Reproductive Imperialisms at Home and Abroad: Joy James, Jalessah Jackson, and Ash Williams

The Decolonial Feminist Collective presents a roundtable discussion on “Reproductive Imperialism at Home and Abroad” with Dr. Joy James, Jalessah Jackson, and Ash Williams. This conversation will situate political attacks on abortion access, including but not limited to, the recent SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, within the larger context of state violence in the forms of surveillance, criminalization, and militarization that the U.S. imposes on its citizen and exports internationally. We’ll consider the malleability of U.S. constitutional law, the limits of the UN Human Rights framework, and discuss a reproductive justice praxis that is people’s-centered, abolitionist and internationalist.

This event is co-sponsored by BAP-Atlanta. BAP’s mission is to recapture and redevelop the historic anti-war, anti-imperialist, and pro-peace positions of the radical black movement.

Joy James is the author of Shadowboxing: Representations of Black Feminist Politics, Transcending the Talented Tenth: Black Leaders and American Intellectuals, and Resisting State Violence: Radicalism, Gender and Race in US Culture. Her edited books include: Warfare in the American Homeland, The New Abolitionists: (Neo) Slave Narratives and Contemporary Prison Writings, Imprisoned Intellectuals, States of Confinement, The Black Feminist Reader, and the Angela Y. Davis Reader. Dr. James also serves as a Professor of Humanities at Williams College.

Ash Williams (he/him) is an anti-carceral and reproductive justice organizer. For the last 4 years, Ash has been vigorously fighting to expand abortion access by funding abortions and training other people to become abortion doulas.

Jalessah Jackson (they/them) is a Black queer (m)other, reproductive justice organizer, teacher-learner, and interdisciplinary cultural worker. They are the co-chair of the Decolonial Feminist Collective, a member of BAP-Atlanta, and leads Access Reproductive Care-Southeast.