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Parker Whaley, URGE secretary, talks about Advocacy Day which was Feb. 26. They talked about the bill they proposed to eliminate the sales tax on menstrual and incontinence products.
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Taylor Redington, an URGE member, says “URGE spreads awareness on campus.” They are the ones behind free period products in bathrooms and their main motto is to support gender equality.
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Members of URGE engage in a creative coloring activity while attending a discussion about the role of black women in society. The coloring sheets were provided by URGE.
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The URGE meeting focuses on the black leaders in reproductive justice. Their main motto is to advocate for reproductive and gender equity also focusing on issues such as destigmatizing menstruation, supporting reproductive justice and creating a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community.
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Kate Coulter, marketing director, and Ryan Durst, parliamentarian, promote their campaign. Coulter has been running as the president and Durst as the vice president for the Washburn Student Government Association.
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Shirley Chisholm is the first black woman elected to Congress in 1968 representing New York’s 12th congressional district for seven terms. She became the first Black woman to campaign for the Democratic Party nomination.
Washburn University’s Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity organization recently held a meeting to talk about Black leaders and reproductive justice. The discussion also covered topics like racism, anti-racism, and unfair treatment in society.
Maggie Bourell, vice president of URGE, shared the group’s mission.
“URGE is a national nonprofit and our chapter at Washburn focuses on advocacy. We work to break the stigma around periods and sex while making a safe space for LGBTQ+ and genderqueer students,” Bourell said.
Black women have been leaders and worked behind the scenes to secure many of the freedoms Americans have today. To highlight these contributions, the meeting talked about Byllye Avery, a major leader in Black women’s health activism.
“She’s the founder of the Black Women’s Health Imperative,” Parker Whaley, junior Social work major, said. “It was originally known as the National Black Women’s Health Project, and she also started the Gabriel Institute for Social Change. She’s been fighting for better healthcare for women for over 30 years, focusing on their specific needs.”
At the meeting, members talked about how Black women created the idea of reproductive justice. This idea came from their fight against unfair healthcare policies in the 1990s. In 1997, 16 groups joined together to form SisterSong, a group that still works for reproductive justice today.
Jaiden Roff, president of URGE, spoke about microaggressions.
“Touching a Black person’s hair without asking is a microaggression,” Roff said. “Many people don’t realize it, but it’s crossing a boundary. We need to be aware of how our actions affect others.”
The group also discussed the importance of fighting racism. They explained that racism is deeply built into laws and policies, making it hard to see and fix. They encouraged people to take action and support fairness for everyone.
Washburn’s URGE chapter continues to educate students and fight for reproductive justice and gender equality, making a difference on campus and beyond.
Edited by Jeremy Ford and Morgan Albrecht
