Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Robyn, and I’m an active member of Students for a Democratic Society as well as the MN Abortion Action Coalition.
This Human Rights Day is a significant one for both SDS and MNAAC, because this year SDS shifted our campaign in reaction to the leak on May 2 of the Supreme Court’s plan to overturn Roe v. Wade, which they eventually did on June 24. This was a vile and criminal injustice on behalf of women and people with uteruses both nationwide and on an international scale. This was not just a “political issue that the Court could leave in the hands of individual states”: it was a denial to proper access to the basic human right of bodily autonomy. Say shame to that!
I say that this decision had an international impact because it sets a precedent. It gives the rest of the world further evidence that the US is behind on solidifying women’s and reproductive rights and that this issue is far from the priority for even the highest levels of government in our country. It also shows us that our constitutional rights are not set in stone. Contrary to what Democrats want you to believe, the laws that are currently protecting gay marriage, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and basic civil rights for Black and brown people are hanging in the balance solely because the Court’s conservative majority wants to make this country a safe place only for white cishetero men. We know from the makeup of our communities in Minneapolis and abroad that this is not representative of the majority of society. The world is really made up of queer Black and brown revolutionaries who struggle to make the world more just and safe for all people affected by false promises made by politicians and billionaires.
The Supreme Court decision made this summer, which prompted the local Twin Cities peoples’ movements to form MNAAC, taught us that “voting blue no matter who” will not save us. Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota who has been serving for 3 years, doesn’t truly serve the average resident’s interests or demands. Walz has consistently stated that as long as he is governor, our reproductive rights are protected. But how much are his words really worth when there are only 8 abortion clinics in Minnesota compared to 90 crisis pregnancy centers in the state—centers that attempt to convince patients to avoid abortions at all costs with Evangelical Christian rhetoric and ineffective “solutions” like abortion reversal pills? Tell me that ain’t right!
I say his words don’t mean shit to me, and that I’m personally tired of his empty statements.
In order to truly make effective change, we need people to get on the streets at all costs. We know that politicians and the state as a whole are scared of our true power when we come together as a community because of how they react to us. When we shut shit down, they are intimidated. SDS’s emergency protest turned out students and community members in the thousands. When the uprisings occurred, we noticed a concrete shift in attitudes supporting change, for a standard of safety that is constructed by the people for the people. There was a change in the air. Getting active in your communities and sticking with people that are highly organized means that we are leaps and bounds closer to meeting the demands that we aim to win—to seeing the change that is not just talked about, but is a material force that makes this world a better place for all marginalized people. When I say I know we will win, that is a real promise.
Dare to struggle, dare to win!