Can You Imagine a Day Without the Work of Black Women? The “Day Without Us” Campaign Wants Us to Try

It’s been nearly 100 days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, but some Black women aren’t letting decades of reproductive rights slip away quietly.

On Friday, Black women from several reproductive and racial justice organizations are challenging Americans to put down their work and come together for a collective day of action they’re calling a #DayWithoutUs.

The event, which is being organized by advocates at The FrontLine, Netroots Nation, and several other national advocacy partners, also marks the 46th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment.

For those who don’t know, the Hyde Amendment blocks federal Medicaid dollars (along with all other federal funds) from going towards abortion care, meaning Medicaid recipients have to pay out-of-pocket for care.

Many Black reproductive advocates argue that keeping Hyde in place makes abortion care cost prohibitive for lower-income folks, who simply can’t afford the hundreds or even thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs for abortion care.

But although Roe and the Hyde Amendment will be hot topics of discussion, Leslie Mac, one of the event organizers, says the day won’t just be about abortion care. Mac says they’ll discuss other issues as well, including climate change and gun control.

“Our opposition is united, and we need to be just as united,” says Mac. “[We can’t] just talk about abortion here or just talk about the climate there.”

As for how the day is actually going to work, the general idea is that folks would skip work and their “routines” to attend an all-day digital teach-in session starting at 11:30 am ET. There will also be in-person pop-up sessions throughout the day in Washington, DC, New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, and other cities throughout the country.

Tiffany Flowers, another event organizer and Campaign Director for The Frontline, says she’s well aware of the fact that many marginalized folks won’t be able to afford to take off an entire day of work. But, she hopes that folks will be able to tune in when they can throughout the day.

“There will [also] be a repository of information on our website,” said Flowers. “This is not one and done.”

To help more people attend, the organizers have also teamed up with corporate partners, including progressive ice-cream darling Ben and Jerry’s. On Friday the 30th, Ben and Jerry’s will be closing its public offices to allow employees to attend the #DayWithoutUS, says Mac.

Mac say they’ve also challenged more companies to give their employees the day off to participate in the teaching sessions.

Mac and Flowers hope that as many people as possible will be able to attend throughout the day in cities throughout the country.