Mother Jones & WFC: California’s Innovative Blueprint for Racial, Reproductive, & Gender Justice

by Nicola Schulze | October 8, 2024November 6, 2024

Thank you so much for joining us at last week’s virtual briefing, co-hosted with Mother Jones. We hope you found the conversation as insightful, inspiring, and impactful as we did.

“We are living in the reality that someone imagined 50 years ago… So, what can happen if we imagine a different world?”

This powerful question framed our discussion on California’s unique role as both a beacon of progress and a battleground for conservative strategies reshaping the national discourse on reproductive justice and democracy.

Together, we explored how grassroots organizing, narrative shifts, and advocacy are critical tools in this fight for a more just and equitable society. We heard compelling insights from our speakers on California’s evolving democracy and its influence on national movements for reproductive justice and bodily autonomy.

Highlights from the Event:

• The need to invest in and fund efforts to make reproductive justice and bodily autonomy a reality.
• California’s potential as both a leader and a testing ground for broader national strategies.
• How multiracial democracy and narrative change are essential to building a feminist future.
• If you missed the event or would like to revisit any part of the discussion, click here to watch the full recording.

Please explore our event resources below:

RESOURCES

• Reveal Podcast
  • Blue State Barriers and the Messy Map of Abortion Access 03/09/24
  • They Followed Doctors’ Orders. The State Took Their Babies. 07/01/23
•  Videos
  • Dems to Trump: You can run from Project 2025, but you can’t hide. Garrison Hayes, 08/22/24
  • How #TamponTim Became MAGA’s New Culture War Kat Abughazaleh, 08/18/24
  • Fox’s Racist, Sexist Attacks on Kamala Aren’t Landing. Yet. Kat Abughazaleh, 07/12/24
  • First They Tried to “Cure” Gayness. Now They’re Fixated on “Healing” Trans People. Madison Pauly with Henry Carnell, July + August 2024 Issue
  • The Mother Trap Story by Samantha Michaels, Video by Mark Helenowski, 08/09/22
•  Articles:
  • Dems to Trump: You can run from Project 2025, but you can’t hide. 
  • Democrats Used Project 2025 to Rebrand Freedom. It’s Working. 
  • She Was Denied Care for a Miscarriage. Now She’s Campaigning With Kamala Harris. 
  • GOP Attorneys General Have Launched a New Attack on Gender Care for Kids
  • The Anti-Abortion Movement is Relentless. But so Is Jessica Valenti.
  • California Sues Catholic Hospital for Denying Emergency Abortion Care.
  • How abortion foes are using transphobia to derail NY’s Equal Rights Amendment;

SUPPORT THE CAUSE:
This event is made possible by the tireless efforts of organizations like Women’s Foundation California and Mother Jones. If you’re inspired by our mission and work, we invite you to consider making a donation. Your contribution will help us continue amplifying grassroots movements and investigative journalism that drive racial, reproductive, and gender justice forward.

• Donate to Mother Jones
• Donate to Women’s Foundation California

LEARN ABOUT THE SPEAKERS & PANELISTS

Monika Bauerlein is the Center for Investigative Reporting’s CEO, and prior to that role she served as Mother Jones’ chief executive officer, and co-editor (with Clara Jeffery). Under her tenure, Mother Jones has grown its audience twentyfold, doubled the size of its staff, established bureaus in Washington and New York, won multiple awards, and launched a campaign to establish a new media business model centered on reader support for investigative and in-depth reporting.

Bia Vieira is CEO of Women’s Foundation California, where she leads the Foundation’s work to advance gender, racial, and economic justice. The Foundation’s program strategy is focused on building community-based power through investing in nonprofit organizations, training community leaders in policy advocacy, connecting key partners, and mobilizing significant financial resources.

PANELISTS

Nina Martin Nina Martin (she/her) is a reporter and editor for Mother Jones/Reveal, focusing on reproductive and gender issues. She has worked as an editor and reporter at numerous media outlets, including ProPublica, San Francisco and Health magazines, the Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, and BabyCenter. She is based in Berkeley.

Madison Pauly Madison Pauly (she/her) is a reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area and has written for Mother Jones for nine years. She covers gender, reproductive justice, and anti-LGBTQ extremism.

Onyemma Obiekea (she/her) Onyemma Obiekea is the Policy Director for Black Women for Wellness (BWW) and its sister organization, Black Women for Wellness Action Project (BWWAP). She began her work in Reproductive Justice (RJ) as Program Coordinator for BWW’s Get Smart B4U Get Sexy Program – the comprehensive sex and sexuality education program of the Organization’s RJ-focused Project, Sisters in Control.

Marisol Franco (she/her/ella) Marisol Franco is responsible for leading program development and curriculum for the Solís Policy Institute (SPI)-State, SPI-Local, and Funders Policy Institute as well as Women Foundation California’s overall policy advocacy strategy. She is a Solís Policy Insitute alum and believes all people have the right to thrive, including a living wage, health care, education, and affordable housing.