Minority Voters Helped Defeat Parental Notification Law

Posted by Tana Ganeva, AlterNet at 2:21 PM on December 19, 2008.

On November 4th, Californians rejected Prop 4, a parental notification initiative that would have threatened the health and safety of pregnant teens and further eroded women's reproductive rights.

A coalition of groups achieved this victory for women's rights by mobilizing communities of color to oppose the measure. A report issued by the Reproductive Justice Alliance highlights the tactics employed by different groups within the alliance to educate minority voters about Prop. 4.

"With limited resources," states the report, "We reached out to tens of thousands of people in our communities through speaking to community and professional groups; mobilizing at community events; organizing on campuses; and broadcasting our message through local, ethnic, alternative, and new media."

By developing a grass-roots, bottom-up strategy grounded within communities of color, the Reproductive Justice Alliance successfully countered attempts by right-wing groups to drive a wedge between minority groups and white voters.

The partner organizations developed messages designed to resonate with the values and concerns of each community.  For example:

Through their focus groups, Black Women for Wellness learned that African American women were especially concerned about their voting rights and whether they would be disenfranchised at the polls. With high expectations of voter turnout and high anxiety surrounding voting, BWW integrated these concerns into a "VoteHER Guide" highlighting information on the Proposition" and addressing rumors circulating in the African-American community "with solutions and resources to address problems or challenges experienced by community members.

To reach out to young Latinas, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice and Access produced: 

A bilingual, bicultural No on Prop 4 voter education piece for adult Latinas. The piece was disseminated extensively in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and was made available statewide through broad electronic dissemination. Positive images of Latina/o families and young women, combined with the most resonant messages that both organizations know work with the Latina/o community, enabled CLRJ and ACCESS to spark new conversations and thoughtful reflections for voters.

The groups also made use of various ethnic media to spread their message. According to the report, "We earned significant media attention through coordinated press conferences, radio and print interviews, and organizing press to attend our events and activities. Together we garnered over 30 media stories in local, ethnic, and mainstream media.

Here is a list of the groups that fought to secure reproductive rights for all women:

 ACCESS/Women's Health Rights Initiative (Oakland, CA)

 ACT for Women and Girls (Tulare County, CA)

 Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (Oakland, CA)

 Black Women for Wellness (Los Angeles, CA)

 California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (Los Angeles, CA)

 Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Los Angeles, CA)

 Dolores Huerta Foundation (Bakersfield, CA)

 Khmer Girls in Action (Long Beach, CA)

 National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (Tacoma Park, MD)

Tagged as: reproductive rights, california, grassroots, parental notofication, reproductive justice alli, proposition 4