By Jessica • 16 years ago

Voices of the United States Social Forum: Lifting Our Voices

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Contributed by Aimee Thorne-Thomsen, Pro-Choice Public Education Project
When people ask me what I do, I usually tell them I am a reproductive justice activist. When they inevitably ask me, “What’s that?� I tell them I am fighting to change the world. I work to lift the voices of those who have been silenced and to break down the walls that keep communities apart and isolated. For too long, social movements have focused on their own narrow interests, whether it be the environment, the War in Iraq, safer work conditions, or access to abortion. And while we have made great strides as separate movements, our true strength lies in working together.
The United States Social Forum (USSF) was an opportunity to do just that. Coming together under the banner of “Another World Is Possible� the USSF engaged activists from around the country to share information, strategies, and tactics in the struggle against injustice. Let me be clear: the USSF is not a conference. It is a social movement that creates a space for activists, organizers, non-governmental organizations, workers and other allies to explore opportunities to challenge the devastating effects of globalization, imperialism, militarism, racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, etc. through workshops, trainings, conversations, rallies, cultural work and other events.
As thousands of participants demonstrated, the USSF presented a critical opportunity for activists to build bridges between our movements. Those of us who fight for reproductive justice are working actively to center those issues within a broader, global, social justice movement, and the USSF is an important link in that fight. The USSF was an opportunity to share strategies and resources with colleagues from around the country and build solidarity. To that end, we created a new activist tool, the Reproductive Justice Briefing Book, as a way to educate allies about the connections between social and reproductive justice issues.
Another world is possible, but we can’t do it alone. By linking reproductive justice to other social justice movements, we can lift all of our voices to change the world.
Aimée Thorne-Thomsen serves as Executive Director of the Pro-Choice Public Education Project, where she focuses on creating spaces for and elevating the voices of young women in the reproductive justice movement.

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