2 Akbal
Blue Lunar Night
Blue night falls
In sacred Silence
Trading Sunlight
For lunar Mystery
The blue Night
calls
Us all to ponder
Life’s Meaning
and Message –
The Soul’s Journey
The World Soul
now achieves
Ultimate Materialization
Transforming Involution
Into Evolution
The human Heart
expands
So turns the Worm
Opening in Compassion
For every
sentient Form.
©Kleomichele Leeds
Loretta J. Ross
Loretta J. Ross is an African American academician, feminist, and activist who advocates for reproductive justice, especially among women of color. As an activist, Ross has written on reproductive justice activism and the history of African American women.
Ross was one of the first women of color who won the lawsuit against A.H. Robbins Company for their defective intrauterine product, Dalkon Shield.
Early life and education
Ross was born in Temple, Texas on August 16, 1953. In . Being the sixth daughter out of her eight siblings, Ross was raised within a large and conventional blended family. Her father, who immigrated from Jamaica, was an Army weapons specialist and drill sergeant. He retired from the military in 1963, worked for the Post Office, and held odd jobs to support his family. Her mother was a housewife and owned a music store.
Ross is currently a visiting Associate Professor in the Women’s Studies department at Hampshire College, teaching the course “White Supremacy in the Age of Trump” for the current academic year.
For her primary education, Ross attended integrated schools. She went to Army school through second grade and transferred to public schools afterwards. Ross' grades were high and she received honors during her school years. In 1964, at age 11, Ross became a survivor of sexual assault, when she was beaten and raped by a stranger. In 1968, at the age of 15, Ross was raped by her distant cousin, became pregnant, and gave birth to a son. Ross lost her scholarship from Radcliffe College when she decided to keep her son instead of putting him up for adoption.
In 1970, Ross attended Howard University for her tertiary education. During her undergraduate career there, she became actively involved in black nationalist politics and civil rights movements, such as black women feminism ideologies and racial issues. In 1976, at age 23, Ross experienced sterilization abuse when she was sterilized with the Dalkon Shield, a type of intrauterine device that was marketed despite being found to be defective, potentially causing major negative health threats to its users, especially inflicting harm on African American and poor community. Ross was among the first women of color to win the suit case against the manufacturer of Dalkon Shield, A.H. Robbins. This incident has influenced Ross tremendously. Because of this experience, she found her passion advocating for reproductive justice and racial politics. She engaged in black nationalist politics, tenant organizing, a Marxist-Leninist discussion group called the D.C. Study Group, and the South Africa Support Project. In November 1980, the murder of her close friend and political ally, Yulanda Ward, became the turning point in Ross' life as an activist. Ross has referred to this murder as a political assassination.
In 2006, Ross completed her bachelor's degree at Agnes Scott College. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Women's Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Feminism and activism
Driven by her personal experience as a survivor of sexual assault, in 1972, Ross founded D.C. Rape Crisis Center, the first rape crisis center that was primarily run by and geared toward providing resources for women of color. Ross was later elected as its third executive director in 1979.
In August 1980, Ross, accompanied by others from the DC Rape Crisis Center, organized the First National Conference on Third World Women and Violence in Washington, DC. This was the first conference that brought together women from different racial backgrounds, unifying the participants towards achieving the goal of cultivating a new, holistic network for people of color, both women and men, to advocate for anti-violence activism.
In 1997, with Barbara Neely and others, Ross co-founded SisterSong, which builds an effective network between individuals in advocating improvements within institutional policies that impact the reproductive lives of marginalized communities. Ross served as the National Coordinator for the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective from 2005 until 2012.
Ross was one of the African American women who first coined the term "reproductive justice", with the aim to frame the pursuit of reproductive justice using the social justice framework. In 2002, Ross was one of the interviewees featured in the Global Feminism Project archive, which is a project organized under the University of Michigan, compiling interviews of feminist icons from many different countries.
Ross acted as National Co-Director for women of color for Washington, D.C.'s March for Women's Lives on April 25, 2004. She was the Founder and Executive Director of Atlanta, Georgia's National Center for Human Rights Education (NCHRE) from 1996–2004.
Professional work
Ross has published several books on reproductive rights. In 2004, Ross co-authored Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice, a book that uncovers the unrevealed history of the activism of women of color in organizing for reproductive justice. Ross contributed her insights in a chapter entitled "The Color of Choice" in Color of Violence: The INCITE! Anthology, which was published in 2016. Currently, Ross is working on her soon-to-be published book entitled Black Abortion that will focus on reproductive rights issues.
Ross presently serves as a visiting Associate Professor in the Women’s Studies department at Hampshire College. She teaches the course “White Supremacy in the age of Trump” for the current academic year. Ross is a consultant for Smith College, where she is expanding the Sophia Smith Collection, which includes her personal archives.
Along with Rickie Solinger, Ross co-authored Reproductive Justice: An Introduction, which details the field of reproductive justice, particularly in regards to experiences involving women of color and through a human rights analytical lens.
Media appearances
Ross has appeared on the following North American television series and networks: CNN, BET, "Lead Story," "Good Morning America," "The Donahue Show," "Democracy Now," and "The Charlie Rose Show."
Awards and honours
In 2003, Ross was awarded with an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law degree from Arcadia University. She received a second honorary doctorate degree from Smith College in 2013. Loretta Ross also won the following awards: Black Women’s Health Imperative, Community Health Activist Award (2008), Delta Sigma Theta, Pinnacle Leadership Award (2008), International Black Women’s Congress, Oni Award (2010) Women Helping Women, Revolutionary Award (2011) Foundation for Black Women's Wellness Legacy Award (2015), National Women's Health Network Barbara Seaman Award for Activism in Women's Health (2015) and the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Network, Vicky Award (2017).*
AKBAL
Kin 223: Blue Lunar Night
I polarize in order to dream
Stabilizing intuition
I seal the input of abundance
With the lunar tone of challenge
I am guided by the power of vision.
When one can no longer recognize oneself, then one has fulfilled the divine command of transcendence and ascension.*
*Star Traveler's 13 Moon Almanac of Synchronicity, Galactic Research Institute, Law of Time Press, Ashland, Oregon, 2018-2019.
The Sacred Tzolk'in
Manipura Chakra (Limi Plasma)
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