LAAF's Bayou Block Party has been mentioned in every episode. The vibes, the fun, but also the connections and conversations that were had and made were something we wanted to share with you! In this episode, we hear from Eric Fleming, who spoke with guests at LAAF's Bayou Block Party about their experiences one year post Roe. Folks share what they've been holding, and where there understandings have shifted in their work of supporting and showing up for community.
The Louisiana Abortion Fund (formerly the New Orleans Abortion Fund) is a community fund that assists community members as they overcome the economic and geographic barriers erected to prevent them from accessing abortion care. By providing low-barrier financial support for abortions, plus support for travel and childcare, LAAF invests in the liberation of all Louisianans. LAAF works to center Black people, Indigenous communities, people of color, queer folks, and immigrants, because when society’s most marginalized are free, all be free.
Special thanks to Seratones for The South Has the Answer's theme song, "Get Free"
Speaker 1 (00:02):
So solidarity feels very much like a word that people use instead of action. Ooh. I would prefer to say that everyone asks this community block party is here in action, not necessarily solidarity, because obviously like we're in this work, we're in this realm together. Um, but we are in action to improve the lives of all the people that need our help.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
You
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Go ahead and make yourself comfortable because this is the South has the answers. I'm your host, Luna Malborough here. We get to laugh with Laugh, that's short for Louisiana Abortion Fund, and we get to Kiki with the thought leaders, organizers, and champions of a reproductive justice movement that includes liberation for all of us. Over the last four episodes, we've heard a lot about last Bayou Block Party. Well, today on this bonus episode, we're gonna share some clips and conversations that we are still sitting with. Eric Fleming is my Joy Channel colleague who is on the ground at laughs Bayou Block Party. Talking to community members about why laugh and the work they do is so important and how the one year anniversary of Roe affected them personally. Here's Eric with more.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Eric, I just wanted to pull up and talk with you because you were there at the block party. I
Speaker 5 (01:41):
Was there and
Speaker 4 (01:42):
You were there having so many juicy conversations with people, many of of them that we're about to hear. And I just kind of wanna hear from you, like, what was the experience like being at that block party?
Speaker 5 (01:55):
Ooh, it was, it was a lot. Um, and I think you even mentioned how you heard a transformation in the, the kinds of conversations that I was having over the day. Um, but it was, it was something that was so mind-opening and eye-opening to hear. And I don't wanna say I was also holding it with people, but people were so vulnerable with me and I was able to hear what it's truly like, like in the trenches, um, hear people's fears hear about having to help someone cross four states to get any kind of care and raising funds. So the, the, what word do I wanna use here? The, the severity of the situation, the intensity of the emotion was just very present. And, um, I saw, and I felt a lot of resiliency in people having to find ways to continue despite this thing being so big and so daunting. Um, but it was, it was a deeply impactful day to say the least. Um, I can go on and on about it, but we don't have the time. I don't think
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Yeah, I mean, we don't have the time, but I do wanna ask you, okay. You are a New Yorker. You're in New York. I'm a New Yorker.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
I, yeah. I'm in such a liberal bubble. You're right. You're right.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
What has it been like for you kind of being more exposed to the South through, you know, our work with Laugh through having those conversations? What, what have you learned?
Speaker 5 (03:39):
I've learned an absurd amount, and I think one is the idea of just how hard it's to get an abortion and how hard it's to have bodily autonomy as a, a birthing person. It just really landed for me, you know, I had an idea, but it's totally different hearing from people who are holding those fears and who are sitting in a hopeless state. And I remember talking to one woman and she said that, I'm just trying not to put myself in this situation at all. Like, how can you do that as an adult who has sex as an adult who is partnered and who how? And to, to get into a space where you're just that fearful and you're monitoring your behaviors in such a way is unfair. It's gross. And, uh, just the level of harm that people are going through and that they have to sit with.
(04:34)
Um, so I just, I notice my privilege. I notice privilege of people who don't have birthing bodies. And, uh, it also has activated me in a lot of ways, uh, to have more conversations with people, um, about this fight, about the work that these organizations are doing. And about just how hard it is. I don't think a lot of folks, particularly in my circle, like I think about my circle of gays in New York City, these fools don't know that women have to travel or birthing. People have to travel from Louisiana to Illinois and like find a hotel or find housing and get funding to get an abortion. Pe It's not in our conversation we're talking about drag race and that's it, right? I mean, that's not it. But
Speaker 4 (05:50):
I love that. Well, thank you for holding space in the conversations you did have. And I think, um, I love the language you used around like opting in. Um, I think you can opt into awareness, but you can also opt into escapism, which I feel like for so many people, if you are not, if your rights aren't being directly challenged, yes. Very much still be in the space of like, what's all the big hoop laws about, I don't, you know, I don't like politics.
Speaker 5 (07:24):
Hmm. Yeah. I see. Thank you. I think you were talking about the, like the one cis straight guy that was there who said that. Um,
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Yeah, I think that you, I think you talked to a couple of cis uh, straight dudes maybe,
Speaker 5 (07:38):
But there were a few, but there was one in particular that I remember who I asked him, you know, like, so what, why is it important for you to be here? And he kind of alluded to the, the fact that he doesn't believe in being political or being involved because he doesn't think, I dunno, he doesn't respect political systems or what have you. And it really made me think a lot about, you know, the solidarity of it all and how if you know one group is being oppressed and you're mindful of that, then how much more powerful you can be when you join and team up. Um, and like, your fight is also my fight. Um, and I just see some so much overlap in social movements, particularly wherever there are people of color being oppressed, uh, as, as a need to coalition build and a need to, to connect across these fights. Um, and I think community is community care, like you say, is the work. And I think that's a big part of it. We have to extend that awareness to who else is in this community and how, what are they fighting against and how can we pick up some of that slack?
Speaker 4 (08:52):
100%. Well, thank you
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Eric, for joining us and yeah, thank you for your perspective. Well, with no further ado, let's get into some of these juicy conversations. I do wanna share that we are not sharing anyone's names, um, and as much as possible have tried to hide personal details unless the guests that you hear from share them themselves. So let's get into it.
Speaker 6 (09:21):
It's really hard right now. It feels like what happened with the abortion ban and the trigger laws was a good, um, indicator as a trans person of what's coming and what the right, uh, right wing, uh, power structure is looking to accomplish. And, um, it's really important that we as a queer community
(09:57)
Work to support, um, all people that need, um, reproductive care, that it's there, that it's available, that we're making sure everyone has access to it. And it's really important to remember, you know, as someone who is a trans person of means, it's very important to me to remember that, you know, people who can have children and who do need reproductive care and trans people don't have the resources that I have, they don't have healthcare access that I have, they don't have the ability to go out of state like I can, um, for resources if I need to. And so it's very important, um, especially in south Louisiana, we're so isolated. We're surrounded by all these very conservative states and it's even getting, you know, like hard to travel through those states for, for care. And, um, you know, like there's several states I suddenly can't go to. And so like, I couldn't go with a friend as like, if a friend asked me to go, like, Florida is one of the places I might a friend might go to for reproductive care because they can't get it here. Yeah. But I can't go to Florida. So, you know, it's, it's, I think that's
Speaker 7 (11:42):
Like the psychological impact is something that we don't really talk about or think about. You hear about the, you know, literal physical impact of, you think about the e economic, but just the psychological impact, thinking about like your value as a human being and your, your freedom of choice as a human being, whether you specifically are in a scenario that you need to have that type of medical care. It does, it does make you feel truly like, oh, I am a second class citizen. I don't have the same rights that everyone else has.
Speaker 6 (12:22):
And I think the thing that we've all known for a long time, uh, ever since Roe versus Wade came down as a court decision or, um, you know,
(12:37)
Integration as court decisions, all these things, we need to codify this stuff as law and we need to stop relying on, uh, you know, the judicial system to solve problems that we haven't been codifying rights as law. And we, you know, that goes for racial equality, that goes for gender equality, sexual equality, all those things need to be law. And we need to have it established and we as a liberal movement need to figure out how to band together. Um, and to have, somehow to have the, the strength in compassion that the opposition has their strength through anger and hate and fear. And we need to figure out how to have the, the opposing strength and resilience in compassion. And we have, we have to figure that out. We have to come to terms and coalesce. And I don't, I don't have the answer to that, but like, it, it is just, we cannot like come up with a short term solution again, like the judiciary stuff and just be like, okay, well it's okay for now and we, we, that's not the stopping point. That's, you know, a temporary relief and then we have to keep going. 'cause people like, you know, the, the, um, opportunistic cynicism of someone like DeSantis is, you know, those people are always gonna be there and we can't, you know, we have to find ways to stand up to that and persist against it.
Speaker 8 (14:42):
Thank you for your time. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 6 (14:43):
Speaker 5 (14:44):
I'm really curious about, there's this tension that we all hold now in terms of there's these attacks on women, on trans people on birthing bodies, and you know, yet you have like seeming victories and it's like, how, how do we hold this tension when we clearly are under attack and there's so much that needs to happen? Um, but yeah, I dunno, what, what, what's it been like for you? What are you holding right now?
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Um, how much do we wanna unpack? I
(16:10)
But, um, then I come to events like this, uh, the Louisiana Abortion Fund block Party to name what it is. And there's just this sense of like community and familiarity here that I think serve as a really nice reminder of like, this is why the on the ground work matters, right? It's not always about the policy per se, it's about the connections and the relationships that's built and how we show up for each other and how we support each other, um, when our freedoms are under attack. But, um, I think it's hard to balance and especially in this year as you know, um, a black woman who had a child in the last two years, um, with C O V I and who lives in the deep south and has lgbtqia plus friends and family, you know, um, really holding space that, can I curse on this? Is this Yeah. Really holding space. That shit is fucked up for a lot of people right now. Um, and that we really have to support each other on the ground and make space for each other here in real life. You know, where we're all existing and where we have to grocery shop and where we have to walk around our neighborhoods and where we have to survive. Um, but also feeling like
(17:26)
I want our elected politicians to show up and do something. Right? Yeah. Like,
Speaker 5 (17:31):
It also, something that I keep hearing from a lot of people is recognizing the power of community, compassion and honesty and like truly listening to each other's stories. And I feel like that's kind of a big piece of our power that maybe we're not tapping into any thoughts on that?
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah, definitely. Um, especially my job is I work in communications, right? So I am like constantly trying to stress to people the importance of talking about things. Um, even when they suck or even when you think that your story is such a small piece of it that it doesn't matter because our whole world is made up of individuals, people's tiny, tiny moments. Like that's what our world is. It's just everyone's own individual moments. And when you share those moments, even if it feels, um, I don't wanna use the word minuscule, but I'm gonna use the word mini school a moment to us that feels like, like maybe it doesn't matter. Like someone else can have a very similar, you can let them know like key in with that person, right? Like, oh, I experienced something really similar. Um, I think especially when it comes to abortion, like people, oh, they all in that I feel like either like, shout about it 'cause you're in this realm of like work or you don't talk about it at all.
(18:45)
Shame. Yeah. Yeah. And I think, um, when I started working directly in like the reproductive justice field, the amount of friends that then like came to me and were like, oh yeah, I had an abortion a year ago. I had an abortion two years ago. And I was like, why did you not feel comfortable enough to tell me two years ago? You know, like, I I, and then also maybe shame on me for maybe not loudly saying, you know, I don't care if you have an abortion or not, right? Like that to me it was just such a regular, like maybe shame on me for not being louder and showing up for that and showing like I was a safe space that you could come say that to. Right? It wasn't until I was like, yeah, I have this new job working for this, you know, doing this. So they were like, oh yeah, like here's my experience, here's my experience, here's my experience. And I'm like, damn, we don't really talk about those things. Um, can you
Speaker 5 (19:35):
Talk a little bit about that, like, showing yourself as a safe space? What, how can you advise people to how to do that? Like what, what are some things that people need to know, need to do? How can we show up more as a safe space?
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Um, I think you have to be loud about it. I think if you're gonna be a safe space in any, for like anything, um, you have to be really really loud about it. And I think realizing that loud doesn't mean pushy, right? It doesn't mean you don't have to show up at dinner and be like, so who's gotten an abortion? Right? But
Speaker 5 (20:12):
Past some mashed potatoes. Yeah, you had an abortion lately,
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Like when's the last time you guys got an abortion? Doesn't have to be that level of stuff. But I think making it really clear, especially now more than ever, I mean, I think even since 2016, if we wanna speak about that election, but like really being loud about what you stand for and making it really, really clear. Like, this is where I am. Um, I know for me that's turned into like not letting what would maybe be a seemingly harmless comment slide. Yeah. You know, um, I'm now the person that will ruin the function. 'cause I'll be like, that's actually not cool that you said that might've been a joke. You suck for that you should think of. You know, like, I'll, I'll ruin the, I'll ruin the party, you know? Um, but I think we need that now where you have to, it's hard to be a safe space if it feels like you're playing the fence. So I think, um, you have to make it clear where you stand. And I think even in my life that's been me too. Like now I'm, I'm very clear on, um, when people are like, I mean, I support people being able to make a choice, but eh, nope. Get outta here. You don't, you know? Um, and so I think just making that like super, super clear.
Speaker 9 (21:35):
Thank you. You're welcome.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
You,
Speaker 5 (21:36):
You grabbing some gems over here. What are you learning?
Speaker 10 (21:40):
I am learning how to be a grassroots organizer.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Ah,
Speaker 10 (21:43):
I love it though. 'cause I feel like I'm getting skills that I would've never gotten in school.
Speaker 5 (21:48):
I mean, absolutely.
Speaker 10 (21:49):
Because yeah, it's just like living you're doing you own. Yeah. So I'm in school for public health and it's great and all you learn theory, you learn how to enact theory and whatnot, but you don't learn the language that people actually use. Ah, it's all very academic, you know, they're like, let's talk about demographics and statistics and epidemiology and all that stuff. But it's not grassroots. No. So when you move into going to a space like southern, um, organizers academy, what they do is they say, okay, that's all great and good, but let's discuss tactics. Let's discuss strategy. How do you get in there? What's the language you're using? How do you relate to the people you're trying to help?
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Okay. So talking about tactics, right? Yeah. So something that I'm thinking about a lot is solidarity and how a lot of these movements, 'cause you see a lot of anti-trans legislation, things that are like deeply affecting queer folks, queer families, how we can put together queer families and women. And there's clearly a link in all of this, right? So what do you think about how do we get people united, how do we form solidarity with all of these groups that are under attack right now? What do you think?
Speaker 10 (22:55):
So speaking of, I actually just read an essay by Audra Lord that kind of addressed this whole thing. And it was a conversation that we had. So one of the things that she made known was that they asked her to be on this panel, right? And in the panel they, she was the only black person. And it was like, they chose her because she was supposed to be the expert of all black people. And instead of thinking, okay, everyone is an individual, everyone has a different experience. We're not all black people, we're not all women, we're not all men. Everyone is bringing something different to the table based on experience. So she really pushed that we need to honor the individual. And when you honor the individual, you can then accept and know who you're working with and understand what their needs are and then come and see how those needs can work together to dismantle white supremacy. And so that really stuck with me because as an organizer, you don't wanna just lump everyone together. You really want to understand who each person really is and what their needs are. And that's what we do. That is what grassroots organizing is about. You don't just make a broad assumption. And I feel like white supremacy is based on that. It is truly based on assuming that you are one thing. So we, that's part of dismantling that, and that's why we work together, is to dismantle those stereotypes and those assumptions.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
So solidarity, from what I'm hearing from you Yeah. Hearing each other, listening to each other, understanding what is most important to you, your needs, your community, and then amplifying that.
Speaker 10 (24:31):
Absolutely. It's once we know that is our strategy, right? We know what we're going for, we know the end goal is how to get to that. Then we create those tactics, we make the steps to get to that big goal. So we can't have a strategy or a tactic until we know what we're going for. And the solidarity aspect of it is how do we come together to achieve those needs? Because the big thing to me is if one person is left behind, we are all behind. It's like, it's a team aspect. I even compare it to basketball. If one person on your team is not pulling their weight, you will lose.
Speaker 5 (25:09):
Yeah. I, I hear you. And I, I agree with that. I'm, I'm wondering how we can do like, maybe this is the work, uh, this is like what the podcast is doing, right? I'm, how do we get people to understand that the work is community work? It is does, and reaching across understanding women, like what do y'all need from us? Then what do you need here? What do you need there? And then actively showing up for each other. Like how do we start to do that?
Speaker 10 (25:32):
I think the first very way we start to do that is listening. You have to listen. And that's a part of that aspect of hearing what other people need. So first we listen and from there we understand we need to hold space. And once you hold space, that kind of gives you an idea that, oh my God, you need something and I can change that. And being able to step in and realize that you can change something on a personal level that makes someone else's life better. And as a human, we care on some aspect. Being human is about understanding and caring. Yeah. You know, whether you acknowledge that or not about yourself, that is part of being human. So that and understanding that you care and then enacting that and saying, oh my God, I can change your life by one simple act. That is how we come together in solidarity.
Speaker 5 (26:22):
So we're approaching the one year anniversary of the ro decision here. What's it been like on the ground? I mean, you do a lot of work with particularly women who are seeking reproductive justice and reproductive he healthcare. What's it been like here?
Speaker 10 (26:35):
Oh my goodness. So Roe has been very scary. It's been very scary because with Louisiana we have trigger laws. So the second it got, you know, upheld it, they took it away, our laws immediately went into effect. So there were laws that were waiting for this moment. So the second Roe v. Wade was overturned, abortion was illegal. Here we had two times where they issued a stay. They did not last. It remained illegal. So it's like, it's just been, I've noticed myself an uptick in people seeking things like emergency contraception because they don't have any other route. I've noticed that people are asking, like, even on the underground level, like what do I do? How do I get this? Where do I seek services? And we have to tell 'em like, you gotta go outta state, you gotta get a PO box. Like something. So it's a lot of, like, you people are frantic.
(27:28)
And for us as organizers, we're kind of stepping out there saying, how do we fight? What are the steps we need to take to make this bearable? And how do we overturn it? But like I said, with strategy, you know, you gotta have those tactics. And we're sitting there trying to make a plan and it's not a little, it's not like a, we gotta work through the long term. It's very hard 'cause you got a short term Short term, but you don't wanna put a bandaid on it. Mm-hmm. We wanna eventually have a long term solution,
Speaker 3 (28:03):
We're gonna take a break for a moment for two short messages, but I promise we'll be right back. End the south and need an abortion. Give life a call at eight four four four four abort. That's 8 4 4 4 4 2 2 6 7 8. Laugh provides compassionate affirming support that honors and affirms the dignity of people seeking abortion care. This podcast is produced by Joy Channel. What is Joy Channel? A collection of creatives and change makers that work with organizations and communities towards liberation. We do that by creating content like this podcast or supporting organizations hands-on with training, consulting experiences and parties. We like to throw parties to find out more. Visit us@joychannel.org.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
And you, my love. I know you had something to say about like, what, what has it been like here? What have you noticed? What are you holding right now?
Speaker 11 (29:02):
Well, speaking as a community birth worker and a healthy birth ambassador and a woman who support, you know, the birthing community here, I've noticed definitely as the guy, um, as they said about an uptake in emergency contraceptive of women who are now, or birthing bodies who are now afraid to become pregnant, who are seeking permanent, permanent alternatives to not becoming pregnant. But then that also comes to the, to the mental health and the trauma and the fear and anxiety and the distrust in our communities. That this is the drastic, you know, uh, decisions that they're making. But then also that comes in as someone who advocates for reproductive justice and who educates in birth work and body autonomy. That comes with now educating and, you know, supporting birthing bodies, menstruating bodies, and knowing their bodies and how to honor and protect their bodies. Because in actuality, you can have all the sex that you want. There's, there's a window of opportunity here and there's a window where we can protect ourselves, but we have to know ourselves first and we have to heal ourselves. And that comes to healing our cycles, healing our wounds, healing our relationship with our bodies, our cycles, and our wounds, and then taking care of them and honoring them.
Speaker 5 (30:21):
Thank you for sharing. I appreciate y'all.
(30:25)
Alright. Hopefully this bounty house will not drown out all of the audio here.
Speaker 12 (30:57):
Uh, I think it's been traumatic and I've gone through really intense P t Ss D. Um, I worked in abortion care for about six, seven years, and I myself needed one after sexual assault in college. And, um, then bottom of my heart, I've just been in pain.
(31:21)
And, uh, like for example, a friend reached out to me a few weeks ago, she's in Florida, and it was right when like this six week band was like signed or whatever it ha and she reached out and my first question was like, how far along, you know, when was your last period, when was the first day of your last tre? And when she said six and a half weeks, I got so terrified. And I actually called up my old clinic and they, that's how when they told me it wasn't in effect yet, and I was able to help her make an appointment real fast, you know, but just having conversations with especially men or, you know, ci men, straight men, and I don't really get it, you know, I've been told, well, you just go somewhere else for one, you know, kind of thing. So it sucks. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (32:19):
I hate it.
Speaker 12 (32:20):
Speaker 13 (32:23):
I'm like, thank God
Speaker 12 (32:24):
I don't sleep with me.
Speaker 5 (32:25):
Yeah. Okay.
Speaker 13 (32:31):
Well, I do sleep with men and so it's been a very anxiety inducing and, um, I mean, I have, I have one partner and we, it, it's, it's helped like evolve our communication around sex a lot because it's like, it was like a no, I need you to ask me like, how are you feeling before anything for like a long ass time? And you know, it's just something that we've integrated now into like, the way that we live our lives. Like, it's like, it's just an, an awareness that I think being able to like see my partner who is a cis man, have that awareness, has given me a lot of hope and a lot of heart to be able to have those conversations with the other cis men in my life to be like, this is what that awareness can look like as somebody who is like not, does not have the capacity to give birth and to become pregnant and to need abortions.
(33:37)
However, like at the same time it's really hard, um, to just carry that in a way where like, a lot of people don't know what that anxiety is like, and will like never know, like half the population, we'll just like never, you know, know it in the same way. And, um, and so it feels a little like, it's felt a little lonely, but I've been really lucky to have a lot of friends to talk to it about a bunch. So it's like, in some moments it's isolating in some moments it's connecting. Um, but I think in every moment it's just like a new weight to carry. I think asking that question, what you're carrying, like feels really on point. Like it feels like something I, I just carry around now a lot of fear.
Speaker 5 (34:26):
I was just speaking with a woman and, um, she said, you know, I just, I'm just trying my best, uh, to avoid this. And I'm like, that just seems really unfair and that seems really hard to try to have to live with the stress of I'm just trying really hard not to get pregnant. And I'm like, how, how
Speaker 12 (35:19):
Yeah, tons. Um, you know, especially with all of it kind of like happening at once and being a part of the L G B T Q I community and, you know, the majority of my friends are as well and my trans friends seen, um, such a change in their mental health and their general anxiety, myself included. Um, you know, I was just saying to the girls that I'm going to Florida next weekend to see some friends and, and I'm from there, but I, I don't wanna go there. Um, I don't at all. Uh, and I, I don't feel safe. I I don't feel safe for my friends. Like I, my friends who are back home in Tallahassee who are trans, who have like talked to me about wanting to leave and it's just really scary. And I think that the two are very much intertwined because, you know, the, it's like this big plan that has been like, rolled out for decades by conservative Republican and G O p, um, with filling the federal courts, um, you know, stuff like that. So when, when these laws try to, when people push are pushing these laws, the judicial system is not going to stand for the constitution. It's gonna always lean white Christian and frankly like, you know, at this point, nationalist, fascist, you know? So it, it, I have, I feel like,
(37:16)
You know, knowing, knowing history and uh, like I was raised in a Jewish household and so like, you know, we're spoon fed the holocaust, like our, our whole lives and Jewish education and everything. And it started with women. It started with the gaze, it started with the trance and um, and it wasn't even the long game like for them, you know? And so like, I'm, I'm dealing with feelings where I have like family members who are on the wrong side of this and I is that like really confusing? You know? It's like you, like, I feel like, I feel like I've had to maintain relationships. So like my relationships with like my niece and nephew, um, remain intact. And it's really painful because people who claim to love you don't even see you and don't see what you care about and what you're trying to say. They're ra so pumped up on their guns, power and freedom
Speaker 13 (38:35):
Rhetoric. So it's, it's very uncomfortable.
Speaker 5 (38:41):
Thoughts about solidarity connecting to social movements? Why is that important?
Speaker 13 (38:49):
Ooh,
Speaker 5 (39:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 14 (39:19):
Is I protect the crawfish
Speaker 13 (39:25):
This is a moment of solidarity that just happened at the Crawfish Boyle. Yeah. Right.
Speaker 5 (39:46):
Crawfish ringing the people together. How do you think men need to show up for women and other birthing people right now?
Speaker 13 (39:57):
A
Speaker 11 (39:58):
Taking accountability for the roles that they play in, in the whole, uh, conception process and birthing process. Taking accountability for their own bodies and also the bodies of their partners. I tell, I tell the men I come across all the time, if you love a birthing body, if you are raising a birthing body, if you love to lay next to a birthing body, then you need to overstand that birthing body. You need to be able to work and collaborate with that birthing body, honor that birthing body, protect that birthing body. We want to, we want our women birthing. That's what we say. But then yet, are we protecting them in that birthing space? Empowering them and supporting them in that birthing space. Are we creating a safe space? Is she secure or are they secure enough to carry this for you? How are you showing up?
(40:47)
What space are you creating? And that's mentally, emotionally as well because you're playing a role and you're playing a part on this birthing journey and all that will impact the birthing journey and experience. And so you cannot be with this birthing person and not honor their body, overstand their body and work with them. It's a partnership. If, if I'm saying I'm protecting my body, you have to help me protect my body because you can say birth control, but then it, we are protecting and honoring my body. Or you take into consideration what this is doing to my body. 'cause all bodies don't receive it the same. And then we also know that we have what now you are telling us, which we knew that these have repercussions on our bodies mm-hmm.
Speaker 5 (42:00):
Um, and so we were just chatting with a bunch of folks here just about like, what has it been like in the state? What have you been feeling? What's been going on? So what has it been like here on the ground? And I'm particularly interested in talking to you as a a cis man, don't really see a lot of y'all here,
Speaker 15 (42:30):
I didn't expect to be asked such a, a question, man.
Speaker 5 (42:33):
You can take a second to think about it. That's fine. Well, or yeah. What, what made you want to be here?
Speaker 15 (42:38):
My, uh, partner is the coalition, uh, director. No, she's, uh, man, I'm not sure what her title is exactly. She works, uh, as the coalition coordinator for the Louisiana, uh, coalition of Reproductive Freedom. Yeah. So I kind of have, uh, uh, a different insight than a lot of people. Like she's very involved with the, the legislative changes and, and she's, she's, she, her the foundation attempts to, to bring other foundations together to, to keep people informed about how the landscape is changing. And from my perspective, uh, I understand that the necessary, the need for, you know, body autonomy, like that's, that's I think fundamentally for me, that's where it starts and ends. So I don't think anybody, I don't think any government should be telling an individual what they should be doing with their body. Like it's, it's, I'm a libertarian, you could describe me as, but I, I describe myself as a apolitical.
(43:52)
Like, I don't really participate because I know most of it's bullshit. And I think that the, the, the longer that this kind of stuff gets more into people's perceptions that these things become more accepted. I guess it's not some, dude, I was in Afghanistan for most of my adult life. Like, I grew up in a, in a community that wasn't divided racially at all. It's a rural community. And like, I have friends to this day, the only reason I'm not at my little brother's graduation is because my, my future wife is, is having this event here. And,
(44:37)
Uh, coming back from, from, you know, being overseas and seeing how the, the, the just people man, how I don't have conversations like this with people anymore. Like I don't get to talk to people like this anymore. And it, and it sucks because that's how I think people learn from each other more than anything else is, is just explaining where you're coming from. And, and if people are genuinely heard, then there is no issue here. You know, like I think
Speaker 5 (46:00):
For
Speaker 15 (46:01):
The, the people that I grew up with, if they were to see me here, they would immediately write me off. That's cool with me because if that's the case, that's not the kind of people I wanna put myself around.
Speaker 5 (46:12):
See what, what's interesting about that and what's important about that, and going back to some things that you said, it's like your job to pass the microphone, so to speak, two people that your family needs to hear from. So you're, you're like the missing piece it sounds like, or people like you are kind of the, the tie.
Speaker 15 (46:32):
Yeah. So my partner put it to me in a way that like, it made the light bulb come on. One of the most, like one of the more, most important opinions that isn't being given right now is the cis white man in favor of these things. Like the one, the ones that man, I'm,
Speaker 5 (46:53):
What do you think that's about? How come more men are stepping up and speaking out in support of this
Speaker 15 (46:56):
Fundamentally? I think it's insecurity and, and just the, the unawareness and unacceptance of people doing things differently like that.
Speaker 5 (47:04):
The,
Speaker 15 (47:05):
The people that I grew up around are very narrow-minded and like to stick to their values because it's safe for them no matter what. They prosper. It's not that way when everybody gets to do things the way they want to do it, no matter what in their situation. It's that those, those ethics and values are instilled into the, into the culture. So they're, they're, they think that no matter what I'm, I won't be accepted unless I get married, buy a home, have kids go to church every Sunday. And that to me, that's a very bland definition of what life should be like, right? So that mindset right there is what makes it combative to do anything outside of it. So for me, I would rather reject that and embrace any way that anybody can live happily and make it work. Absolutely, man.
Speaker 5 (48:02):
I would just chime in with your partner here about uh, why he was here today. Can I ask you a little bit about why you're here? Sure. Amazing. Here, you wanna have a seat, get you outta the shade. And he was telling me you're in a position as a director for this coalition. Is that right?
Speaker 1 (48:20):
Co I'm the coalition coordinator for the Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedom. That's lot coalition. That's a lot of coalition
Speaker 5 (48:32):
So we are, we're creating a podcast for Louisiana Abortion Fund, just getting, um, a real sense of what it's been like for people here since the road decision about a year ago, um ago. Any insider, anything that you can tell us about the realities of life in Le Louisiana and life in this reproductive justice space? Since that decision?
Speaker 1 (48:54):
I was the director of patient advocacy at Hope Medical Group, which was one of the last three abortion clinics in Louisiana. Um, I did my internship there as a master of public health student and then fell in love with providing people with a service that they needed. And that was gonna be the place that I lived and worked for the rest of my life. And I got to see the, the trauma and the harm done firsthand, um, during that decision. And since then, working for the coalition, um, combating all the different attacks against people's bodily autonomy and it's just, it's very upsetting, the harm to see and witness, um, especially against underserved and marginalized people. Um, it's, it's a, it's a crime and it's a pity that we're having to witness this right now. It's,
Speaker 15 (49:54):
It's, yeah, we'll talk soon.
Speaker 5 (49:57):
So, been talking with a lot of people today about the importance of solidarity because it's not just women that are under tech right now. There's trans people that are under tech, so much anti-trans legislation and legislation against queer families and L G B T folks. What do you think, why is solidarity important right now in all these movements?
Speaker 1 (50:16):
So solidarity feels very much like a word that people use instead of action. I would prefer to say that everyone at this community block party is here in action, not necessarily solidarity because obviously like we're in this work, we're in this realm together. Um, but we are in action to improve the lives of all the people that need our help.
Speaker 5 (50:48):
I think what I'm hearing too is creating community is action creating community is resistance.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
Absolutely. So, so having a network of people who do DJing of awesome music that's had a grooving all day to providing us delicious food and fun activities for children, and we've got a plants vendor over here, like everybody has their specific niche of what they're good at. And when you bring that all together in community, that's when you, that's when you see a radical change. And that's the vision that we have. We have a radical vision of people living freely and that's why we're here in this community.
Speaker 5 (51:32):
I was gonna ask like, what, what keeps you shining through like this cloudy time? And it sounds like you're taking a lot of solace in community, but is, is there anything else that you're holding to, to get you through this?
Speaker 1 (51:45):
A little, a little bit of rage. I can't lie.
Speaker 3 (52:24):
This has been the South has the answers. A Joy channel production for Louisiana Abortion Fund To donate to Louisiana Abortion Fund, hit up Louisiana abortion fund.org. Thank you to Red Cypress Consulting for visuals and especially Camille Rand for all your support. I'm your host and executive producer Luna Malborough, the Chief vibe officer of Joy Channel. Can't let you go without giving another special thanks to the serotonins for the show's groovy theme song. Get free. I'll let you listen to that right now. Please follow them wherever you get your music. Bye.
Speaker 16 (53:11):
You better say what you mean to eat what you say. Ain't no way around. Judgment day hustle is eve and mans to see the rise from the mud revolution. And our skin folk ain't the money to mar down the door. Take time. Beautiful. And I ain't gonna no more
Speaker 2 (54:15):
To
Speaker 16 (54:15):
The revolution, so funky. Dig. You gotta move when the stars I got back.