As the National Network of Abortion Funds’ recently appointed executive director, Oriaku Njoku carries a clarity of vision that’s absolutely needed to lead people toward a better future.
They have been on the ground for over a decade—from working in an Atlanta abortion clinic to co-founding and leading the abortion fund Access Reproductive Care-Southeast in order to provide help to people in states with restrictive abortion laws. Oriaku understands that providing direct services like funding and logistical support for abortions is a huge step in eliminating barriers for people. To learn about the reproductive-justice movement over the past six years has been to fundamentally see the privilege I had to not only be able to access abortion care when I was 15 for an unwanted pregnancy, but to be able to determine when I ended up becoming a mother—on my terms.
Oriaku sees that true equality means a world where choosing how to live your life and choosing how to have your family isn’t the hardest part. They know that getting the work done means focusing on those who don’t currently have access to the same resources. And the way they are able to rally communities, while centering love and joy and acceptance of all people, is something I aspire to.
Philipps is an actor and activist
- The Real Reason Florida Wants to Ban AP African-American Studies, According to an Architect of the Course
- Column: Tyre Nichols' Killing Is The Result of a Diseased Culture
- Without Evusheld, Immunocompromised People Are on Their Own Against COVID-19
- Here Are All the Movies and TV Shows That Make Up the New DCU
- TikTok's 'De-Influencing' Trend Is Here to Tell You What Stuff You Don't Need to Buy
- Column: America Goes About Juvenile Crime Sentencing All Wrong
- Why Your Tax Refund May Be Lower This Year
- Brazil Wants to Abandon a 34,000-Ton Ship at Sea. It Would be an Environmental Disaster
- The 5 Best New TV Shows Our Critic Watched in January 2023