Solidarity at the Intersections: Black Women Stand with Those Impacted by the Immigration Ban
“What woman here is so enamored of her own oppression that she cannot see her heelprint upon another woman's face? What woman's terms of oppression have become precious and necessary to her as a ticket into the fold of the righteous, away from the cold winds of self-scrutiny?”
― Audre Lorde, The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism
Black Women’s Blueprint stands in solidarity with Muslim and immigrant women and their families who have been impacted by the recently imposed travel restrictions that are centered around religion, race and ethnicity. BWB also recognizes and holds sacred space for the often ignored Muslim and immigrant women of African descent whose presence and spirits are woven into the fabric of this nation. We are deeply saddened by the senseless and cruel decisions made in the name of national pride and safety that have left lives shattered, families separated, alliances fractured and promises broken. We are especially alarmed at the implications this ban has on survivors of violence, including those who may be seeking asylum from domestic and sexual violence, and who are now unable to access refuge and safety away from their harmdoers.
We are reminded that state control over freedom of movement for Black women’s bodies under the guise of national interest is nothing new. Black Women’s Blueprint centers women of African descent as well as Caribbean and African immigrants in our work to make the lives of all women and girls safe, understanding that all Black women survive and live with legacies linked to the exploits and terror of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and enslavement in the Americas. It is our belief that oppressions based on race, class, gender and gender identity are inextricably connected across place and time, and are the root of white supremacy that works to divide us from realizing a global reality of peace and freedom.
We urge everyone who is committed to claiming humanity to peacefully, but radically challenge these decisions that are rooted in a culture of hate, patriarchy and white supremacy.
Join Black Women’s Blueprint in the eradication of violence in all of its forms. To stay abreast of how we will be mobilizing against this ban as well as other numerous threats to our wellbeing and survival, please visit our website at http://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/ to become a member, stay informed and to find ways to take action.
Register for our conference Words of Fire: Sex, Power and the Black Feminist Call for Social Justice in Atlanta, GA on April 29 - 30, 2017 When we as women honor each other we commit acts of resistance and liberation. http://www.mamablack.org/2017-conference
In Solidarity,
Black Women’s Blueprint
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