Black Feminist Rants

BFR Host, LaKia Williams, talks briefly about her short hiatus from the podcast and her recent college graduation before discussing the importance of rest as a revolutionary act. For young people and people with oppressed identities it can often feel like it is mandatory to exhaust ourselves to prove our worthiness; however, this is a decision of a capitalistic grind culture that prioritizes profi...

In this episode BFR talks with Erin Jorgensen from Shout Your Abortion, an online abortion storytelling platform. 

This episode explores womanism, Black feminism, and African feminism and the ways that the west gatekeeps knowledge production as a means to exclude Black women and African women and how mainstream feminism is another example of the erasure of Black women's labor and intellectual labor.  Mentioned Articles:  Brown's article: https://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/13701/barkleybro...

In this episode LaKia sits down with nurse, clinician, scholar, and activist Dr. Monica McLemore to discuss how she incorporates RJ into her work as a healthcare provider and researcher. For a full transcipt of this episode visit https://www.blackfeministrants.com/ep-21-transcription or click Transcriptions on the blackfeministrants.com website. 

Welcome back to Black Feminist Rants! In the season 3 premier of Black Feminist Rants, host, LaKia Williams, discusses her recent experiences with reproductive health issues and how that has re-shaped her experience with Reproductive Justice, as well as some common misconceptions with the RJ framework. LaKia ends the episode discussing the problem with Activism Influencers and the pipeline from ac...

The season 2 finale of BFR features guest, Yemisi (Yemi) Miller-Tonnet a Reproductive Justice fellow, feminist book seller, and domestic violence legal advocate. On this episode Yemi and LaKia talk about anti-abortion tactics, the struggles of youth organizing, and more. Yemi also talks about her experience working at an abortion clinic and hihglights the importance of collective organizing. LaKia...

BFR sat down with Maha Thomas the creator of the dark comedy, gothic show Blacklight whose main character is a sex worker. Maha talks about her experiences as a sex worker and as a socialist. We discussed the issues that can arise within social justice spaces and the importance of sex work stories being told by sex workers. If you want to support the work that Maha does watch the table reading for...

BFR sat down with organizer and activist Jaaie Varshney and she shared with us her advocacy work around abortion access and menstrual equity.

In this episode LaKia discusses the exploitation that students face specifically from unpaid internships, universities that expect student leadership and activism labor, and her specific experience as a Resident Advisor (RA) for Tulane University. LaKia touches on how systems create competitive job markets that incentivize students and young people to seek internships, often times unpaid, so that...

In this episode LaKia sits down with her friend, scholar, and activist Sarah Jones to discuss their experiences navigating respectability politics as Black women. Sarah is a recent grad of Tulane University and has organized around Black liberation and reproductive justice on and off campus. Sarah and LaKia have both been active in white sex positive spaces that have impacted their comfortability...

In this BFR episode LaKia sits down with recent college grad and Reproductive Justice Organizer, Tia Coleman. LaKia and Tia discuss Louisiana's upcoming anti-abortion constitutional amendment aimed at denying Louisiana residents the right to abortion. Tia has been mobilizing and educating young people across Louisiana on the importance on voting No on this amendment to safeguard our reproductive f...

Join BFR for a discussion with Doula and Reproductive Justice Organizer, Aura Nicole. In this episode we discuss birth justice, doula work, and what it means to be a young Black person organizing for social and reproductive justice today. This episode is full of laughs and realness, where we talk about imposter syndrome, burnout, and working towards liberation while also being forced to work withi...

BFR is back for Season 2! Join Host LaKia for the season 2 premier brought to you by URGE! In this episode LaKia discusses the #FreeThePill movement, the importance of contraception equity and what young people have been doing on the ground to increase reproductive healthcare access to all! LaKia gets into the details of how a program she started called Big Easy EC came to fruition. Big Easy EC pr...

The season finale of BFR includes guest speaker Irma Garcia who is a sex educator based in Texas.  Irma is a certified sex educator in Texas and client services manager at Jane’s Due Process, where she helps Texas minors exercise their reproductive rights to an abortion. Prior to joining the JDP team, she was a sexual health and abortion counselor at a local Austin clinic, as well as a birth...

BFR sits down with content creator, illustrator, artist, and activist Caitlin Blunnie to talk about combining art with Reproductive Justice! Caitlin also talks about how white people can take up RJ work without taking over the movement or misusing terms as well as how to deal with burnout and feelings of inadequacy as a creator.  Be sure to follow her on Instagram @Liberaljane and Twitter @li...

Join BFR for a Black feminist rant on the politics of a post racial society, the concept of color blindness and the controversy surrounding affirmative action.  Check out BFR's website blackfeministrants.com  and follow BFR on Instagram @Blackfeministrants and Twitter @Blackfemrants Works Mentioned:  Racial Colorblindness: Emergence, Practice, and Implications The Structure of Racis...

BFR had the pleasure of speaking with Feminist Women's Health Center's Executive Director Kwajelyn Jackson. Kwajelyn shared her unique experience of changing career fields from finance to social justice as well as her RJ story and why it is important to embody different forms of leadership than what we have historically seen.  Follow BFR on Instagram @Blackfeministrants and Twitter @Blackfemr...

In this episode BFR discusses social justice activism in the age of social media and how the recent radicalization of some people and the   increase in social justice instagram pages has changed what successful social justice organizing looks like. LaKia also speaks about her own issues with comparisons and hyper-productivity especially in the new social media/social justice landscape.&n...

Join BFR in a discussion with SisterSong's Lead Trainer Christian Adams who is co-planning the Reproductive Justice Summer Institute with BFR Host, LaKia Williams. In this episode Adams talks about her RJ story which includes, teenage pregnancy, abortion, and medical neglect. We also talk about organizing for Reproductive Justice virtually in the COVID-19 era and the importance of including young...

In this episode of BFR, host LaKia discusses imposter syndrome and her experiences with it as a young Black woman attending a Predominantly White Institution. The conversation evolves into one about respectability politics and so much more! Be sure to follow BFR on Instagram @blackfeministrants and Twitter @blackfemrants Article Mentioned: Why Imposter Syndrome Is Worse for Women of Color https://...

BFR interviews SisterSong's Executive Director Monica Raye Simpson. SisterSong: The National Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective was formed in 1997 by 16 women of color organizations. Monica Raye Simpson tells listeners about her trajectory into the reproductive justice framework, her personal RJ story, her experiences of imposter syndrome, and how she and SisterSong navigate the perfor...

In this episode of BFR Host LaKia discusses the differences between the Reproductive Justice and Pro-Choice movements and why it is important to be intentional with the words we use. LaKia also discusses not only learning to be anti-racist but actively being anti-racist in our relationships and work settings. This episode references Dorothy Roberts’ article Reproductive Justice, Not Just Rights fr...

In this episode BFR has a conversation with Loretta Ross, one of the founding mothers of Reproductive Justice. Ross discusses her RJ story, Black Feminist Theory, her path to activism, transformative justice, abolition, and so much more. We also discuss how the Reproductive Justice framework was birthed. You can visit her website to learn more about her activism and scholarship.  Loretta Ross...

Meet the host of the podcast LaKia Williams, a rising college senior and current SisterSong Intern. This episode will lay the foundation and expectations for what is to come in future episodes. Black Feminist Rants (BFR) seeks to engage young Black feminist and accomplices in conversations surrounding Reproductive Justice and activism and how our multiple identities and positions effect our work a...

Black Feminist Rants is a podcast centered on conversations surrounding Reproductive Justice and Activism