As Far-Right Attempts Coup, Young Black Voters in Georgia Make History
(Washington, DC) — Statement from Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity and M.K. Richards, URGE Georgia State Organizer, in response to historic Senate runoff elections in Georgia as American democracy faces an unprecedented test. “Yesterday, just hours before a white supremacist far-Right mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in a violent attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election, we learned that young Black people in Georgia made history by electing Raphael Warnock to be the first Black Democrat from the South to ascend to the U.S. Senate,” said Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity. “At the same time, they also delivered a victory to Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old son of an immigrant who will become… Read more »
URGE Employees’ Staff Union Receives Voluntary Recognition
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the staff union at URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, WURGE: Workers United for Reproductive & Gender Equity, announced they received voluntary recognition from URGE management. “We are proud to have reached voluntary recognition of an inclusive staff union. URGE staff work every day toward achieving our vision of reproductive justice,” said representatives of WURGE. “We look forward to working together with URGE management to create a work environment that embodies our values as a reproductive justice organization.” “URGE builds young people power for reproductive justice. That vision necessarily includes the interwoven struggles for economic justice and labor organizing, gender justice, and dismantling white supremacy. Every time young people, BIPOC communities, women and queer and trans folks self-advocate, the bricks in the wall of systemic… Read more »
Young People Play Decisive Role in 2020 Election
(Washington, DC) — Statement from Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, in response to President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory in the U.S. Presidential election: “We voted, we waited, and now we have the outcome: thanks to historic voter turnout and the tireless organizing of Black women and young people of color, Kamala Harris will become the first Black woman to take office as Vice President alongside Joe Biden, who will become the 46th President of the United States. According to data from CIRCLE, young Black, AAPI and Latinx voters, respectively, voted for Biden by overwhelming margins of 77, 72, and 49 points. “No more can young people be shamed or blamed for their civic participation. This year, amid a global pandemic and despicable voter… Read more »
Young People Undaunted by SCOTUS Confirmation
(Washington, DC) — Statement by Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity in response to Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court of the U.S. “Today, after ignoring the will of the American people and dismissing our determined pleas for COVID relief, the Senate succeeded in strongarming the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the U.S. “But even as anti-abortion activists and extremist politicians celebrate their ill-gotten gain, they should know that their victory will be short-lived. Because judicial power, like every branch of government, needs checks and balances. We, the people, are that check and balance. “They should know that, even as we condemn the confirmation of a Supreme Court justice who will serve their insidious ends, we are comforted by the knowledge that the tides of power are turning. “Young people are a rising wave. In this country, there are more… Read more »
SCOTUS Pick Exposes Need to Recenter Power
Washington, DC) — Statement by Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity in response to the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the U.S. “Today, President Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the U.S. By selecting a woman to uphold his regime and to shame and punish women and people of color is particularly repulsive. We’re not fooled.” “Barrett’s nomination signals a new era of judicial hostility toward women, trans, nonbinary people, and people of color. Not only has she tried to prevent immigrants from accessing public supports, but she also ruled that young and older job applicants did not have the right to sue employers for age discrimination. Her record on abortion has exposed her… Read more »
Supreme Court Upholds Religious Exemptions for Birth Control Coverage
(Washington, DC) — Statement by Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity in response to the Supreme Court of the U.S. ruling in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania. “We are deeply disappointed by today’s Supreme Court ruling that employers with religious objections to birth control can legally deny birth control coverage for their employees. This decision represents yet another blow to low-income young people, people of color, undocumented people, people with disabilities, as well as trans and nonbinary people at a time when access to reproductive services, including abortion care, are under attack by anti-choice zealots.” “As COVID-19 strains health care systems in states that offered limited reproductive care before the pandemic and as the Hyde Amendment that cuts off abortion access… Read more »
“Pro-Choice” House Lawmakers Advance Racist Hyde Amendment in Spending Bill
(Washington, DC) — Statement by Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity in response to the House inserting Hyde Amendment language into the labor HHS spending bill. “We are in the midst of a public health crisis, record numbers of people are out of work, women and families are struggling to make ends meet, and no one has suffered these impacts more than people in Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities. Under these circumstances, it is frankly shocking that any member of Congress who thinks of themselves as ‘pro-choice’ or a supporter of the movement for Black lives can back a bill that includes the racist Hyde Amendment.” “The Hyde Amendment was always unjust. At this moment in our nation’s history, this racist abortion coverage… Read more »
Supreme Court Upholds Abortion Access, But The Fight for Reproductive Justice Isn’t Over
(Washington, DC) — Statement by Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity in response to the Supreme Court of the United States’ ruling in the case of June Medical Services v. Russo. “Today the Supreme Court fulfilled its obligation and struck down Louisiana’s discriminatory clinic shutdown law. While this is a win for abortion access, our work is far from over. In the midst of a global uprising for Black lives, we cannot ignore the ways that Black young people, women, trans and nonbinary people continue to be harmed by the hundreds of abortion restrictions left in place, policymakers’ failure to address Black maternal death, and the ongoing legacy of white supremacy. “The hundreds of abortion restrictions across the country are part of a… Read more »
Celebrate Juneteenth by Dismantling White Supremacy
(Washington, DC) — Statement by Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity on recognizing Juneteenth and the ongoing global uprising for Black lives.
Supreme Court Rules Employers Cannot Fire Someone for Being Queer or Trans
(Washington, DC) — Statement by Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity in response to the Supreme Court of the United States’ ruling that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, applies to all LGBTQIA+ people. “By ruling that employers cannot discriminate against an employee simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, or transgender, today’s Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County is a major victory in the ongoing fight for LGBTQIA+ liberation and gender equity. Even so, we cannot let our joy overshadow the new and ongoing threats to the lives and wellbeing of queer and trans people. “When it was passed in 1964, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act… Read more »
