Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement

238 Pages·2003·0.66 MB·English

by  Jennifer Nelson

Women of Color and the
Reproductive Rights Movement

Women of Color
and the Reproductive
Rights Movement
Jennifer Nelson
a

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS

New York and London

www.nyupress.org

© 2003 by New York University

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in Publication Data

Nelson, Jennifer, 1967–

Women of color and the reproductive rights movement /

Jennifer Nelson.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0–8147–5821–5 (cloth : alk. paper) —

ISBN 0–8147–5827–4 (pbk : alk. paper)

1. Birth control—United States—History—20th century.

2. Abortion—United States—History—20th century. 3. Minority

women—United States—History—20th century. 4. Sterilization

(Birth control)—United States—History—20th century.

5. Women’s rights—United States—History—20th century.

6. Feminism—United States—History—20th century. I. title.

HQ766.5.U5N45 2003

363. 46—dc21 2003008028

New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to

Jane Nelson and Nicholas Pierre.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: From Abortion to Reproductive Rights 1

1 “Let’s hear it from the real experts”:

Feminism and the Early Abortion Rights Movement 21

2 “An act of valor for a woman need not take place

inside of her”: Black Women, Feminism,

and Reproductive Rights 55

3 “An instrument of genocide”: The Black Nationalist

Campaign against Birth Control 85

4 “Abortions under community control”: Feminism,

Nationalism, and the Politics of Reproduction

among New York City’s Young Lords 113

5 Race, Class, and Sexuality: Reproductive Rights

and the Campaign for an Inclusive Feminism 133

Conclusion 179

Notes 191

Index 221

About the Author
225
vii

Acknowledgments
I could never have completed the dissertation that served as
the basis for this book without the invaluable help of Alice Kessler-Har­
ris, my dissertation advisor. She encouraged me when I wasn’t sure I could
get all the pieces of the story to fit together in a coherent manner, and she
sent me back to the computer screen when she believed I could do better.
I also received very useful comments and advice from the other members
of my dissertation committee: Dee Garrison, Cynthia Daniels, and James
Reed. Portions of the manuscript were read and commented on at vari­
ous stages by other Rutgers history department faculty: Nancy Newitt,
Virginia Yans, Phyllis Mack, and Jackson Lears. I also received support
and encouragement during my coursework at Rutgers, particularly from
Professors Jennifer Jones and Deborah White. I thank these people for all
their help and for the lively women’s history community they have cre­
ated at Rutgers. Several of my graduate student peers, including Jennifer
Milligan, Beatrix Hoffman, Amy Forbes, Rebecca Hartman, and Rebecca
Gershenson, gave of their time in reading and critiquing chapters and
provided much needed friendship and companionship. Rutgers depart-
mental fellowships assisted me with financial support to complete my re-
search and writing. A Rockefeller Archive Center Research Grant and an
American Historical Association Albert J. Beveridge Research Grant
helped fund valuable research trips.
My readers at NYU Press, including Rickie Solinger and Loretta Ross,
supplied excellent suggestions for revisions as I completed the arduous
task of turning a Ph.D. dissertation into a book manuscript. Jennifer
Hammer, editor at NYU Press, read and reread the manuscript with a
keen eye for detail in the final stages of revision.
Grateful acknowledgment is given to Indiana University Press for per-
mission to reprint my chapter on abortion and the Young Lords that orig­
inally appeared in the Journal of Women’s History 13, no. 1 (2001).
ix