Anti-Abortionists Play Race Card Again
Religion & Culture, US Wednesday, February 10th, 2010Anti-abortion advocates are playing the race card again. This time, they’re claiming that “Black Children are an Endangered Species” in billboards across Atlanta.
The billboards, all similar to the one pictured above, direct viewers to “toomanyaborted.com”, an anti-abortion website which implies — OK, emphatically declares — that legally-available abortion is a racist plot to commit genocide against the black population in the United States.
Several front-page segments of the site promote the organization’s racist “Black vs. White” mentality:
- The Truth in Black & White
Nearly 40% of all black pregnancies end in induced abortion. That’s over 3x the rate of white women and 2x the rate of all other races combined. There are beautiful alternatives: adoption and parenthood, but they are not money-makers for abortionists.
- The Negro Project
American elites (Rockefeller, Ford, Kellogg, Carnegie) championed and funded the beliefs of eugenics, a philosophy of breeding a superior race. It called for the prevention of procreation of the ‘unfit’. This pseudo-science cult created organizations and policies based upon this ignorance. The Negro Project was one of those efforts, spearheaded by Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger, to eliminate the ‘unfit’.
- Get Outraged
‘Endangered Species’ is a bold collaborative effort between The Radiance Foundation and Georgia’s Operation Outrage that declares there are too many aborted. One is too many. It is designed to heighten the public’s awareness of this often ignored societal tragedy by creating tension in the culture and forcing an abandonment of abortion as a viable option for controlling the birth rates of blacks and the poor.
Sponsored by Georgia Right to Life, the campaign is the brainchild of Ryan Scott Bomberger and Bethany Marie Bomberger, co-founders of The Radiance Foundation.
Ryan, a child of rape who was adopted into a loving family at 6 weeks, and Bethany, an educator, want to promote the “limitless possibilities” of each individual. Well, each unborn individual, anyway. The ones that are pregnant, apparently not so much.
The blatantly racist tone of the billboards and website are not overlooked; in fact, some area residents found them downright insulting:
Some people in the black neighborhoods where the billboards are posted told CBS Atlanta News the message is too harsh.
“It’s not the right message. It’s basically picking us out and saying that we’re having too many abortions and not using protection,” said Tyisha Martin, a black woman who lives near one billboard.
While Bomberger and others who play racial politics claim that Planned Parenthood clinics are sited in lower-income neighborhoods with high concentrations of African American citizens as part of a genocidal plot, one woman of color shares a different perspective:
Loretta Ross, the executive director of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective in Atlanta, said the billboards painted black women as either monsters intent on destroying their own race or victims of whites who control abortion clinics.
“The reason we have so many Planned Parenthoods in the black community is because leaders in the black community in the ’20s and ’30s went to Margaret Sanger and asked for them,” Ms. Ross said. “Controlling our fertility was part of our uplift out of poverty strategy, and it still works.”
Realistically, clinics — which provide neonatal care, family planning, STD counseling and testing, and many other services in addition to abortion — are made available for people without the financial wherewithal to visit a private physician. They are placed where they are accessible to the most people — along mass transit corridors. They are not-for-profit, so aren’t leasing Class A office space; they are conscious of budgets in selecting locations.
Where does that place clinics? Exactly where toomanyaborted claims:
in urban areas where blacks reside.
How would placing a clinic in a middle-class suburb within an office park be useful to the people needing its services?
The statement, that black children are somehow endangered, is also disingenuous. The NY Times reports that
. . . there was little evidence that abortions had made black children unusually endangered. The fertility rate, or births per 1,000 women of childbearing age, among black women remains higher than the national average and has inched up in recent years, according to C.D.C. data.
The Toomanyaborted campaign is an extension of the racist vitriol spewed by the protesters of the Houston Planned Parenthood that we reported on a few weeks ago.
Sadly, instead of promoting personal responsibility and the use of birth control, the campaign promotes paranoia and anti-white sentiment. How is increasing racial tension going to promote a healthy society? Will the Bombergers’ campaign result, for example, in more black children going unvaccinated, as rumors spread that vaccines are another attempt by “evil racist whites” to sterilize the black population?
Georgia Right to Life should be ashamed to jump on this bigoted bandwagon. Sadly, we’re not surprised, given the use of the same arguments by a nearly all-Caucasian crowd’s MLK Jr Day protest at the new Planned Parenthood in Houston.
Related articles:
- Anti-Abortion Groups to Use MLK Day to Protest Houston "Abortion Supercenter"
- VA State Legislator: Disabled Kids "God's Punishment" for Earlier Abortions
- Why Christians Should Support Abortion
- Houston Abortion Protest – Ongoing Coverage
- In Brief: S.C. Gov. Race Heats Up over Haley's Religion | Politics | Christianity Today
Jenny Donati is webmistress and co-editor of Secular News Daily. Jenny is an outspoken secularist who believes firmly in the separation of church and state. She demands evidence to support arguments, and holds herself to the same standard. She doesn't write about herself in the third person . . . but there's a first time for everything.You can follow comments on this article through the RSS Comment Feed. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry.
I would say that you are correct in saying the race card is being used. As with any non-profit business, money is a big factor and using it to get the most from it comes first. I am pro-choice and have a hard time understanding why people think women shouldn’t have a choice in a very important event in their life. I also dislike their use of pro-life. I know not all anti-choice people don’t help those that are in need of assistance. It does seem that a large number of people who are anti-choice also are against helping out people who need assistance when their children are hungry or in need of clothes. I wouldn’t have near the problems with people against choice if they would step up and help those that need the help.
I’m surprised the article skipped over this, but:
‘Blacks’ aren’t another species. It’s horribly insulting to consider them as such, as its implying that they aren’t human. Whoever made this sign either has a racist axe to grind or is otherwise ignorant of biology terminology.
I’m surprised the article overlooked it, too . . . and I wrote it!
Good catch!
@ShippouTS – That was my first thought when I saw the bill board. I wondered why no one had put up a snarky reply billboard to that effect.
[...] It never ceases to amaze me the kind of tactics anti-abortionist groups will use to try to pressure people into not having abortions. Apart from picketing at clinics, airing ads during the Super Bowl, and even actively encouraging psycho vigilantes to take the law into their own hands, they’ll also put this up: a billboard that tries to make it look like the “white man” is out to abort all black babies. [...]
I’m black and I agree with the billboards and website. Playing the race card? Bigots? You guys (pro-abortion advocates) will stop at nothing to distract people from the issue. Funny you forgot to mention the creators and leaders behind this campaign are all–BLACK! (See http://www.toomanyaborted.com/?page_id=346). But who wants to deal with facts? They’re so messy and inconvenient. There’s not a single mention of blaming white people on the entire site. If anything it blames elitists and the abortion industry. It’s just reckless and irresponsible for you to malign these people. Have you even READ the material on TooManyAborted.com?
Is it racist to say that black fathers are an endangered species? Or does it simply raise the alarm that they are fewer and fewer in number (which statistics clearly show).
The site doesn’t even really take a position on birth control (another distortion from your post). It emphasizes personal responsibility, especially among men.
Playing the race card (which YOU’VE done) is easy. Handling the truth isn’t.
Bethany Marie Bomberger looks about as black as I am, friend . . . and she is half of the Radiance Foundation (the “creator
s(Ryan) and leaders(Bethany)”). The people in photos on the toomanyaborted site are not the “creators and leaders”. They’re models.(Catherine Davis heads up “Operation Outrage”, which has no website and is not found in a news search. Apparently, Davis leads herself.)
How about the financial sponsors, Georgia Right to Life? You know, the people who put up the money for this campaign . . . Are you telling me they are all black, Jazmine? Please show me the evidence for this assertion.
Here’s an image from their blog showing one of their marches. Could you describe the people you see? (Click on it to see the full version.)
Where did my article say that the Bombergers took any position on birth control? Where is the distortion, friend?
Tell me, why are conservatives so intent on keeping black women poor and burdened with unwanted children they cannot afford to raise?
Hmmm. You conveniently omit the fact that Ryan Bomberger is black and adopted…the creator of the campaign. Operation Outrage is a coalition of black pastors and black leaders (both Republican and Democrats) who are actively promoting and standing behind the campaign. Models? Please. Were you at the Georgia capitol to see all of the African-American leaders at the press conference representing for the ‘Endangered Species’ campaign. No. Obviously not. You can’t handle the fact that it’s YOU who is playing the race card. They are partnering with GA Right to Life which represents a racial cross-section of GA’s residents.
And you DID refer to birth control in your article. You can’t even take the time to read your own writing, let alone truthful information about this issue.
Jenny writes: “Sadly, instead of promoting personal responsibility and the use of birth control, the campaign promotes paranoia and anti-white sentiment.”
By the way, this is from TooManyAborted.com’s page’The Truth’:
“Men need to step up and own up to their responsibility as fathers. Period. Women need to be told the truth about abortion. This issue is much more than one individual’s ‘rights’. This is the right of 3 individuals (father, mother, and unborn child), requiring the responsibility and life-affirming actions of those willing to defend the defenseless and speak for the voiceless.”
What are you afraid of? That the truth will reveal the lies and destruction that has harmed our society, and mostly women? And why do you have so much hate. Have you ever spent a day at a Crisis Pregnancy Center and see what these amazing women do? If you did, you’d see that they take care of women while they’re pregnant AND after the child is born–providing housing, food, clothing, job training…all kinds of resources. Instead, you spew hate when a campaign simply says there’s a better way.
And you conveniently ignore the fact that half of the “creators and leaders” of the Radiance Foundation are NOT black. I DID very clearly state that Ryan Bomberger was adopted.
Catherine Davis is indeed the minority outreach coordinator for Georgia Right to Life. She also claimed that abortion has reduced fertility rates among African-Americans. (“Reducing fertility” is accurate, but misleading. As I reported, the fertility rate among African-Americans is trending positive, not negative.)
So, Jazmine, where is the reference on the TMA site to birth control? As I clearly stated, and as you just quoted, the TMA site DOES NOT PROMOTE BIRTH CONTROL.
I expect the folks at TMA would be against providing free birth control anyway. After all, it would “reduce fertility”.
Ok so my brother married a non white….BIG DEAL…if you would look at my brother's other site you would see that our family looks like the united nations therefore the race card is not an issue….ok so let me put this to you ,JENNY, would there be so much of an uproar if say my brother was white and placed these billboards in poor area such as Applachia?? You would be giving him a medal and saying what good work he has done trying to bring awareness to the plight of the white woman….as i wrong. Oh and you fact is only 1/2 correct yes Ryan was adopted but he was six WEEKS not 6…..http://www.thisisryan.com….check it out….read his story then judge
the site is http://www.thisisryan.com
Judge what, Valerie? I don’t care that Ryan married a white woman. I only pointed it out because a commenter insisted that “the creators of the campaign are all black”, when the creators, Ryan and Bethany, are one white, one black.
Why are you spurting more racist accusations at me, Valerie? The billboards and the website are playing off and reinforcing the belief that white people are out to exterminate black people. Nothing good can come of it; all it does is increase racial tension and encourage bigotry. It’s disgusting and cynical.
Thank you for pointing out the error about Ryan’s age at adoption. I have corrected it.
Valerie -
I've been looking through the comments, and I see that Ryan certainly has his defenders.
When I look at the billboard and the website, and then see it being promoted in association with the Maafa 21 racist propaganda piece . . . Well, let me just say that I'd love to know Ryan's inspiration for the project.
Maybe he would like to provide some comments? I'd be happy to pose a few questions, perhaps do an email interview. (I lack telephone recording equipment at present and don't wish to misquote.)
Feel free to contact me via the website's contact form.
By the way, Catherine Davis works for GA Right to Life and she is an African-American. She has been leading forums on HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) on the issue of abortion in the black community. Operation Outrage is the initiative that takes the documentary Maafa 21 onto campuses and opens up free discussion about the history and present-day societal impact of abortion. The forum is powerful.
The web doesn’t make you omniscient. It does not possess every detail. So, maybe you should start asking some questions and do a little research yourself. Pick up a phone and call somebody before you unfairly malign them.
Maafa 21 is more bigoted paranoia about the “holocaust against African-Americans”. Here’s their website: Maafa 21: Black Genocide in 21st Century America.
The front page of that site says, in part:
Why is it necessary to promote bigotry and racial strife to reduce the number of abortions, Jazmine? How is this paranoid conspiracy theorizing of any value to society?
I'll bet you didn't watch Maafa21 the entire 2.5 hours. If you had you would know that every word in that film was fully documented on the screen. Just trying to help you out so you do not look any more foolish: http://www.maafa21.com
Perhaps you missed it, but I quoted directly from that very website in my earlier comments on Maafa 21.
The fact that some people have said and done things that modern people (myself included) consider reprehensible does not mean that there is an ongoing 150-year “conspiracy” to exterminate black people. Pushing such a belief fosters racial intolerance and fear instead of cooperation, and leads to increased marginalization and isolation of racial minorities. It is anti-American propaganda geared toward inflaming passion and paranoia.
History is always of value. Life is always better understood in context. You’re NOT black, so I suppose you can’t appreciate an understanding of how racism and eugenics had controlled much of America’s past and STILL affects our present. You would probably claim, as your ignorance of documented history shows, that the abolition of slavery was a bigoted cause. What is bigoted about revealing America’s racist past that was fought against by ALL races? This isn’t a black vs. white issue. This is about elitism, deception, and an ongoing destruction of the black community that requires responsibility and acknowledgement of the history that continues to influence social policy (including legalized abortion). Who do you think financed much of the racial hygiene theory that influenced sterilization policies in Nazi Germany? Elitists like Rockefeller & Carnegie. Same ones that financed Planned Parenthood’s Margaret Sanger. Oh, but that doesn’t matter, right? I was once ignorant of all of this too. My word…just look at Wiki and you can see it for yourself. Have you ever even READ Maragaret Sanger’s writings? Yeah. These are available too on TooManyAborted.com. Maybe you should take a weekend and catch up on the facts. It’s easy to rant and obfuscate the truth, Jenny, but your apparent lack of knowledge of what is well-known (and a matter of historical record) leaves you with only the ability to write completely baseless accusations. Please educate yourself. There’s a world of information out there.
Jazmine, I have read many of Margaret Sanger’s writings. Her racial thinking was in line with the ignorant mindset of her time in the 1930s. Does that mean nothing she did was positive?
Abraham Lincoln’s plan for freeing African slaves also involved sending them back to Africa. Does this make the end of slavery evil, and everything Lincoln did bad?
Have you read anything of hers other than the comments conspiracy theorists throw around? Here are a couple for you:
Declaring that modern Planned Parenthood’s focus is the extermination of black people based upon this is ridiculous paranoia, and you know it. How, pray tell, do you expect women to lift themselves out of poverty with half a dozen children to raise? How can they give those children proper attention and help them get educated when they can’t even put food on the table for them?
While I’m not personally a fan of abortion — I’d much rather see sexually-active (married or otherwise) men and women use birth control and prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place — I think it disgusting and reprehensible to play on the fears of a race which has been oppressed in this nation for centuries and try to convince them that taking control over their own reproduction is complying with a “conspiracy” to exterminate them.
Seriously, there's no such relevance as it being racist just because abortion is much more rampant within the black community compared to the white's.
Claiming that abortion is genocide perpetrated upon black victims by evil white people is, indeed, racist.