To My Sisters: Let’s Talk About It

There are some words that once spoken, cause a reaction. Abortion is one of those words. Simply speaking the word out loud in front of some would be cause for debate. Within moments of the word being uttered, the rhetoric would begin to fly with the rapidity of firing an AK-47. Those for abortion would fire off their arguments in pro-abortion language and those against abortion would fire off their arguments in prolife language. Within nanoseconds of its introduction, the conversation would no longer be about abortion, but would morph into a discussion about the economy, contraception or social justice concerns, i.e. you don't care about the children that are here. If someone were to attempt to bring the discussion back to abortion, again, it would soon become a discussion of everything but the topic at hand. Yet the discussion must be had. So how do we do it?

I urge you, with all urgency, to get these side discussions out of your system before we begin. The discussion to which you are being invited is not about contraception. It is not about the economic concerns of those seeking the abortion. The discussion is not about the social justice concerns that plague black folk in America. This discussion is about abortion and its impact on women and the black community. So if you must, get in the mirror and argue the other issues out. Get all the rhetoric out of your system and then prepare to join us for a real look at abortion in America in the 21^st century.

In preparation for our discussion, homework is required. There is a bevy of information that should be considered. Let's start with the numbers. New York City is the most extreme example of abortion out of control. In 2009, for every 1,000 black babies born alive, 1489 died in an abortion chamber (http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/vs/2009sum.pdf). In Georgia more than 59% are performed on black women (http://oasis.state.ga.us/oasis/oasis/qryMCH.aspx). In Alabama ((http://www.adph.org/healthstats/assets/resabort09.pdf)more than 57% of the abortions are on black women. In Mississippi (http://msdh.ms.gov/phs/2009/Bulletin/vr2009.pdf) the number jumps to more than 78% on women of color (Mississippi has only a 2.7% Latino population). There is a pattern no matter where you look across the country of abortions being performed on black women at three, four and five times their rate in the population of each state. I recommend you take a look for yourself.

Contrary to the claims of the National Abortion Federation and other abortion providers, abortion, is not among the safest medical procedure available. Abortion is a surgical procedure that has left a wake of dead and reproductively maimed women across the nation. Horror stories like that out of Philadelphia (http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-01-19/news/27088082_1_abortion-clinic-late-term-abortions-aborted-fetuses) are just the tip of the iceberg in the discussion of how women and children have suffered at the hands of abortionists throughout the nation. Kermit Gosnell, Stephen Brigham, Bertha Bugarin, James Pendergraft, Eileen Riley, Nicola Riley, Andrew Sutherland, Arturo Apolinario, Albert Dworkin, Rapin Osathanondh, Tyrone Malloy
and George Shepard, are just a few of a growing list of abortionists that have killed or reproductively maimed women. Perforated uterus/bowel, pulling out of the intestines, spreading venereal disease through unclean instruments and leaving parts of babies in utero are just a few of the complaints about these abortionists, some of whom have never been licensed to practice medicine in any state. None of these abortionists had the woman's health interest at heart. Most were in it for the multi millions of dollars they reaped. No one warned the women not to seek the services of these butchers, including the National Abortion Federation that visited Kermit Gosnell's clinic in 2009.

In addition to the reproductive maiming that happens across the nation, women are subjected to an increased risk of breast cancer as a result of their induced abortions http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/The_Link.htm). According to available information "Seventy-two epidemiological studies have been conducted since 1957; and 80% of these studies have shown that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer independently of the effect of delaying the birth of a first child." Further information found in health care publications demonstrates an increased incidence of extreme premature birth risk for women with prior induced abortion as well as an increased risk of autism and cerebral palsy for subsequent children http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6878/is_3_15/ai_n55302134/. And, few if any, discuss or research the psychological impact, such as post-traumatic stress syndrome, abortion has had on women (http://www.rachelsvineyard.org/PDF/Articles/Abortion%20and%20Post%20Traumatic%20Stress%20Disorder%20-%20Theresa%20.pdf) or those that attempt or succeed at suicide after an abortion http://www.abortionfacts.com/reardon/abortion_and_suicide.asp). Another well-kept secret of the dark side of abortion is that more than 64% of the women obtaining an abortion were coerced – by a parent, the father of the child, a minister or some other person in a trust relationship with the woman.

Abortion hurts women, and every day the degree of harm is becoming clearer. Whether the harm is inflicted through the abortionist, or the risks that come after, we may never know the extent of the harm because the statistics are not collected. We may never know the number of women that have been reproductively maimed and today want children but cannot have them because of a prior induced abortion(s). We may never know the numbers of women that have died at the abortionist's hand, because the abortionist covered his/her tracks by calling the death something other than what it was – a botched abortion. We may never have an accurate count of the number of women now suffering from breast cancer (or who have died from breast cancer) because we refuse to discuss the clearly documented link between induced abortion and breast cancer. Abortion hurts women and we must begin to talk about it.

Just recently, USA today featured an article: Black Population falls in major cities (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2011-03-22-1Ablacks22_ST_N.htm). Using the recently released 2010 census data, the article pointed to a host of reasons for the decline. What the article failed to include as a discussion point was the impact abortion has had on the decline in the black race across America. All but seven states have experienced some decline in the black population. Only four of the seven saw some degree of increase. These are all matters that we must set aside political doctrine to discuss since the facts reveal we are indeed into depopulation - black genocide. Sisters, lets' talk about it.

 

An Open Letter to African Americans – Can We Have the Conversation?

Every day, all across America, more than 1500 black babies die in the abortion chambers that dot urban areas where blacks reside. In state after state, the numbers of abortions performed on black women are 2, 3, 4 sometimes even 6 times the number of blacks in the population in that state. In New York City, and perhaps other states that do not publish abortion data by race (CA, IL and FL for example) more black babies are aborted than are born alive.

Recent news out of states like Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana are horrifying. We are learning that many abortionists are little more than butchers, flagrantly disregarding state and federal laws that establish medical standards of care. These abortion dens do not have medical equipment available to take blood pressure, dispense oxygen or any other lifesaving procedures for those women that are over medicated or reproductively maimed when the abortionist punctures their womb, or pulls out their intestines. Many of these butchers are not even licensed to practice medicine (http://bit.ly/dX0rBM, http://bit.ly/fWUbJX, http://bit.ly/dOcGWe)!

Organizations such as the National Abortion Federation and Planned Parenthood are reported to inspect many of these clinics but there is no evidence they have warned one woman not to seek services from these abortionists. Claiming that abortion is one of the "safest medical procedures provided in the United States", these organizations cover up the horrific conditions of clinics all across America. They rabidly promote unfettered abortion, despite reports of women dying in these abortuaries (http://bit.ly/g0PHpN, http://nydn.us/cwVDyB, http://bit.ly/dPWgId), and women being maimed through careless and negligent medical procedures (http://bit.ly/bt2k7n, http://bit.ly/fEwUX8, http://bit.ly/gGDgBE).

Undercover investigations of Planned Parenthood demonstrate a willingness on their part to take money to abort black children (http://bit.ly/dYg6sX). Other videos show their proclivity to cover up sexual abuse of minors (http://bit.ly/fqv1kU) and to counsel sex traffickers on avoiding state and federal laws (http://liveaction.org/). There are reports that sixty four percent of all abortions are coerced (http://bit.ly/fub9A9).

So who is it that is most harmed by abortion? The numbers do not lie. Black women all over the nation are dying from abortion, are being reproductively maimed from abortion, and are being coerced into abortion at greater rates than their Latina, Asian or Caucasian counterparts. Abortions hurts women, and black women are leading in the number of injuries. Yet many of us refuse to look at this issue. Abortion has been shrouded in women's rights for more than thirty eight years and now, the industry is attempting to connect abortion to civil rights. Pro-abortion forces have characterized abortion as the friend of the black woman, skillfully weaving stories of reproductive rights that include the abortion scenario. To them truth is of no consequence as long as abortion is not regulated and black women continue to "choose" to terminate the lives of their children.

Pro-abortion forces are now turning their sights toward stopping any assistance that might convince the woman to keep her child. Pregnancy centers are being attacked through City Council legislation in New York City and Baltimore. Reports are that they the pro-abortion forces are seeking to introduce similar legislation all around the country, demonstrating NARAL's and Planned Parenthood's determination to keep "choice" synonymous with abortion. It is these same pregnancy centers that serve mostly black and brown women, providing clothing, car seats, high chairs and other resources needed to help with a live child.

Sisters, let's talk about this. Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger's depopulation plan that she called the Negro Project is succeeding. Only we can stop it. Let's talk about it.

 

 

 

The Visible Invisibles – An Open Letter to America’s Black Community

This is an article about abortion, and those most impacted by the industry. This is a chronicle about the visible invisibles - those who are seen, but literally not recognized.

In July 2010, the New York Post ran an op-ed titled Where New York's not Proud to Lead (http://nyp.st/i7GIub ). The opinion piece called attention to New York City's 2008 abortion rate, a statistic that took my breath away. Black women in New York City are aborting more of their children than are born alive. For every 1,000 black babies born alive, 1,280 died in New York's abortion dens. I did not hear about this issue in July. It did not make its way into my hands until November and when it did, though stunned, I sent the article to every leader I knew was in the fight for life. But there was no outcry, no sweeping move across the country to stop abortion in its tracks because of its discriminatory impact and fifteen hundred black babies would die in abortion dens across the nation that day and every day.

The next bit of news out of New York was more disturbing. The New York City Council had introduced a bill that would have the effect of shutting down pregnancy centers by requiring them to post notices that they do not perform abortions or provide birth control. The bill actually assigns jail time to those found to violate it, up to six months of jail time. The pregnancy centers are a resource to women that decide to have their babies. The centers provide clothing, car seats, and most if not all the tools needed to help the mom with her newborn. Members of New York's pregnancy center community report that upwards of 80% of those helped by the clinics are African American. The New York City Council, including all of the black elected representatives, have made it clear that they do not want these women to have any assistance to help them keep their babies. They have made it clear that choice only means taking the life of the child. But there was no outcry, no sweeping move across the City to stop the bill in its tracks because of its discriminatory impact and fifteen hundred black babies would die in abortion dens across the nation that day and every day.

Within days of my hearing about bill number 371, New York released its 2009 abortion statistics. The number of black babies dying in abortion mills had increased! For every 1,000 black babies born alive, 1,489 were dying at the abortionist's hand. In a flurry of press releases, attention was called to the fact that forty one percent of New York City pregnancies end in abortion. Discussion was had about the teen pregnancy rate in New York City. More discussion was had about abortion's impact on the Latino community as many of their leaders began to cry foul. But there was no outcry, no sweeping move across the country to stop abortion in its tracks because of its discriminatory impact and fifteen hundred black babies would die in abortion dens across the nation that day and every day.

The nation was stunned when news out of Philadelphia revealed a modern day "house of horrors" lead by abortionist Kermit Gosnell. From spreading sexually transmitted diseases, to blood splattered equipment and jars of baby body parts, the story was more gruesome than some of Hollywood's best horror stories. Every article referenced that he served black and brown women. Despite complaints over more than 15 years, neither the City nor state intervened to stop his butchering of women. The fact that the National Abortion Federation visited the abortion den and did nothing to warn the black and brown women has not been a source of outrage for the black community. There has been no outcry, no sweeping move across the country to stop abortion in its tracks because of its discriminatory impact and fifteen hundred black babies would die in abortion dens across the nation that day and every day.

Former Senator Rick Santorum began a debate by criticizing President Barrack Obama for supporting abortion, believing that as a black man and "as a civil rights and constitutional lawyer, [he] should be sensitive to how we define people." Al Sharpton immediately took the Senator to task in a national debate on the Hannity show. But Mr. Sharpton did not raise a hue and cry about the numbers of blacks dying in abortion mills across the country. Instead he defended the so called right to choose. So there has been no outcry, no sweeping move across the country to stop abortion in its tracks because of its discriminatory impact and fifteen hundred black babies would die in abortion dens across the nation that day and every day.

In state after state the number of abortions performed on black women is three or more times higher than their representation in the population. Yet, there are those on both sides of the issue that do not want the light to shine on the darkness that is abortion. Pro-abortion allies cry foul, saying the prolife community is racializing abortion. Black and white pro-lifers are uncomfortable shining the spotlight on the impact that abortion is having on the black community. Some pro-lifers do not want us to talk about the ethnicity of those most harmed by abortion, preferring that we use language inclusive of all babies. Neither side wants us to talk about abortion, eugenics or genocide in the same breath with African American. So there has been no outcry, no sweeping move across the country to stop abortion in its tracks because of its discriminatory impact and fifteen hundred black babies will die in abortion dens across the nation today and every day.

On the last day of black history month, February 28, 2011, hundreds of blacks gathered across fourteen states to mourn the loss of black lives to the abortion industry. Women are still dying, not as a result of a coat hanger, but at the hands of butchers called abortionists. Women are being reproductively maimed in the name of choice, as their bowels are perforated and intestines pulled out. Hysterectomies are happening all across the nation, as the real doctors attempt to repair the damage done at the abortionist hands. Yet, we did not hear about the Day of Mourning through the mainstream media, they blacked us out, not willing to risk shining the light on how anti-woman the abortion industry is. And as has been the case for the past 38 years, we do not hear about the discriminatory impact of abortion and the fifteen hundred black babies that die in abortion dens every day.

Blacks are seen going into the abortion clinic every day at a greater rate than any other ethnic group. We see it, but don't recognize it. And because we don't recognize it, the visible invisibles abort fifteen hundred black babies every day and there is no outcry, no sweeping move across the country to stop abortion in its tracks. Shhh. Don't suggest that blacks are being targeted by the abortion industry. We see it, but don't recognize it, and because we don't recognize it. . .

New York, New York… What a Deadly Town

It has been a while since I blogged. I have been deep into writing my book, The Fight for Life, Taking it to the Streets. But I had a recent experience that has caused me to set the book aside for a day to write about a New York that has become foreign to me.

Back in the day, the really cool kids skipped school, jumped into Cynthia Bowser’s mustang and rode to New York to eat chicken and waffles at Sylvia’s on 125th street. Our biggest worry back then was whether we would get caught and grounded or worse, a whipping. We never did get caught so our trips were frequent and the taste of the chicken and waffles was sweet. When Chris Slattery of New York’s Expectant Mother Centers offered to take us to Sylvia’s, I was glad to go hoping the visit would evoke pleasant memories of those sweet chicken and waffles breakfasts we had enjoyed back then. Unfortunately, it did not. Mostly because things are always better in memory than reality and also because our purpose for being in New York weighed heavy on my heart. We were not skipping school as we had back in the day, but were there to rally black Pastor’s and leaders to address an awful piece of legislation that would deprive women of an alternative to abortion.

In a city known as the abortion capitol of America, one would think that any help that might be offered to a pregnant woman would be welcomed. Not so in New York City. The blood lusting machine of abortion is not satisfied that forty percent of the pregnancies in the City end in abortion - they want more. The money making machine of the abortionist is not satisfied that seventy nine percent of the abortions in the City are performed on black and Latino women. They want more. The eugenics loving machine of abortion is not satisfied that more black babies are aborted in the City than are born alive. They want more. The elitists of the City are not sad that 3.4 million black and latino babies have died in New York since the early 1970s. They want more.

In order to make sure they get more, NARAL, Planned Parenthood and others have joined together in a macabre dance with New York City Council members Kathleen Quinn and Jennifer Lapin, to propose a bill (#371) that would require pregnancy centers to post notices that they do not perform abortions or distribute birth control. Why is this seemingly innocuous requirement troublesome? It is troublesome because the abortionist wants to deter any woman seeking help with her pregnancy from getting it. They know that women going into one of the pregnancy centers more likely than not will decide to keep her child and this decision goes against what the abortionist deems as choice. No matter how far along a woman is in her pregnancy, the abortion hungry industry encourages the abortion rather than one of the other options such as keeping the baby or adoption.

All across America, cities are tracking to catch and/or surpass New York in the area of abortion. The numbers are astounding, shocking, and in many places undeterred because the culture has become so desensitized to death by abortion. Very few question why Planned Parenthood’s business model continues to escalate the numbers of abortions being performed as they build larger and larger facilities in which to perform them. Very few question why NARAL and other abortion proponents refuse to tell women the dire consequences of abortion – infertility, cancer and even death as they strategize on ways to increase the numbers of abortions being performed. Very few question the National Abortion Federation and Planned Parenthood ads to draw black women into their clinics “for free” services under the guise of choice. As this most recent attack against pregnancy centers reveals, the pro-abortion forces consider “choice” to be “choice” only when it ends in the death of the child even if it includes the death of the woman as was the case with Alexandra Nunez just about a year ago.

Sylvia’s food did not taste quite as sweet on this visit to New York. With my own eyes, I saw that Leonard Bernstein’s New York is indeed a “helluva town” for black and latino babies that die at the abortionist’s hand. Unlike Frank Sinatra’s New York, black and latino babies cannot "make it there". Their mothers are being enticed into the clinics where they obtain the “excellent results” the abortionist advertises in latino papers throughout the City – the death of their baby. May God hear our prayers and stir the hearts of Pastors and Leaders across the City to rise up and take a stand before the abortionist succeeds in killing all the babies of New York. Perhaps on my next visit, the bill(#371) will have died so I can again enjoy Sylvias' chicken and waffles. May God make it so.

The Dream Hijacked

Martin Luther King’s dream has been hijacked. By whom, you ask? You decide.

The Civil Rights Movement has been described, not as a movement about blacks and whites, but as a movement that was about right and wrong and freedom and justice. Blacks and whites alike fought and died together. They fought against laws that denied rights to blacks because of the color of their skin. Some, such as Viola Liuzzo, died because of the stand they took. Others were assasinated where they stood, because of the stand they took.

When Martin Luther King, Jr. gave the now famous I Have a Dream speech, he and the 200,000 standing with him were standing for the removal of laws that denied personhood and equal protection to blacks. As I remember it, he and those with him were fighting for hope and justice for all, and it was not a movement that was behavior driven, but was driven by the laws of the land.

So when I was confronted, for the second time, with the idea that because I am pro-life, I cannot lay claim to the legacy of the Civil Rights movement, I was stunned. Some want me to believe that my having grown up and survived in Jim Crow America does not count. According to those who say they are continuing the civil rights fight, the legacy is only available to those who want the government in their lives, taking care of them as Al Sharpton said on August 28, 2010. My memory is so very different from that. I recall the movement as one that asked the Government to get out of our lives by removing the government sanctioned Jim Crow barriers that blocked us from the unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Movement I recall revealed numbers of blacks and whites working together in a “symphony of brotherhood”. Blacks and whites were working together in faith to see "justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

My participation in the pro-life freedom rides and the launching of the Endangered Species education campaign are extensions of the hope, justice and freedom mantle those in the real civil rights movement left us. However, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, characterizes today’s “civil rights movement”, as a movement that is about being pro-abortion, a movement that is all about choice. Their notion of justice focuses only on the 'reproductive' justice of the mother and never on paramount right to life of the child that dies as a result of that choice. They call death by abortion a civil right that is to be guarded. Their notion of freedom centers on the sexual behaviors of consenting adults and in many instances the death of those conceived as a result of that sexual behavior. Their coalition embraces a fight for the approval of behaviors that back in the fifties and sixties was considered and called sin.

I am not sure when we entered this modern day era of civil rights, but the Movement I was raised in never gave consideration to men having sex with men and women with women or men and women sleeping with multiple partners at will. The movement I am acquainted with never condoned the killing of black children in the womb. Such a notion was unconscionable in light of the many children that were ripped from their mothers arms and sold as property.

The leaders of the Movement I am acquainted with would have joined me in standing with Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and daughter of A. D. King. Not only do I believe they would have stood with us, but they would have lead the freedom rides and education campaigns because they understood that the only way for the Black community to grow into a political force is through increasing our numbers by having our children. I believe they would have fought, bled and died to keep the eugenicists and other elitists from destroying America through abortion.

For the first time since the Jim Crow laws were erased from the books, America can see the hand of racism as it extends into every woman’s womb. The history books don’t lie. The KKK, Nazi like destruction of life can be traced back to an elite group of racists who clearly proclaim their desire to “exterminate” the black race and other “dysgenics” as Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood Founder openly stated. But some of us have been so blinded by the woman’s right to choose dogma that we willingly participate in our own destruction as Sanger and others intended.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. his brother Rev. A. D. King and many others sometimes fought alone, while locked in roach infested jails, for our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Others like Emmet Till died lonely tortuous deaths because the rabidly racist did not want them to exist. And like Emmet Till, some of these brave men and women were betrayed by their own, turned over to their assassins by other blacks. But they fought nonetheless, so that one day we could indeed say “Free at Last!”

It was more than ten years from the start of the Movement before change came. May it not be ten years before we see an end to the practice of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s acknowledged population control by abortion, lest there be no population to control.

Martin Luther King’s dream has been hijacked. By whom, you ask? You decide.

A Stain on The Dream, Part 2

While the National Park Service was busy violating our first amendment right to peacefully assemble, the ‘protestors’ were loudly chanting their dissent through their megaphone. Ignoring the fact that a significant number of those on the Freedom Ride were black, the protesters acted as if those present were all white and they were angry and offended that we sang We Shall Overcome. Despite the presence of Naomi and Alveda King (wife and daughter of A.D. King) they were angry and offended that we sought to show our respects at the tomb of MLK. They were defiant in their anger, believing we had no “right to co-opt” the civil rights legacy.

Co-opt the civil rights legacy - what does that mean?! The civil rights movement that I remember brought attention to the horrific impact of slavery and Jim Crow. Martyrs like Emmet Till put a face on the inhumane treatment of blacks in the south and around the nation. It demanded an end to government sanctioned institutionalized racism. The prolife movement has drawn similar attention to the abortion industry. As clearly documented in the annals of history, abortion is cloaking government sanctioned institutionalized discrimination. The location of the clinics and the numbers of abortions performed on blacks bear this belief out. Yet these protestors condemned us for "stepping on their rights" as they accused us of perpetuating the discrimination.

In my mind I had thought that once the abortion industry was exposed, there would be an uprising all across the nation to stop it. When Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg acknowledged her understanding “…that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of” I had no idea that abortion was so deeply rooted in our community. I believed everyone would recognize that the group we "don't want too many of" is African American. Even with this revelaton many black women override our history of racism and discrimination in order to participate in abortion’s killing fields.

There was a time in the black community when it would have been unconscionable for a black woman to even consider killing her children in this way. Despite being raped by slave or KKK masters of the south, black women bore their children with a dignity that surpassed the day to day obstacles of race. My memories of being black in America are of strong black men and women that defied the odds and kept and raised their children despite massive social justice concerns that sought to make it otherwise. Many black women suffered the indignity of being considered the mammy of the white child when it was her own child. Blacks suffered the indignity of being shuffled aside when whites passed, or when they were made to sit in the backs of buses and other transportation, in order to make a way for their children to live.

The civil rights era I remember draped itself in the principles expounded in the Bible. It did not subordinate itself to the political dogma of ungodly principles, such as those found in today’s Democrat Party. Never were we defined by whether or not we supported ungodly principles over all others – until now. Many blacks are so busy being Democrat we have forgotten our roots and what it means it be black. We no longer protect one another and our interests. We have succumbed to a dogma that has true racists shouting with glee because we participate in our own destruction.

I am sure that had we arrived earlier, we would have seen the white women of Planned Parenthood doling out the signs and other protest paraphernalia to their black “sisters”. We would have seen who is really behind these protests to keep killing black babies in the womb. We could have observed for ourselves how the puppet masters pulled the strings of those unfortunate women that were dancing the macabre dance of a woman’s right to choose.

The stakes have changed in the fight for rights. At stake are not civil rights, but the lives of millions of babies, little human beings the abortionists don’t want America to recognize or think about. At stake is the very legacy of the African American community. Without babies there is no African American community, there is no heritage, there is no lineage, and there is no life.

A Stain on The Dream, Part 1

The pro-life Freedom Rides were launched this weekend in Birmingham Alabama. From the rally in Birmingham to the caravan to Atlanta, every detail was attended to, every life memorialized, and every care taken to make room for the healing of America’s second greatest tragedy after slavery. High on the success of the Rally held the night before and prayer vigil in front of Planned Parenthood Saturday morning, we rolled onto Auburn Avenue.

As we pulled up to the Martin Luther King, Jr. burial chamber, planning to place a wreath and pray, we were dashed with the cold water of today’s political bias. We were denied the opportunity to place the wreath and in fact were told that if we set it down we would be arrested. We were told that earlier in the day barricades had been placed to stop us from even walking in front of the wading pool!

Apparently saner heads prevailed because while we were not allowed to get off the bus at the burial site, we were allowed to be ushered by it. But we could not stop, we could not pray, we could not even stand and reflect. Park guards stationed along the way were screaming instructions to keep moving and reminding us with almost every step that the wreath was not to set down lest we face arrest.

Believing we had the freedom (the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action) to pray on the grounds of the ‘new’ Ebenezer Church, we walked across the street. Again our path was blocked when we were accosted by the park staff, to the point of the megaphone being snatched, unceremoniously, from the hand of the priest who was beginning to lead the prayers. As we regrouped to determine what we could do, my passion and anger began to rise.

I realized the rights of free speech and assembly that enabled civil rights protesters on the streets of Birmingham and Selma, Ala. to convene and protest America’s segregation laws were now being violated by a contingent of the federal government that had once provided protection to those who were protesting. And they did this at the gravesite of the man that led the fight.

Federal agents that had once been dispatched to ensure freedom of speech in America, were now denying that same right to us. We could not peacefully assemble and place a wreath, pray or reflect anywhere on the grounds of the federally funded Martin Luther King National Historic Site. Finally we were forced across the street on what we were told was “public” property where we prayed and sang.

The irony of the situation however, was that those who had gathered to “protest” us were permitted to stand on the federal grounds. They were allowed to heckle, to chant, to hurl abusive phrases at us through the bullhorn that was not confiscated from them, as they stood on federal property. The federal government that had once protected the rights of those that marched, those that memorialized the lives that had been lost in lynchings and others killings, was now the wielder of influence that blocked peaceful demonstrations against a moral wrong- the taking of innocent lives.

Some of you may feel that what happened at the Martin Luther King National park should not be placed in the same category as the violence that was perpetrated through the days of Jim Crow especially since those protesting us were black. But I disagree. The violence perpetrated in the abortion mills across the country is much worse than that of Jim Crow. You see millions did not die on southern streets. Our families fought to ensure we remained alive, healthty, able to live full lives once we were really free of racial constraints.

But millions, over eighteen million eight hundred seventy thousand lives,surpassing the number of Africans that died in the middle passage, have died thus far and the number continues to rise by over 1450 almost every day in America. Instead of the streets, alleys, woods and trees of Selma, Atlanta or Birmingham, the womb is now the place of terror for the black race.

We later learned permits had been applied for, but denied the Pro-life Freedom Riders who are black and white. The money to secure the permit was returned and although verbally approved, the permit was rescinded. On the other hand, the protesters were permitted and given all approvals to voice their dissent against us days after they had turned our requests down. We were there to pray and memorialize the more than fifty million babies, over eighteen million eight hundred and seventy thousand of whom were black.

We were there to honor the man we believe understood that while God is our source, our children are our strength, our source of lineage, political, and social power. We wanted to recognize the strength he passed on to us at the cost of his life by laying a wreath at his tomb. However, those at the park were too vested in being Democrat than American. They were more interested in pushing the pro-abortion agenda than protecting the rights of those most devasted by the atrocity of abortion.

This is not the America my great-grandparents, grandparents, parents and others fought, bled and died in to ensure I had the right to lay a wreath at the gravesite of one of America’s great heroes. This is not the America they sang about, fasted about, or prayed about as they helped build this nation and their families into greatness. My ancestors fought for liberty- the quality or state of being free from outside domination.

It is in their memory that I pledge to fight these injustices just as hard as they fought those found in their time. And if I perish, I perish. But my America must be free. It must honor the blood of the martyrs that made it so. In my America, this last bastion of institutionalized racism will fall.