February 6, 2024 • 8 mins
Paris Hatcher is a Black, queer feminist who has been integral in the fight for reproductive rights, voting rights and defining and living Black feminisms.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to Stefan
Ever told you production? I heart radio?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yes, and welcome to February, the month I have the
most problem saying, even with it being a leap year,
the shortest one of the year, that was obviously allotted
as a Black History month, And yes, that's racist. We're
calling that out as it is, as we do every year.
So there you go. But moving on, we do love
a celebrating activist in the black community and do so
(00:40):
all year long, but also we love making sure to
fully celebrate this month as it has been set aside
I guess designated to highlight and give flowers to those
in the black community. So of course we're not going
to waiver from that. So today we are talking about
activist Paris Hatch. Yeah, and Hatcher is a fierce, active
(01:00):
and human rights advocate. She has worked for years advocating
for the rights for their black and queer communities, as
well as obviously feminist communities, and has led and founded
different organizations throughout her life.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Here's a bit about her from the Women's March dot
com site, where she is serving as a part of
the board of directors. Paris Hatcher is a black queer
feminist in Love with the South with over ten years
of experience on the local, national, and international level. Paris
has been working with leading organizations to amplify the leadership
of marginalized communities when public policy campaigns and advance reproductive
(01:32):
and sexual health in justice, gender justice, and queer liberation. Notably,
she co founded and was the executive director of Spark
Reproductive Justice, now one of the leading reproductive health and
justice organizations in the Southeast. Under her direction, sparkled successful
advocacy campaigns, increased the participation of women of color, queer
and transuse of color, and young people in the political process,
(01:54):
and worked with stakeholders to begin to shift the narrative
about reproductive health and justice in the state of Georgia
and in the Southeast. She completed her Masters of Arts
in Africana Women's Studies at Clerk Atlanta University with a
research focus on Caribbean women's activism and social movements.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
YEAH and another. One of those organizations along with Spark
include a Black Feminist Future, which was founded in twenty
fourteen or BFF and according to their own site, Blackfeminist
Future dot org quote the organization was formed in response
to the twenty fourteen uprisings because of the lack of
response and outrage over the murders of black women, girls,
and gender expensive people, despite those same folks being on
(02:32):
the front lines of movements to end the police violence.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
And when she was asked why she started BFF, she
said she wanted to create a unique and important space
to amplify the needs as well as the power, of
black women, girls, and gender expansive people in the United States,
and on the BFF site, they explain the importance of
Black feminism and its meaning. Quote BFF defines black feminism
as an ideology or belief system that explains how power
(02:58):
and systems of oppression are both injured, acted, and systemic,
and provides us with a blueprint for individual and collective liberation.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Right and they continue, black feminisms explain how systems of
oppression and power like white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism,
et cetera, are both interconnected and systemic. As Black people,
we live lives of multiple identities and experiences that inform
how our world is ordered and ultimately impact our daily interactions, thought,
(03:26):
and lives. We experience power and oppression and our identities
at the same time. This also applies to how we
experience our identity as black people. Black feminisms helps us
understand that we do not experience our identities singularly. The
identities we hold are interconnected in the same way these
systems are. For this reason, as black feminists know that
(03:47):
in order to win, we cannot prioritize one system or
identity over another, but instead use an intersectional or a
black feminist approach in our fights for freedom. With this
in mind, as black feminists, we believe it is essential
that we examine our personal lives as well as the
roots of these systems in order to understand how power
and oppression work. Black feminisms take shape in many forms.
(04:09):
Hence we say black feminisms. The work of black feminists
is global, intersectional, pan African, anti capitalist, radical socialists, afrofuturist,
and so much more. It is a legacy of liberation
work that has come before us and that we continue.
And then they go on and say, we invite you
to use our definition of black feminisms as a starting
point for your exploration into advancing black feminism as the
(04:32):
blueprint to our collective liberation. Black feminisms is a way
to analyze systems of power, especially impacting those of us
marginalized by race, gender, class, sexuality, ability, and beyond. This
means we do not look at these systems as isolated,
but instead interrogate how they all weave together into a
larger picture. And y'all, this is a great example of
(04:55):
what we mean about intersectional right.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yes, and they have been working with these principles and
ideals since the beginning of the founding of the organization.
They have worked on the issue of abortion, voting, and
collapsing the patriarchy. Hatcher has been working intensely in reproductive
rights advocacy as well. As we mentioned earlier, she helped
found and was executive director of Spark Reproductive Justice Now.
(05:19):
When she announced her decision to step down, she talked
about what they were able to accomplish during her time
as executive director, and some of those things include led
a campaign to end the practice of shackling pregnant incarcerated
women in Georgia, led a proactive national cultural shift around
the issue of race, gender and mass incarceration. Implemented innovative
(05:40):
programming like Legislate This, the Fire Media Camp and Ignite
twenty twelve, the first LGBTQ Youth of color convening in
the Southern region, anchored two national movement building initiatives, Trust
Black Women and the Third Wave Network, and interjected a
gender and queer liberation framework.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Right, So, she's done a lot, and this is just
two of the organizations we highlighted that she founded and
have done a lot for. Of course, us as Georgians
are very grateful for what she has done and it
still continues to do because obviously after the Roe v.
Wade overturning, she has been very loud and vocal about
the need to fight for reproductive justice. Moved to in
Violence also did a profile on her and when she
(06:21):
was asked what brings her to this work, she said,
I have just always felt really called. When I was young,
I wanted to make a difference. I think for me,
what stands out as a really big moment in my
life is when I learned about the sit ins that
happened in Greensboro by young people, by the young students
and the Greensboro four. I learned about them when I
was nine years old. I entered an essay contest about
(06:41):
their legacy because by the time it was nineteen ninety,
it was thirty years since that sit in, and I
just was so amazed that you could do something like
that to change the world. And then she kind of
goes on to talk about the love of her people.
I think of just deep, deep, deep, abiding love of
my people, and of what has been possible. I think
about the lofgacy of this work and what it has
meant for people to just feel called. It does feel
(07:04):
like a calling. When people feel like that around different
types of calling. It feels definitely like a calling. It's
not a job, it's not work anymore. Yeah, she's done
some amazing things. We thank her personally. I thank you
so much for what you have done for our community
in Georgia in itself, because we know she has done
a lot to help marginalized people and just people in
(07:26):
general care community.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yes, yes, thank you, and I'm sure again. Well, we'll
check back in and see what else she's done in
the future, but for now, as always, if you have
any suggestions for this segment or anything that we talk about,
you can email us our emails Stephanie and Momsteff at
iHeartMedia dot com. You can find us on Twitter at
(07:50):
mom Stuff podcast or on Instagram and TikTok at Steph.
I've never told you. We have a tea public store
and we have a book you can get wherever you
get your books. Thanks as always too, our super producer
for senior executive Heir Maya and your contributor Joey. Thank
you and thanks to you for listening. Steff I never
told you the production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts
from my Heart Radio, you can check out the iHeartRadio app,
Apple podcast or where you listen to your favorite shows.
Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to Stefan
Ever told you production? I heart radio?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yes, and welcome to February, the month I have the
most problem saying, even with it being a leap year,
the shortest one of the year, that was obviously allotted
as a Black History month, And yes, that's racist. We're
calling that out as it is, as we do every year.
So there you go. But moving on, we do love
a celebrating activist in the black community and do so
(00:40):
all year long, but also we love making sure to
fully celebrate this month as it has been set aside
I guess designated to highlight and give flowers to those
in the black community. So of course we're not going
to waiver from that. So today we are talking about
activist Paris Hatch. Yeah, and Hatcher is a fierce, active
(01:00):
and human rights advocate. She has worked for years advocating
for the rights for their black and queer communities, as
well as obviously feminist communities, and has led and founded
different organizations throughout her life.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Here's a bit about her from the Women's March dot
com site, where she is serving as a part of
the board of directors. Paris Hatcher is a black queer
feminist in Love with the South with over ten years
of experience on the local, national, and international level. Paris
has been working with leading organizations to amplify the leadership
of marginalized communities when public policy campaigns and advance reproductive
(01:32):
and sexual health in justice, gender justice, and queer liberation. Notably,
she co founded and was the executive director of Spark
Reproductive Justice, now one of the leading reproductive health and
justice organizations in the Southeast. Under her direction, sparkled successful
advocacy campaigns, increased the participation of women of color, queer
and transuse of color, and young people in the political process,
(01:54):
and worked with stakeholders to begin to shift the narrative
about reproductive health and justice in the state of Georgia
and in the Southeast. She completed her Masters of Arts
in Africana Women's Studies at Clerk Atlanta University with a
research focus on Caribbean women's activism and social movements.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
YEAH and another. One of those organizations along with Spark
include a Black Feminist Future, which was founded in twenty
fourteen or BFF and according to their own site, Blackfeminist
Future dot org quote the organization was formed in response
to the twenty fourteen uprisings because of the lack of
response and outrage over the murders of black women, girls,
and gender expensive people, despite those same folks being on
(02:32):
the front lines of movements to end the police violence.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
And when she was asked why she started BFF, she
said she wanted to create a unique and important space
to amplify the needs as well as the power, of
black women, girls, and gender expansive people in the United States,
and on the BFF site, they explain the importance of
Black feminism and its meaning. Quote BFF defines black feminism
as an ideology or belief system that explains how power
(02:58):
and systems of oppression are both injured, acted, and systemic,
and provides us with a blueprint for individual and collective liberation.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Right and they continue, black feminisms explain how systems of
oppression and power like white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism,
et cetera, are both interconnected and systemic. As Black people,
we live lives of multiple identities and experiences that inform
how our world is ordered and ultimately impact our daily interactions, thought,
(03:26):
and lives. We experience power and oppression and our identities
at the same time. This also applies to how we
experience our identity as black people. Black feminisms helps us
understand that we do not experience our identities singularly. The
identities we hold are interconnected in the same way these
systems are. For this reason, as black feminists know that
(03:47):
in order to win, we cannot prioritize one system or
identity over another, but instead use an intersectional or a
black feminist approach in our fights for freedom. With this
in mind, as black feminists, we believe it is essential
that we examine our personal lives as well as the
roots of these systems in order to understand how power
and oppression work. Black feminisms take shape in many forms.
(04:09):
Hence we say black feminisms. The work of black feminists
is global, intersectional, pan African, anti capitalist, radical socialists, afrofuturist,
and so much more. It is a legacy of liberation
work that has come before us and that we continue.
And then they go on and say, we invite you
to use our definition of black feminisms as a starting
point for your exploration into advancing black feminism as the
(04:32):
blueprint to our collective liberation. Black feminisms is a way
to analyze systems of power, especially impacting those of us
marginalized by race, gender, class, sexuality, ability, and beyond. This
means we do not look at these systems as isolated,
but instead interrogate how they all weave together into a
larger picture. And y'all, this is a great example of
(04:55):
what we mean about intersectional right.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yes, and they have been working with these principles and
ideals since the beginning of the founding of the organization.
They have worked on the issue of abortion, voting, and
collapsing the patriarchy. Hatcher has been working intensely in reproductive
rights advocacy as well. As we mentioned earlier, she helped
found and was executive director of Spark Reproductive Justice Now.
(05:19):
When she announced her decision to step down, she talked
about what they were able to accomplish during her time
as executive director, and some of those things include led
a campaign to end the practice of shackling pregnant incarcerated
women in Georgia, led a proactive national cultural shift around
the issue of race, gender and mass incarceration. Implemented innovative
(05:40):
programming like Legislate This, the Fire Media Camp and Ignite
twenty twelve, the first LGBTQ Youth of color convening in
the Southern region, anchored two national movement building initiatives, Trust
Black Women and the Third Wave Network, and interjected a
gender and queer liberation framework.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Right, So, she's done a lot, and this is just
two of the organizations we highlighted that she founded and
have done a lot for. Of course, us as Georgians
are very grateful for what she has done and it
still continues to do because obviously after the Roe v.
Wade overturning, she has been very loud and vocal about
the need to fight for reproductive justice. Moved to in
Violence also did a profile on her and when she
(06:21):
was asked what brings her to this work, she said,
I have just always felt really called. When I was young,
I wanted to make a difference. I think for me,
what stands out as a really big moment in my
life is when I learned about the sit ins that
happened in Greensboro by young people, by the young students
and the Greensboro four. I learned about them when I
was nine years old. I entered an essay contest about
(06:41):
their legacy because by the time it was nineteen ninety,
it was thirty years since that sit in, and I
just was so amazed that you could do something like
that to change the world. And then she kind of
goes on to talk about the love of her people.
I think of just deep, deep, deep, abiding love of
my people, and of what has been possible. I think
about the lofgacy of this work and what it has
meant for people to just feel called. It does feel
(07:04):
like a calling. When people feel like that around different
types of calling. It feels definitely like a calling. It's
not a job, it's not work anymore. Yeah, she's done
some amazing things. We thank her personally. I thank you
so much for what you have done for our community
in Georgia in itself, because we know she has done
a lot to help marginalized people and just people in
(07:26):
general care community.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yes, yes, thank you, and I'm sure again. Well, we'll
check back in and see what else she's done in
the future, but for now, as always, if you have
any suggestions for this segment or anything that we talk about,
you can email us our emails Stephanie and Momsteff at
iHeartMedia dot com. You can find us on Twitter at
(07:50):
mom Stuff podcast or on Instagram and TikTok at Steph.
I've never told you. We have a tea public store
and we have a book you can get wherever you
get your books. Thanks as always too, our super producer
for senior executive Heir Maya and your contributor Joey. Thank
you and thanks to you for listening. Steff I never
told you the production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts
from my Heart Radio, you can check out the iHeartRadio app,
Apple podcast or where you listen to your favorite shows.
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