By August, the dust will have settled on finalized budgets at the local (Los Angeles), state (California), and federal levels — and for many Black communities, the outcomes will be devastating. Deep cuts to social safety net programs, including healthcare, housing, food assistance, and education, will do real and lasting harm to the lives of Black residents who rely on these essential services.

This timely panel will examine where we stand in the aftermath of 2025 budget decisions and the immediate and long-term implications for Black communities. Panelists will break down the most critical local, state, and federal cuts, highlight programs on the chopping block, and expose the political and economic agendas driving this disinvestment.

As we face a federal administration marked by hostility toward racial justice, we must ask: How do we safely and strategically advocate for our communities in this political climate? What protective strategies can we collectively adopt to push back without risking safety or burnout? And how can we strengthen local power and intergenerational leadership to sustain the fight for a fair and equitable future?

Black women spend $9.4 billion annually on beauty products, yet these products disproportionately expose them to harmful chemicals, leading to severe health issues like increased breast cancer risk, reproductive harm, fertility problems, and uterine fibroids. Beauty justice seeks an equitable beauty industry that prioritizes Black women’s health, ensuring safe products. This session features associate toxicologist Veneese Evans and chemist Dr. Elissia Franklin, moderated by Janice Williams Oliver. They will discuss toxic chemicals in beauty products, their health effects, and the recent Consumer Reports study on braiding hair toxins, including findings, concerns, and safer alternatives. Attendees will learn practical steps for beauty justice advocacy, from routine swaps to policy change, and share resources to advance beauty justice.

Abortion care has always existed—long before it was legislated, medicalized, or politicized. Black midwives, herbalists, and community healers provided essential care when clinics weren’t accessible, offering support grounded in tradition and trust. Today, even in pro-choice states like California, access remains deeply unequal. Black women still face clinic closures, systemic barriers, and limited post-abortion support despite legal protections.

This session will examine:

– The legacy of Black midwifery and abortion care before Roe v. Wade

– Current challenges facing clinics in California and across the country

– The importance of post-abortion care, healing justice, and abortion doulas

– Holistic, community-rooted models that expand abortion care beyond clinical settings

Participants will take part in a dynamic conversation and strategy session focused on building a future for abortion justice that honors ancestral wisdom, centers community, and prioritizes healing.

Young people are powerful—and their voices matter in the fight for justice. Through creative activities, real talk, and hands-on learning, participants will explore what RJ means, why it matters, and how it connects to their everyday lives. This session introduces youth to the principles of Reproductive Justice, the importance of bodily autonomy, and why their voices have power. Participants will explore what it means to have agency over their bodies, and their role in building a world where all people can thrive.

 The day includes a space for youth to speak out on the reproductive issues they care about most and learn about the intersections of Reproductive Justice. Whether it’s through games or open dialogue, youth will leave empowered, informed, and ready to make bold moves for justice.

Activities include:

– Group discussion

– Games

– Opportunity Drawing

Black mothers are disproportionately impacted by postpartum complications, even in states with greater legal protections and access to care. Together we will focus on identifying early warning signs of postpartum health issues, and how loved ones and community members can advocate for care. Through education, storytelling, and clinical insight, participants will gain tools to help close the gap in maternal health disparities.

This session will cover:

– The early causes of postpartum complications and maternal health disparities impacting Black mothers.

– Gaps in care

– The important role of community awareness and advocacy in identifying and responding to the early warning signs.  

Participants will:

– Learn how to recognize early warning signs of postpartum complications

This session is designed to engage Black men in a critical conversation around Reproductive Justice (RJ) and their role in advancing equity, safety, and freedom for Black women, families, and communities. In alignment with this year’s conference theme, Minding Our Black Business, participants will examine the intersections of RJ, fatherhood, advocacy, culture, and accountability.

The workshop will explore how Black men can move beyond silence, stand against oppressive systems, and actively support the RJ movement by owning their impact and embracing their responsibility as co-conspirators in the fight for justice. Through reflection, storytelling, and discussion, we will disrupt harmful narratives about masculinity, explore how systemic barriers affect Black families, and commit to personal and collective transformation.

As we continue the conversation on Minding Our Own Black Business, this session invites Black men into a deeper space of reflection, healing, and responsibility. Reproductive Justice (RJ) is not only about protecting the rights of women and birthing people—it’s also about building the conditions that allow Black families and communities to thrive. That work requires Black men to heal from inherited trauma, unlearn harmful narratives of masculinity, and step into roles as accountable partners, parents, and advocates.

Participants will use the ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) tool to reflect on their personal histories and explore how trauma has shaped their responses to vulnerability, relationships, and responsibility. Together, we will discuss how to create space for accountability without shame, how to challenge broken systems and cultural norms, and how healing is a radical act of liberation that strengthens the entire RJ movement.

Infertility is often treated as a private struggle, but for Black women—who face higher rates of reproductive health issues like fibroids, infertility, PCOS, endometriosis, and systemic healthcare neglect—it is also a justice issue. This session brings infertility out of the shadows, centering the emotional, physical, and cultural realities and lived experiences of Black women navigating reproductive challenges within a system plagued by medical bias and neglect toward Black women’s health.

This session will examine:

– How medical racism and stigma contribute to infertility among Black women

– The emotional and cultural dynamics of fertility struggles, including isolation and silence.

– Strategies for reclaiming agency, accessing care and collective healing and joy

Participants will:

– Hear from a fertility specialist that will unpack the common causes of infertility care options

– Engage with a lived-experience speaker who has undergone egg freezing

– Participate in dialogue and healing practices that affirm our power, our right to be seen and heard, bodily autonomy and reproductive justice.

Menopause is a natural and powerful transition, yet it’s often met with silence, stigma, and medical neglect—especially for Black women. This session  opens space for  honest conversation around the physical, emotional, and spiritual changes that come with aging. Together, we’ll talk about hormone changes, sleep disruption, libido, and mental health while challenging myths and uplifting culturally rooted healing practices. Through care,.  humor, and wisdom, we’ll honor menopause not as an ending, but as a continuation of our power.

This session will explore:

– The emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of menopause, including mental health and hormonal changes

– Stigma and medical neglect in menopause care with a focus on Black women’s lived experiences

– Cultural narratives around aging and the collective power of reframing menopause as a sacred transition

Participants will:

– Engage in open talks that normalize and affirm the menopause journey

– Learn holistic and herbal remedies, along with culturally rooted healing practices, to support this life stage

– Reclaim menopause as a powerful life affirming process.

This liberating session centers the experiences of Black women navigating menopause — not as a loss, but as a potent phase of transformation, power, and pleasure. Often overlooked in reproductive justice conversations, menopause is a deeply personal journey that intersects with medical racism, cultural silence, and shifting identities.

Participants will explore how to reconnect with their bodies during this stage, reclaim pleasure in all its forms, and challenge the stigma that surrounds aging and sexuality. Through guided conversation, storytelling, and embodied exercises, we’ll unpack hormonal changes, and the joy of rediscovering sensuality and self-worth.

9 Losses, 1 Birth: Reclaiming Power, Purpose, and Policy Through the Reproductive Justice Lens

This compelling presentation traces the reproductive justice journey of Rachell Dumas, MSN, RN, who endured eight miscarriages, one stillbirth, and a three-year struggle with fertility before giving birth to her son. Through powerful storytelling interwoven with public health data and critique of systemic failures, Rachell sheds light on the persistent gaps Black women face in maternal care, mental health services, and post-loss support.

Participants will gain insight into how her lived experiences inspired the founding of A Light After Nine, a maternal health nonprofit dedicated to supporting women navigating grief and fertility challenges. This session not only centers healing—it demands action, illustrating why policy, personal narrative, and equitable access must intersect to achieve true reproductive justice.

This interactive workshop centers the role of mental health in reproductive justice, exploring how trauma, systemic injustice, and emotional burnout impact Black women and gender-expansive people’s ability to thrive. Participants will engage in dialogue, reflection, and skill-building activities to understand how mental wellness is essential to bodily autonomy, parenting, pleasure, rest, and healing. The session will also highlight the effects of birth trauma, stress-related reproductive health conditions, and emotional harm caused by inequitable systems of care.