On Racist Imagery

A while back, there was a brouhaha over billboards that were cropping up in Oakland. Found in black neighborhoods, they featured the image of a baby. At the top, the words, BLACK & BEAUTIFUL. At the bottom a web address for an anti-abortion group.

The complaint? The ads were racist.

Wait, what?

How is calling a black child beautiful (on billboards in black neighborhoods, no less) racist? How is affirming what continues to be denied in "mainstream" culture, demeaning?

It's not. There is nothing racist or demeaning about declaring a black child to be beautiful. There is nothing racist about affirming a black child's value and preciousness. And there is nothing racist about declaring there are too many black children aborted.

According to this article article, the abortion rate for African-Americans is significantly higher than any other US ethnic or racial group. Naturally, the anti-abortion group who sponsored the billboards is appalled.

The detractors seem to be less so. Perhaps I missed it, but none of those who speak against the billboards seem to affirm the value of a black child. They speak of poverty and instability and inadequate contraceptive access and inconsistent contraceptive use and how abortion is one piece of the larger health care puzzle.

That's all well and good. But can we agree that there are too many black babies being aborted?

I have no idea what methods the group advocates for reducing the number of abortions in African American communities. And I don't know how abortion fits into improving access to quality health care in impoverished neighborhoods.

What I see are people getting up in arms about someone calling a spade a spade.