A Statement & Demands from ReproJobs on Racism & Anti-Blackness

General

Sep 1

Over the past three months, journalists and workers past and present brought our movements' open secrets to light, particularly the anti-Blackness and racism that workers have experienced at reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations. All of us know these allegations are true—we’ve supported friends through them, we’ve heard the stories, and we’ve grit and born it until we couldn’t anymore. Hell, they’re one of the many reasons we started ReproJobs and wanted to have conversations about racism within our workplaces.

Throughout the summer, many workers have taken huge personal risks to speak out, share their stories, and relive the pain of feeling unvalued and dismissed at work. They talked to reporters, recounting the microaggressions and outright racist experiences they survived while they dedicated themselves to the fight for reproductive liberation. They spoke out against attempts to buy their silence. They broke non-disclosure agreements because they knew workers in our movement deserves better. They told truths—on and off record—to ensure that future Black and Brown workers wouldn’t have to experience the same pain, stress, and isolation they did. To them, we owe a debt of gratitude.

And, this is not the first time this conversation has happened. There have been open letters before. We’ve all been through the supposed organizational changes, Funder-mandated anti-racism trainings that result in no change, and the promises of increased budgets to our communities while racist staff members fail upwards, unscathed. Some of us have been in the private rooms where we’ve given feedback on “what’s next” to address racism in our workplaces—even as the very people who were harmed were not invited—and watched the notes go into a folder never to be revisited. These processes serve as lip service to many who are still suffering while they still try to do the work.

It’s time for a new conversation. It’s time for a new path forward. We cannot continue in this cycle. It’s anti-Black and an insult to workers who are the core of this work. The thing is, addressing racism isn’t just our legal or moral duty —it will make our organizations and movements stronger. As several have said in their interviews: our movements are failing because our best and brightest talents are leaving; they are tired of dealing with the never-ending cycle of racism and anti-Blackness. If our movement truly wants to win reproductive liberation, we must address our own racism and anti-Blackness with the same dedication we apply to rearranging the deck chairs on the sinking USS Roe.

The principle of healing is this: when a rupture happens, a repair must follow. A heartfelt one that centers the people who were harmed—not one advised by an expensive public relations firm. For too long, people of color are expected to meet the racist microaggressions and resistance with grace and kindness. We’re expected to accept hollow apologies and hope that the people who harmed us will be held accountable. We are relegated to accepting the crumbs of budgets as reparations, while the anti-Blackness and racism in management teams and board rooms continue to fester. This cycle is burning us out one by one. Structures must change. Accountability must happen. Actions speak louder than apologies to investigating reporters.

To that end, we drafted suggestions to jumpstart a process of healing and recognition of hurt. Offending organizations, named and unnamed in the articles, should start by:

Meaningfully apologizing privately to staff, board members, and partners who have been harmed before public statements are released. (Please take the time to google what a real apology is. It does not include the words, “if I hurt you,” for example.)
Offering a public apology to all former staff, board members, and partners who have been harmed and committing to accountability for these actions.
Releasing staff, board members, and partners from non-disclosure agreements related to discussing their experiences with workplace racism and other oppressions, and all coercive non-disparagement agreements.
Changing policies to end the requirement of signing non-disparagement agreements as terms for severance payments.
Creating systems for pay transparency, including but not limited to a salary scan to address pay inequities based on and race.
Creating and sharing salary bands to ensure people are receiving equal pay for equal work.
Analyzing racial disparities in hiring and firing, as well as staff positions, department head positions, department budget status, and executive leadership.
Paying reparations and back pay to staff who were underpaid for their work based on oppression.
Adding worker or union representation position on the board of directors to ensure board members are able to hear from staff members directly.
Voluntarily recognizing unions and addressing outstanding union contracts.
Ensuring Black and Brown staff are not siloed or burdened with a sole focus on constituency work, diversity work, or becoming liaisons for reproductive justice work.
Changing policies to ensure all staff, especially staff of color, are able to take mental health days and sick days without penalty.

We know these aren’t foolproof solutions, nor will they eradicate the issues. We live in a racist, anti-Black world. And, it’s imperative that our movement—built on feminist principles that strive to achieve liberation for all—match up with the policies, behaviors, and global aspirations our organizations purport for people across the country.

Workers deserve better.

Agree with us? Sign on to our statement.

Signed,

Luna & Hermione, ReproJobs

Jill E. Adams

Molly Adler

Alex Aguilar

Ana Aguilera

Syma Ahmad

Sara Ainsworth

Aisha Akhter

Sara Alcid

Saida Ali

Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha

Peter Anderson

Arpita Appannagari

Lindsay Apperson

Megan Arian

Paige Armstrong

Aimee Arrambide

Christina Arzate

Katherine Austin-Evelyn

Deana Ayers

Solange Azor

Mary Badame

Kelly Baden

Maia Baker

Kratina Baker

Travis Ballie

Jasmine Banks

Kathleen Banks

Lori Baralt

Camille Barbin

Mia Barrett

Lauren Beal

Isabelle Beauregard

Cynthia Beavin

Isabella Bender Zevallos

Kendall Bentsen

Alizeh Bhojani

Karina Bielecki

Steph Black

Holly Bland

Jackie Blank

Jenny Blasdell

Eleanor Blomstrom

Helen Bolton

Bailey Borchardt

Jay Botsford

Naomi Bouchard-Gordon

Cortney Bouse

Alyssa Bovell

Jesseca Boyer

Kelsi Boyle

Renee Bracey Sherman

Anita Brakman

Kelsey Brill

Mary Brock

Carolyn Browender

Hayley Brundige

Suzanne Buckley

Leslie Bullock

Jessica Bunch

Maria Bunczak

Jasmine Burnett

Ariel Bustamante

Katie Caldwell

Olivia Cappello

Emily Cardinal

Kara Carmosino

YM Carrington

Alice Cartwright

Caitlyn Caruso

Erin Case

Maggie Casey

Ruth Castillo

Genevieve Cato

Shena Cavallo

Ariel Cerrud Valdes

Mrinalini Chakraborty

Michelle Chasteen

Sarah Chin

Dakota Chisholm

Erika Christensen

Aspen Christian

Megan Christofield

Cassidy Clark

Amandi Clarke

Jordyn Close

Carrie Coisman

Alexis Cole

Brandi Collins-Calhoun

Elisabeth Condon

Ramey Connelly

Brittany Conner

Isobel Connors

Alex Cook

Kellie Copeland

Cassandra Corrado

Lauren Coy

Stephanie Craddock Sherwood

Eme Crawford

Lauren Cross

Dexter Crowdus

Erika Croxton

Lisa Currie

Samantha Cyrulnik-Dercher

Harriett Davis

Yuki Davis

Ruth Dawson

Gail Deady

Ariel Delaney

Priya Desai

Cammie Dodson

Jenny Dodson Mistry

Jennifer Dolatshahi

Megan Donovan

Nina Doorley

Katrina Doughty

Alison Dreith

Jennifer Driver

Caroline Duble

Myra Durán

Ilana Dzuba

Rachel Easter

Jeffrey Edmeades

Monica Edwards

Bryan Ellicott

Cecilia Espinoza

Elizabeth Estrada

Hayley Farless

Sadie Faucher

Maris Feeley

Sarah Felts

Jesse Ference

Patty Fernandez Piñeros

Jennifer Ferris

Marandah Field-Elliot

Tristina Fitzpatrick

Sarah Flores Shannon

Micah Flucker

Kimya Forouzan

Hannah Forsberg

Kelley Fox

Fatima Fredericks

Kelley Freeman

Kate Froehlich

Aditi Fruitwala

Tannis Fuller

Vanessa Furtado

Caitlin Gaffin

Alexandra Garita

Jose Garth

Dumiso Gatsha

Joycelyn Ghansah

Julielyn Gibbons

Candace Gibson

Jen Girdish

Samantha Gladu

Lyndsey Godwin

Emily Goldberg-Hall

Elicia Gonzales

Ren Grabert

Ashley Gray

Chris Gridley

Rebecca Griffin

Andrea Grimes

Kelsey Grimes

Liz Gustafson

Cynthia Gutierrez

Liz Hague

Natalie Hall

Margaret Hane

Alicia Harris

Rebecca Hart Holder

Shannon Harvey

Jeryl Hayes

Sara Hayet

Sarah Hedges-Chou

Helmi Henkin

Steph Herold

Risha Hess

Katrina Heyrana

Mason Hickman

Elise Higgins

Madeline Higgins

Chrissy Holman

Amanda Hooper

Maggie Horigan

Bailey Hosfelt

Kelley Huber

Laura Huss

Kendra Hypolite

Andrea Irwin

Ashley Jacobs

Julia Jardine

Ruvani Jayaweera

Megan Jeyifo

Alicia Johnson

Rachel Kacenjar

Liza Kane-Hartnett

Danielle Kapsalakis

Tarina Keene

Margaret Kenny

Arona Kessler

Everett Keyser

Melissa Kleder

Michele Ko

Meredith Kormes

Elise Krews

Christina Krysinski

Allie Lahey

Mohini Lal-Zywicki

Kristen Leahy

Laura Leischner

Blosmeli Leon-Depass

Tracy Leong

Kendra LeSar

Rhian Lewis

Delma Catalina Limones

Fran Linkin

Corinne Long

Alyse Lopez-Salm

Oriana Lopez Uribe

Maya Lorey

Indra Lusero

Jenny Ma

Ferdinand Macatangay

Rose MacKenzie

Jessica Madris

Maggie Magee

Jennifer Mahan

Trisha Maharaj

Emily Maistrellis

Jelmarie Maldonado

Amber Mallery

Tara Mancini

Libby Mandarino

Aida Manduley

Gabriel Mann

Rosann Mariappuram

Abbey Marr

Garin Marschall

Cherie Martin

Emily Martin

Olivia Martinez

Robin Marty

Angela Maske

Michela Masson

Kelly Matthews

Tottionna Matthews

Julia Mazina

Jessica McCabe

Kel McConaughey

Maggie McEvoy

Grace McGarry

Mindy McGrath

Meghan McGuirk

Ariel McIntosh

Cat McKay

Caitlin McKenna

Clare McNerney

Jill Meadows

Amy Meek

Amber Melvin

Kelly Merchant

Rachel Milkovich

Alyssa Miller

Emma Miller

Helena Minchew

Jaime Miracle

Uma Mishra-Newbery

Sara Mitchell

Ghazaleh Moayedi

Lizamarie Mohammed

Meyris Montalvo

Gina Moore

Jennifer Moore Conrow

Madeline Morcelle

Sameena Mustafa

Anna Myers

Talia Nadel

Nour Nadri

Rachael Neffshade

Emily Nicholls

Sarah Nitchkey

Kelly Novak

Jackie Nuñez

Otibho Obianwu

Charlotte Ohl

Danielle Ohlemacher

Genevieve Oliver

Katherine Olivera

Atima Omara

Daisy Orellana

Denisce Palacios

Erin Panichkul

Chitra Panjabi

Anreeka Patel

Lauren Paulk

Lenix Pecikonis

Agata Pelka

Jessica Pérez

Samantha Pheiffer

Diana Philip

Nina Pine

Amy Pineda

Sandra Pons

Becky Poole

Anna Popinchalk

Maria Quinn

Beth Rader

Kaitlyn Ram Bo

yaxmató “yaya” ramirez

Clarie Randall

Vandana Ranjan

Vasu Reddy

Jennifer Redner

Julia Reticker-Flynn

Ryane Ridenour

Freya Riedlin

Sally Rifkin

Taylor Riley

Vanessa Rios

Wilmarie Rios Jaime

Christina Roberts

Erin Rockwell

Jessy Rosales

Colette Rose

Rachael Rose

Sharon Rose

Yael Rosenstock Gonzalez

Carly Rowe

Tessa Ruff

Samantha Ruggiero

CoWanda Rusk

Shireen S

Caroline Sacerdote

Fajer Saeed Ebrahim

Karla Salguero

Sam Saucier

Kait Scalisi

Katherine Schaller

Bridget Schilling

Meg Schmitt

Hillary Schneller

Grayson Schultz

Meg Schurr

Mallory Schwarz

Cara Scott

Sarah Scully

Sarah Settle

Jane Seymour

Lizzy Shramko

Davida Silverman

Ilana Silverstein

Gretchen Sisson

Naomi Slack

Sara Slater

Erica Smith

Nicole Smith

Sophie Soares

Sara Spriggs

Johanna Staniak

Dan Staples

Lucy Stein

Jessica Steinke

Cheyenne Stewart

Melissa Stiehler

Michelle Stockwell

Amanda Storyward

Johnny Strauch

Eronn Strickland

Stacy Suh

Rachel Suppe

Tara Sweeney

Robyn Swirling

Kashif Syed

Brittany Tatum

Bonnie Taylor

Adjoa Sankofia Tetteh

Hannah Thalenberg

Jay Thibodeau

Ashley Thirstrup

Carly Toepfer-Gaver

Denise Tomasini-Joshi

Rebecca Tong

Elizabeth Tripp

Michelle Truong

Tayler Tucker

Alison Turkos

Tamika Turner

Julie Uhal

Kim Varela-Broxson

Marissa Velarde

Marisa Viana da Silva

Katie Wade

Elizabeth Wagner

Kailani Walker

Alice Wang

Rebecca Wang

Wagatwe Wanjuki

Beverly Warner

Grace Weil

Lauren Weiss

Erika West

Tori Westman

Jennie Wetter

Hannah Wheelwright

Kenyetta Whitfield

Chelsea Wiggins

Aaron Wilder

Amanda Beatriz Williams

Erin Lynn Williams

Chelsea Williams-Diggs

Matthew Wilson

Toni Wilson

Brian Wingbermuehle

Kelsey Woida

Keri Wolfe

Ariana Ybarra

Winnie Ye

Dilara Yilmaz

Galina Yudovich

Camille Zimmerman

Ariel

Adelaide

Aidan

Alyssa

Amanda

Amber

Amelia

Andrea

Belinda

Brenda

Caitlyn

Car

Claire

Crystal

Danielle

Darienne

Dena

Denise

Desiree

Dusty

Edwith

Elizabeth

Emily

Emma

Faviola

Génesis

Georgia

Hannah

Jada

Jade

Jess

Jessica

Jill

Kallie

Karla

Katie

Kavleen

Kia

Laura

Leah

Lisa

Maddison

Madeleine

Mara

Nadia

Nadya

Nikita

Niole

Olivia

Phoebe

Priya

Salima

Samantha

Shawn

Shayla

Sophia

Sydney

Tia

Transform IWHC

Valeria

Anonymous

ReproJobs Team

A Statement & Demands from ReproJobs on Racism & Anti-Blackness

Agree with us? Sign on to our statement.

Signed,

Send Us Your NDA!

Why Workers Deserve a Say in Their Workplace: An Interview with Office and Professional Employees International Union