Institutionalized racism must be wiped out; that’s not an option. America must do this because that’s what our ideals tell us to do. Unfortunately, the zeal and heightened emotions that accompany this effort can have negative, unintended consequences. “Polarizing” of people within a community is one we are familiar with: whites set against blacks against Asians against…. Young against old; middle class against working class and poor; the haves versus the have-nots. It’s frustrating to those of us seeking a progressive way forward that unites all parties as much as possible.

Now we can add to this a completely unintended consequence: an assault on a woman’s right to choose:

Across the country, the anti-abortion movement, long viewed as almost exclusively white and Republican, is turning its attention to African-Americans and encouraging black abortion opponents across the country to become more active.

Abortion opponents say the number is so high because abortion clinics are deliberately located in black neighborhoods and prey upon black women. The evidence, they say, is everywhere: Planned Parenthood’s response to the anti-abortion ad that aired during the Super Bowl featured two black athletes, they note, and several women’s clinics offered free services — including abortions — to evacuees after Hurricane Katrina.

Ands:

Black abortion opponents … refer to abortions as “womb lynchings” ….

The article details the issues surrounding the African-American community and the right to choose, but the opening to attack a woman’s right to choose comes in part because of the rhetoric and politics used to attack institutionalized racism. Black leaders, as the article says, have long opposed birth control and family planning — leaders who have been mostly men and did not include Dr King. The same language used to attack a black woman’s right to make her own reproductive health choices — womb lynching — was used here in Portland to attack the shooting of Aaron Campbell. From the Portland Mercury:

"This is a modern day lynching," said Dr.Andre Brown, a panelist in the discussion who specializes in family and couples therapy at Lewis and Clark College. "Instead of trees we have cops who wait their whole life, saying one day I'm going to get me somebody, and a couple of weeks ago, they got somebody."

Brown said "at some point, some day, it was inevitable that the officer would have killed somebody. You have people who go into the police bureau with the sole intent to kill somebody."

Cops shooting black men to Planned Parenthood performing racial cleansing on poor black women; it’s all of a piece, and it’s dangerous for everyone, especially a free, progressive society. The shooting of Campbell was, from what I can tell, wholly unjustified. I do believe there are cops who are too ready to pull the trigger, not only on black men but perhaps a bit more so. We have racist cops, racist government officials, racist citizens; we have people of every ethnic background who hold bigoted views of those of other backgrounds. Progressives and others who believe in the fundamental human rights of all people oppose every form of bigotry, but what we can address directly and politically is that which has a public face: institutionalized racism (and sexism, agism, etc). This is something we must do, and the death of Aaron Campbell shows us how much further we have to go.

But we have to start be a whole lot smarter about it! The use of the word “lynch” was meant by Dr Brown to show how horrific the Campbell shooting was for African-Americans in the Portland area. Campbell’s death was brutal and unwarranted, but it was not a lynching. Not even close. While it did result in an increase in fear among African-Americans, I don’t see evidence that it inspired the kind of terror KKK lynchings did. The use of that word — and the acceptance of its use by too many people — now enables those who oppose a woman’s right to choose to ally themselves with those who oppose the ability, and willingness, of cops to make their own decision to pull the trigger on citizens based on fear and bigotry.

Shoot down a black man; kill a black baby; what’s the difference?

If we value both the right of a woman to make her own health decisions, including whether or not to get an abortion, and the right of black men to not fear the use of police violence, both communities have to make common cause. Granted, many in the African-American community do oppose a woman’s right, especially many with strong religious beliefs. This is a huge opportunity for those who do not oppose those fundamental rights to step forward and lead the way. This is especially an opportunity for African-American women to assert their role as community leaders, both against police violence and violence to a woman’s right t choose.

A progressive nation cannot tolerate either the unwarranted use of police violence nor a degradation in women’s health choices. We have to ensure that our anger over the one does not undermine our work for the other. Those who oppose freedom will use any tactic they can to win their fight. If that means cynically using the tragic death of Aaron Campbell to deprive Portland women of their full human rights, they will. Let’s not help them any further.