Another Day, Another Race-Baiting Abortion Billboard

Life Always, the anti-abortion group that set off a firestorm in New York City with their black danger-womb billboard, are putting up a new one Chicago's South Side--featuring President Obama.

By Akiba Solomon Mar 29, 2011

Life Always, the anti-abortion group responsible for the black danger-womb billboard in New York City, is at it again. Today, if all goes as planned, four men–Pastor Stephen Broden, Rev. Derek A. McCoy, Rev. Caesar LeFlore and the hilariously named Rev. Isaac Hayesu001f–will unveil the first of 30 new billboards on the South Side of Chicago. 

This one features an image of Chi-Town’s own President Obama along with the words, "Every 21 minutes, our next possible LEADER is aborted." It incorporates red, black and green, the colors of the Black Nationalist flag. 

Pimping out Co-opting Obama’s image is ironic, of course. Although he’s been criticized for compromising on the Hyde Amendment, he’s said he’s pro-choice. And as Miriam Zolia Pérez recently wrote, the black flank of the anti-abortion movement spreading the genocide meme "doesn’t look all that different from the mainstream, and mostly white, version–similar language about abortion, morality and reproduction; similar strong Christian influence."

The first billboard, which declared, "The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb," ran on Welfare Queen fumes. The latest capitalizes on the African American community’s legitimate fears about how white supremacy, gun violence, police brutality and mass incarceration endanger the lives of black men.

Independent filmmaker and photographer Stacey Muhammad ("I Am Sean Bell") remixed the latest billboard to convey that reality.

For good measure, she also riffed on the first one.

Maybe Muhammad’s versions will catch on with the Life Always crew and their counterparts on the white, Christian right since they’re so passionate about the quality of black life. 

And then pigs will fly.

Read all of Akiba Solomon’s columns at Gender Matters.