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Take Down the Racist Abortion Billboards in Chicago
  1. Signatures
    1,301 out of 20,000
    Petitioning
    1. LifeAlways (+ 3 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • LifeAlways (Rev. Derek McCoy)
      • LifeAlways (Rev. Stephen Broden)
      • Heroic Media (Brian Follett)
      • Lake Outdoor Advertising (Jeff Lee)
  2. Created By
    Toni Bond Leonard
    Chicago, IL
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

On March 29, 2011, a Texas-based group called LifeAlways erected three billboards in an African American community on the southside of Chicago with the message, "Every 21 minutes, our next possible leader is aborted."  These billboards also feature an image of President Barack Obama.  Send a message to the sponsors of these billboards to"Stop Targeting Black Women -- Take Down the Racist Abortion Billboards in Chicago."  LifeAlways has plans to erect billboards at 29 additional locations in African American communities on Chicago's south and westsides.  These billboards are both racist and sexist because they accuse Black women of killing potential future Black leaders.  A representative for LifeAlways has said that the billboard company, Lake Outdoor Media, is donating the billboard space for this vile message targeting Black women and the entire African American community.

LifeAlways is being sponsored by another Texas-based group called Heroic Media.  Founded by Brian Follett, Heroic Media was behind the December, 2010 Black Entertainment Television ads that said, "The Most Dangerous Place for an African American is in the Womb" and the February, 2011 billboard erected in the SoHo neighborhood of New Work with the same message featuring a little Black girl.  Groups like LifeAlways and Heroic Media are shamefully using the bodies of Black women and the reproductive health disparities Black women face for their own political gain.  These groups also support and have been fundraising for Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, exposing their real agendas.  They care nothing about Black women or Black children.  In fact, these same groups are against comprehensive reproductive and sexual health education, support abstinence only, and are against many of the safety net programs some Black women need to take care of themselves and their families.

Join the effort to highlight the hypocrisy of groups like LifeAlways, Heroic Media, and Lake Outdoor Media.  Tell them to stop trying to furthering their political agenda on the backs of Black women. Take down the racist abortion billboards in Chicago.  Send your letter to representatives of these groups today.  You can also call them:  LifeAlways -- Marissa Gabrysch, 210-617-0967, Heroic Media -- 512-340-0999, and Lake Outdoor Advertising -- Jeff Lee, 877-380-5253.

 

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Stop Targeting Black Women -- Take Down Racist Abortion Billboards in Chicago

Greetings,

The recent billboards erected in Chicago that target Black women with the message, "Every 21 minutes, our next possibe leader is aborted, is offensive and racist. Black women have less access to reproductive and sexual health education, including family planning, prevention and transmission of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. Putting messages like this in the African American community does nothing but use the bodies of Black women and the reproductive health disparities Black women face to further political agendas. Real conversations need to happen about family planning that place Black women and their needs at the center of the discussion. Only Black women can take the lead in formulating a multi-prong strategy to address what it takes for Black women to be healthy, have healthy families, and live in healthy communities to achieve reproductive justice.

Issues like police racism, violence, lack of access to education, high rates of unemployment, and lack of access to healthy foods -- these are some of the real issues that must be addressed – not Black women making the decisions that they understand are in the best interest of their families.

[Your name]

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