On May 4th 2017, we will be honoring Malika Redmond, feminist researcher and reproductive justice and human rights advocate, with the Stand Up for Reproductive Justice Award at our annual fundraiser event. We just can’t share enough about how her leadership embodies Feminist Women’s Health Center and our efforts to protect and expand access to women’s healthcare in Georgia and the region.
Malika’s ability to mobilize and activate people locally, nationally and internationally, make her a true treasure. As a co- founder of Women Engaged, she currently leads efforts on the ground to empower women and youth of color to become impactful leaders, key decision-makers, and effective agents of social change towards gender, economic, racial and reproductive justice. She has been an innovative activist rejecting single issue organizing and embracing the intersectionality of reproductive justice work.
Malika has made a tremendous impact by literally pacing the 2 mile stretch of the Washington mall as the youngest field organizer for the 2004 March for Women’s Lives in Washington, DC. As a feminist researcher and advocate, her writings are featured in RH Reality Check, Truthout, The Women’s Health Activist, and AlterNet. Malika has had leadership roles with the Political Research Associates, National Center for Human Rights Education, and Spelman College Women’s Research and Resource Center.
Co-founder of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective and one of the creators of the term “Reproductive Justice” Loretta Ross, who hired Malika right out of college, noted her leadership and natural ability to bring new voices into the reproductive justice movement.
She watched Malika’s career take off like a rocket and believes that her leadership, clear analysis and efforts have been instrumental in the power shift we have seen in national reproductive health organizations seeking out the leadership of women of color and shifting from the politics of inclusion to the politics of leadership.
Gravitating towards women’s issues and civic engagement work was natural for Malika. She grew up in a household with a legacy of participation, leadership, community building and expectation and from a young age she was encouraged to ask a lot of questions. Malika always wanted to work on shaping policy, and spoke up about injustices around her.
Even while her mother was preparing her for the realities of being a black woman in America, she never hushed Malika or her two younger sisters out of the room. Just as Malika’s activism centers on the whole experience of women and youth of color, she brings her whole self, family legacy and current family members to her work. Loretta was surprised to even see Malika’s mother attending activities focused on reproductive justice and her older brother while stationed in Iraq made sure to appreciate her efforts by calling her the day she marched with a million women in DC in 2004.
At Spelman College, she resonated with Black Feminist Scholarship as part of the Toni Cade Bambara scholar-activist writers program of the Women’s Research and Resource Center led by Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall and associate director Dr. M. Bahati Kuumba. “They did the rigorous intellectual work describing a black female experience that I could understand. It shifted my thinking about different forms of oppression in ways that are intersectional, a matrix that is happening simultaneously which resonated in my life and body.”
She notes that for women of color the fight for reproductive justice is about protecting the dignity of our self-expression, right to self-determination, and bodily integrity while celebrating our unique stories for generations to come.
She notes that working closely with Loretta Ross while she was co-director of the March for women’s lives was a real honor. She watched her fearlessness at the National press club and witnessed her boldness as a Black woman standing up for those who couldn’t be in the room.
We at Feminist Women’s Health Center are proud to have collaborated with Malika since early in her career and cannot wait to honor her at SURJ and to celebrate her tremendous accomplishments and contributions to reproductive justice work.
Join us on Thursday, May 4th at Stand Up For Reproductive Justice – our annual fundraiser party. This year’s event features a short program featuring two groundbreaking RJ leaders – Malika Redmond and Page Gleason, a silent auction, a photobooth, dancing and lots of delicious eats and drinks! Buy your tickets today.
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