Call for Submissions: Black Women and Reproductive Rights

Black Perspectives, the award-winning blog of the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS), invites blog posts for an online forum on the topic of Black women and reproductive rights. Black women have fought for reproductive justice since the nation’s founding, from resisting sexual exploitation and medical experimentation under slavery to fighting against forced sterilization. The scholarship of Jennifer L. Morgan, Deirdre Cooper Owens, Loretta Ross, Jennifer Nelson and others underscore the interconnections between gender, reproduction, labor and politics. As these works reveal, Black women’s bodies have been political battlegrounds for centuries–often at the center of debates around reproductive rights and autonomy. 

In light of recent events pertaining to the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, we are inviting writers to contribute short essays that consider how this outcome will disproportionately affect Black women’s reproductive rights in the United States. We encourage potential contributors to submit guest blog posts that explore topics that include, but are not limited, to the following:

• Historical context on the struggle for Black women’s reproductive rights
• Black women activists and intellectuals in the fight for bodily autonomy
• Black women’s healthcare
• Contemporary responses from Black women (grounded in historical analysis)
• Reproductive Justice 
• Black women and the histories of medical racism
• Black women’s non-traditional healing practices  

The submissions should be between 1,000 to 1,500 words. They must be submitted to editors@blackperspectives.org no later than Friday, July 22nd by 11:59 p.m Eastern. With your submission, please include your bio (250-300 words) and headshot (for use in promotion if your essay is accepted).

All submissions will undergo a peer review process before they are accepted. Please click here for more details on the blog’s submission guidelines as well as information regarding format and citations.