Episode 3.2: Faith Leaders Speak Up For Choice with Rev. Latishia James

In this second segment we talk with Rev. Latishia James, an ordained minister in The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, and the Co-Director of Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity (also known as SACReD) where they advance reproductive justice for marginalized communities through congregations and spiritual communities grounded in a progressive moral framework. Latishia is a Black queer femme, womanist, writer, and facilitator of healing spaces for BIPOC women, femmes, and LGBTQIA folks. Latishia opens this episode by sharing her calling to reproductive justice through several pivotal experiences—her mother’s battle with AIDS, her queer identity in a Pentecostal upbringing, and her time working in an HIV/AIDS organization that supports women and girls of color. Latishia walks us through the history of the religious right’s anti-abortion movement as well as the inseparable link between reproductive justice and racial reconciliation. We dive deep into questions about what it means to approach reproductive justice from a decolonized, anti-patriarchal lens. Also the founder of Pleasure Principles Consulting, a healing-centered, coaching practice for people harmed by religious rhetoric and patriarchal violence, Latishia talks about her healing work with women and gender expansive people who have experienced trauma and internalized shame because of the false schism between sexuality and spirituality— “Separation is mental. The separation comes from these systems of oppression that have convinced us that there is a separation, but the separation actually never existed. So, it is a remembering of our wholeness and that we have the authority to live into our divine beings” (Rev James). We hope you will be inspired to check out SACReD’s website. You can sign up to learn about SACReD’s curriculum for congregations and spiritual communities to begin the work of justice-oriented, spiritually-based work around reproductive issues. You can also sign up for any one of their upcoming facilitator training sessions in Nov & Dec to learn how to lead a congregation, education class, small group, or other community through their intentional curriculum. And here is a link to our show notes—https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hWiVCJ9kIZvDBAdS8X9G-NZQ84VaUSThybpyLRiR3HM/edit#heading=h.fx116pkqr7g