Dear Mama & Magic Makers, What if we told you there is an elder alive today who has the blueprint for this moment? Mamas & Magic Makers, if you don't do nothing else before the end of the year, sit at the feet of an elder and LISTEN. Keyword LISTEN. Find an elder or make yourself available to one who is willing not only to share their wisdom but also to be vulnerable, sharing their mistakes, regrets, and healing journey. And this is why we're grateful for our conversation with the brilliant, brave, and vulnerable Loretta Ross, one of the architects of the reproductive justice framework and one of the founders of the reproductive justice movement, about her new book, Abortion & Reproductive Justice: An Essential Guide for Resistance. With sobering honesty, she shares how her personal journey mirrored the evolution of her role in the feminist movement and why, after retiring from the frontline, she's chosen to focus on HOW we do the work. This is the quietest we have ever been in an episode as Ms. Ross shares: Motherhood, aging out of the front lines, and the necessity of matching radical analysis with radical love How Black women's care and solidarity have literally kept her alive Fear of a Black Planet & how American feminism began with enslaved Black women Why we can't afford for fights within movements to be fatal PLUS, we give a praise report to Vanessa Baden Kelly, who wrote a Black ass episode of The Morning Show that touches on Black Maternal Health and Black women's relationships in the workplace. In our Black Mama Say segment for this episode, where we put our twist on sayings from Black mamas, and the saying we're twisting this episode is "Keep Livin." ABOUT LORETTA ROSS Loretta J. Ross is an activist, professor, and public intellectual. In her five decades in the human rights movement, she's deprogrammed white supremacists, taught convicted rapists the principles of feminism, and, as National Co-Director, organized the second-largest march on Washington (in April 25, 2004, March for Women's Lives in Washington D.C., surpassed in size only by the 2017 Women's March). Loretta was one of the first African American women to direct a rape crisis center in the 1970s, launching her career by pioneering work on violence against women, as the third Executive Director of the D.C. Rape Crisis Center. As part of a 50-year history of social justice activism, she retired from community organizing in 2012. She was the National Coordinator of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective from 2005-2012 and co-created the theory of Reproductive Justice in 1994. Her many accolades and honors include a 2022 MacArthur Fellowship and a 2024 induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Today, Ross is an associate professor at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and is the founder of LoRossta Consulting, with which she runs "Calling In" training sessions online and for organizations around the country. Loretta is a rape survivor, raised her child born of incest, and is also a survivor of sterilization abuse at age 23. She is a model of how to survive and thrive despite the traumas that disproportionately affect low-income women of color. Loretta is a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Connect with Loretta Ross: Read Loretta Ross's Latest Book: Abortion & Reproductive Justice: An Essential Guide for Resistance Upcoming Events w/ Loretta Ross: Calling In Conversations: Action for Human Rights, Tuesday, December 9, 2025, 7:00 PM 9:00 PM Loretta Ross Other Books Website | Instagram 💗Black Mama Magic Card Deck: Card #32 "Bliss Awaits" 💗 Episode Playlist: Ep 74 Companion Playlist EPISODES MENTIONS/RELEVANT TO THIS EPISODE: 🎙️DBM Episode 24 Birthing Freedom w/ Chauntel Norris co-founder & Director of Alabama Prison Project 🔗 Connect with Dem Black Mamas: Instagram | YouTube | Website 🗣️Engage: This is a conversation. Speak back to us! Please share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #DemBlackMamas, DM us, or email us at magic@demblackmamas.com. To expand knowledge and combat misinformation and disinformation, we create a syllabus (s/o to Melissa Harris-Perry), a list of references/sources for our listeners to dive into. This list includes any books, videos, podcasts, etc. that we've mentioned in the episode or that will help you gain a well-informed perspective. For our complete syllabus, check out our website: demblackmamas.com
