Interview with Cherilyn Holloway
Can racial justice and pro-life activism go hand-in-hand? In this episode of the Know Why Podcast, the latest installment of our Know About Pro-Lifers Series, Cherilyn Holloway says they not only can, but should. Founder and president of Pro-Black Pro-Life, Cherilyn challenges listeners to think and step outside the box in order to understand the systemic factors driving African American women to abortion. She offers practical advice for pro-life activists and a hopeful call for people from all backgrounds to work together to build a better future.
The Numbers
Even though African Americans only make up around 12 percent of the American population, they make up about 40 percent of abortions in this nation.
“We are essentially aborting our future.”
Cherilyn Holloway, Pro-Black Pro-Life
“We are essentially aborting our future,” Cherilyn told Know Why.
The fact that African American women are overrepresented in abortion statistics is well-known, but the why behind that fact is often overlooked.
That’s part of what led Cherilyn to start Pro-Black Pro-Life. She said she didn’t fit neatly into boxes people assumed she would be in. For instance, participating in pro-life activism didn’t make her a Trump-supporter. But in pro-life circles, she found her concerns about racial justice misunderstood or ignored.
“I realized that my community immediately categorized ‘pro-life’ to mean ‘anti-Black,” Cherilyn said, “because people who were pro-life typically advocated and voted for policies that were against their best interest.”
“I need people to know that I’m pro-Black and pro-life,” she added. “One does not mean you’re not the other.”
The Drivers
So what is driving Black women to abortion? Cherilyn mentioned several “systemic” problems, the largest, she believes, being economic imbalance.
“Seventy percent of women who are Black single moms who find themselves in a position to choose abortion make $35,000 or less,” she said. “Single moms who are African American who make $40,000 or more are 70 percent more likely to actually have their child. So we’re talking about a $5,000 difference a year.”
“I need people to know that I’m pro-Black and pro-life. One does not mean you’re not the other.”
Cherilyn Holloway, Pro-Black Pro-Life
If pro-lifers want to help lower the abortion rate in the Black community, recognizing and working to close gaps like those is key.
“The only solution to a woman having economic issues when she’s pregnant is not abortion,” Cherilyn added. “Why is that the only choice she gets? It’s not choice.”
Nine Days
Sometimes closing a gap for a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy simply means walking with her through the initial crisis.
“Typically a crisis situation lasts nine days,” Cherilyn said. “And if you can intervene within that nine days with tangible solutions, you can help bring somebody out of that crisis mode and into a more cognitive thinking process.”
“The only solution to a woman having economic issues when she’s pregnant is not abortion. Why is that the only choice she gets? It’s not choice.”
Cherilyn Holloway, Pro-Black Pro-Life
How can you be there for women in you community during their days of crisis? It starts with knowing what resources are available in your community and state, so that you can equip women with what she needs. It’s also important to know your own gifts and find ways to help that are right for you.
Can you give women without transportation a ride to doctor appointments? Make yourself available. Do you like public speaking about pro-life matters or racial justice? Make sure you’re educated about what you want to discuss. Cherilyn recommends reading The New Fight for Life: Roe, Race, and a Pro-Life Commitment to Justice by Benjamin Watson for a “more of a nuanced view of the issue and what to do about it.” Cherilyn wrote the foreword.
Cherilyn left podcast listeners with these words of wisdom:
“I would just like to remind everyone not to put people in boxes, not to immediately put your defenses up. Pro-black does not mean anti-white, pro-life does not mean anti-Black. Understand that there are different organizations and people who are running this race, and even though we’re not in the exact same lane, we have a common goal that we are running to. Be open-minded, be humble, and receive things as they come.”
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