women’s health

Activists takes off on ride to promote women’s right to choose

Activist and author Sunsara Taylor is embarking on a Freedom Ride from North Dakota, through Kansas and down to Mississippi to call attention to the need for the protection abortion rights in the U.S.

She’s running an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for the project run in conjunction with StopPatriarchy.org.

Host Jamila Bey spoke with Taylor to discuss her efforts.

 

Download audio file

Texas to have special session after successful filibuster of abortion bill

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is calling for a second special session of the legislature to try to pass restrictive abortion regulations after the successful filibuster of Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis.

Davis filibustered for more than 10 hours on Tuesday night to delay the senate vote on the SB 5 Pro-Life Omnibus Bill, which would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and shuttered most of the state’s abortion clinics due to more stringent requirements.

While the events in Texas were watched around the world, other states watched in hopes of learning how to successfully pass similar laws.

Host Jamila Bey spoke with Jodi Jacobson, editor-in-chief of RH Reality Check, and Austin-based journalist Jessica Luther to talk about Texas and the potential encroachments that would restrict care to all American women.

Part 1 :

Download audio file

Part 2 :

Download audio file

Stories from the press focused on many aspects of her filibuster, including what was to some a distressing focus on her “pink tennis shoes.”

Bey also spoke with freelance journalist Tracie Powell and Rachel Larris of the Women’s Media Center to talk about the coverage of the story and how mainstream media was flat-footed in running down the details of the evening.

Download audio file

How African American Women Can Fight Obesity

WASHINGTON – The scourge of overweight and obesity plagues 80 percent of African American women, but few know why.

Host Jamila Bey spoke with “The Compassionate Trainer,” Terri West, proprietor of Terri West Fitness in Los Angeles, to discuss this phenomenon and how to address the issue.