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SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective

Founded in 1996 by 16 organizations run by women of color, SisterSong was established to empower women and their reproductive choices. It has expanded to be a compilation of over 80 organizations and 500 individuals. Though the organization prides itself on inclusively and intersectionality, the four main minority groups that it focuses on are Native American/Indigenus, Black/African American, Latina/Puerto Rican and Asian/Pacific Islander.

SisterSong is also interested in giving autonomy to women of color within the pro-choice movement. They see the current mainstream reproductive movement as a place that has marginalized minority groups. Founded with the premise of intersectionality, SisterSong hopes to be an organization that allows all woman to feel comfortable in their reproductive choices as well as provide a platform that allows for ownership of women's reproductive voices.

"Sistersong’s mission is to strengthen and amplify the collective voices of indigenous women and women of color to achieve reproductive justice by eradicating reproductive oppression and securing human rights."

Goals of Organization

SisterSong's mission is imbedded with the notion that access to a voice is a human right for indigenous women and women of color. Hoping to empower women who have been marginalized in the fight for access to reproductive healthcare. The guidelines for the organization are clearly mapped out with the premise of choice and determining ones needs based on their community. Loretta Ross, co-founder of SisterSong, wrote a publication titled Off Our Backs where she emphasized that this includes: 1) the right to have a child 2)the right to not have a child and 3) the right to chose how to parent and birth a child.

The three objectives of SisterSong are:

• support - providing the tools necessary for various communities to establish their own reproductive rights
• mentorship - a support network which allows collaboration between organizations by means of networking and idea sharing
• advocacy - actively pursuing social justice that will better the lives of individuals

The goal is to provide autonomy for women of color by collaborating with multiple organizations and voices, in order to create healthier communities of color within the United States while also allowing women to take control of this by implementing means of self-help and support.

National Women of Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights Conference 2003

The phrase "Reproductive Justice" was the focal point of the 2003 SisterSong National Women of Color Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights Conference in Atlanta, GA. This conference was pivotal in starting up SisterSong as an organization and banding together international experiences of reproductive health and sexual rights.

The conference began on November 13th, 2003 with more than 800 activists, as well as white women and male allies, in attendance. Marking it as the largest gathering of women of color for reproductive rights since 1989. It lasted for four days, and allowed the attendants to celebrate past activists accomplishments as well as lay the groundwork for the future.

SisterSong in the Press

Loretta Ross co-founded SisterSong in 1997, then served as the National Coordinator from 2005-2012. Ross defines the organization as a human rights campaign working with a framework of environmental justice. In an interview with the publication, "Against the Current" she stated that in order to bring "human rights home" intersectionality needs to be in play when advocating for rights. SisterSong emphasizes that these rights should include not only abortion rights and reproductive rights but also immigration rights and Native American sovereignty rights.

Ross was also featured in "Bitch Magazine: A Feminist Response to Pop Culture." In the interview mentioned that SisterSong was comprised of 'color allied' organizations. She also mentions how necessary it is to immigration advocacy to focus on reproduction to combat the victimization of immigrant women within the healthcare system.

Trust Black Women

Monica Simpson, the current executive director for SisterSong worked to establish a new organization under the coalition. Trust Black Women was founded in 2010 after The Georgia Right to Life ran a campaign that placed billboards stating advertising that, "Black children are an endangered species." The group hopes to debunk the myths that black women pursue abortions at a higher rate than any other population. As an organization they worked in conjunction with the NAACP, churches, and other organizations to counter the Georgia Right to Life message with media campaigns.