with heavy hearts all the Black lives lost before them. We stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and against systemic racism and police brutality. 

We understand reproductive justice in the context of state violence. Reproductive justice demands not only the right to have or not have children but also the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy and the right to exist in safe environments. Through our scholarship, we envision a world that adheres to the principles of reproductive justice. Attaining reproductive justice requires Black liberation inclusive of freedom from policing, incarceration, and all other forms of state violence. 

We recognize how discrimination and racism pervades medical and scientific institutions, whether through ideologies of  “race betterment” and eugenics or pernicious concepts of health, normalcy, and perfection. As researchers, our work documents the role that criminalization and policing has played in justifying the diminishment of the reproductive autonomy of Black people, communities of color, disabled persons, and LGBT+ individuals. 

In solidarity, we join the global movement for Black lives and commit to the following:

• Continue our research highlighting the history of eugenics and how it targets and impacts communities of color
• Amplify and highlight marginalized voices of people and communities impacted by reproductive injustice
• Develop accessible platforms to disseminate our scholarship and provide educational resources
• Support the continued intervention and acknowledgement of eugenic practices in the United States at state and institutional levels, including redress and reparations for involuntary sterilization
• Highlight the work of scholars of color that address the issues of race, reproduction, eugenics, violence, and sexual autonomy and injustice

The following resources provide further information, education, and aid. 

• Antiracism Resources: For general information and education
• #ShutDownAcademia/STEM: An initiative from a multi-identity, intersectional coalition of STEM professionals and academics taking action for Black lives
  
• #BlackInTheIvory: Hashtag sharing the experience of Black scholars within academic setting
  
• Academics4BlackLives.com: Academics for Black Survival and Wellness fosters accountability and growth for non-Black people and enhances healing and wellness for Black people
  
• Support Black Disabled Activists​: Resources and ways to support the disabled Black community
  
• Reading List: Debating Justice, Politics, and Culture in Black America: Readings and scholarship related to Black history, justice, and politics