In October of 2017, 53 Complex Family Planning Fellows levied a call to action to the field of family planning. They were demanding both an acknowledgement of the impact of racism on their lives and the lives of the patients they cared for as well as accountability in the reproductive health movement regarding the role of structural and systemic racism in reproductive health care. One year later, a group of physicians, lawyers, scholars, and historians (majority people of color, one white woman) gathered in Albuquerque, NM at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The work before those who were gathered was daunting and unambiguous: to disrupt and dismantle the structures of racism within the field, for their patients as well as providers, scholars, and staff. They received blessings from Indigenous elders, expressed gratitude for the sacrifices made on their behalf by those who came before, and set out to create a conceptual framework and action plan to incorporate the principles of racial literacy and reproductive justice in every system of care provided in the field of family planning. At this retreat, the Centering Equity Racial and Cultural Literacy in family planning, CERCL-FP, Collective was born.
Our Founding
The words of the Ubuntu adage, “I am because we are” capture the collective covenant at the heart of this work. We would like to acknowledge all of those people of color before us, spread around the world and across the ages, who have fought and struggled to achieve freedom, equity and justice for those who are oppressed based on the color of their skin. It is from their blood, sweat, and tears that we are afforded the privilege of continuing this work. We particularly acknowledge that the use of Dialogue and Circle-work by Indigenous elders, scholars, and activists is the foundation for our use of stories. We proudly stand on the shoulders of the 12 Black women who created the Reproductive Justice movement and transformed abortion care.
CERCL-FP is a collective of dedicated intersectional multidisciplinary professionals.
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