Blog: Arise and Fly Free!
There always comes a time in the life of the believer when God will ask you to join in his work to confront an injustice; He is, after all, the God of justice and righteousness. Confrontation is scary because the majority of us are loath to offend another person, especially in the body of Christ. But, as I just stated, there comes a time when we are called to confront what is wrong so that we can repent and turn to righteousness.
This is such a time.
It has been tasked to me, among others, to connect the dots between slavery and abortion in America. I have written a post-abortion healing study titled, "Arise and Fly Free" that is designed to do just that. And it is becoming clear that I am not the only one whom God has sent on this mission. In the last few months I have seen more and more Christians step out and boldly call abortion child-sacrifice connecting the modern day practice with old testament practices. Then yesterday I saw a post by LiveAction.org that FINALLY outed the connection of abortion and slavery and, in my heart I said, “thank you Lord!!”. Because I can tell you from recent experience that very few people understand the connection and even fewer still want to discuss it.
But, it is time.
We are in the unique position, each and every woman involved in abortion recovery, to begin to speak to the roots of not only abortion but of human trafficking. Abortion and trafficking are the fruit of slavery. And, if we do not acknowledge the lineage of abortion and trafficking, we will not be able to fully heal as a nation or as individuals. It would be like consenting to genetic testing only to reject the findings about who your parents or grandparents were found to be.
So, sit back as I share with you chapter one from our new healing curriculum, “Arise and Fly Free: A Spirit-led Healing Guide for Post-abortive African-American Women” which is due to be published soon. I share this with you because the Lord shared it with me. He wants the nation healed. He wants his daughters healed. He wants our history to be exposed so that we can learn from our mistakes. And He wants us to give Him the glory for the healing work that is to come. No, it will not be easy to read and yes, it may make you feel some kinda way. But, as the nation of South Africa learned after the dismantling of apartheid, there can be no reconciliation without the truth.
Excerpt from the New Healing Curriculum:
Arise and Fly Free! A Spirit-led
Healing Guide for Post-Abortive African-American Women
By Sylvia Blakely RN, MS
Founder, Arise Daughter and Arise Artists
Hello my Healing Sister,
I pray that this first chapter gives you a taste of what the eight week curriculum will be like for participants who are ready to find healing and freedom. This book explores the complexities of abortion and the emotional wounds left behind as well as offers guidance on how to untangle our past, embrace our vulnerabilities and cultivate self-compassion and a renewed mind.
With each chapter you are invited to explore our unique history, read God’s Word on each topic, participate in reflective exercises and listen to expert insights.
This book excerpt is solely the property of our almighty God. Please share what was freely given to me with others whom you know have been in bondage for WAY too long! Our heavenly Father loves us so much that He wants us healed and whole. Our King Jesus came to minister, suffer, die and rise again because He loves us too much for us to stay stuck in sin. Our Comforter, Holy Spirit, loves us way too much to allow us to do life alone. To God be the Glory! Sylvia
Chapter One
Understanding Our Unique History
Speech by Sojourner Truth
Click the underlined link to hear the audio and read the speech
Black women have a long and storied history on this planet. Many creationists and evolutionists agree that the first couple who walked the earth were most likely of African origin. That said, oftentimes we start to tell our own story from a purely American point of view without taking into consideration the depth and breadth of our existence or our full value and worth in God’s eyes.
From a purely American viewpoint, our “worth” as human beings was inextricably tied to our ability to bear new free labor. Generation after generation experienced a complete and utter disdain for the sanctity of life and family bonds. It simply did not matter to those who enslaved us who fathered our children; how old we were when we were forced to start having children; whether or not we wanted children; nor who might ultimately be responsible for raising our children. In short, for nearly 300 years, we had no free will when it came to childbearing or childrearing; only our fertility mattered. The concept of “family” became very fluid as biological families were torn apart for the commercial advantage of our enslavers.
The abhorrent conditions enslaved people were subjected to, including the rape of both women and men…., the calculated malnourishment and starvation…., the beatings…., the selling of the enslaved…., and the incessant overworking……, meant that we have a lot of trauma to acknowledge as a people and as a nation.
For a more in depth understanding, please read:
The first person account of slavery: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl for free on Google Books and Librivox free audio;
Frederick Douglass’ biography: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Librivox audio and free text);
Solomon Northup's account of his enslavement in “12 Years A Slave”;
The brief article from encyclopediavirginia.org which recounts the sexual exploitation of enslaved people.
It is a lot to take in so, take your time absorbing it all.
Geneticists such as Richard D. Francis, in his book Epigenetics: How Environment Shapes Our Genes, are beginning to recognize that the effects of repeated physical and psychological trauma such as malnutrition and environmental stressors leave lasting damage to the DNA of oppressed people groups. This genetic damage may contribute to all kinds of diseases as genetic alterations are known to last for generations.
Once our hard fought for freedom was granted through the emancipation proclamation 0f 1865-67, four million black people were turned out with nowhere to go. In a cruel twist, many families eventually settled into sharecropping the land of former enslavers which kept them in poverty. One effective tool used to control the black male population immediately after emancipation was the mass incarceration of “vagrants.” This meant that black men who didn’t want to sharecrop or had no job prospects could be labeled as “vagrants” and legally moved into the newly enlarged penal system. This strategically planned tactic was meant to separate black men from the family unit yet again thus weakening it. Each state quickly enacted laws after emancipation to create a new way of ensuring cheap labor for state building programs which allowed southern states to continue to build wealth off the bodies of black people.
Some families worked hard to secure land of their own. Having a large family who could farm the land together was a way of keeping food on the table and making sure that the family legacy continued. The trick became how to live peaceably amongst folks who had previously owned you and didn’t value or see your inherent worth. Former enslavers who watched those formerly enslaved prosper went on terrorist sprees which, in some cases leveled whole communities. (For a look into this part of the nation's history, the movies Mudbound, Black Wall Street Burning and Rosewood are great examples.)
This new and uncharted landscape became extremely difficult and often fatal for black folks to navigate. (Listen to a reading of the Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States by Ida B. Wells-Barnett or read: On Lynchings also by Ms. Wells-Barnett). The Emancipation Proclamation couldn’t automatically change a long-standing and ingrained caste system that devalued whole people groups as author Isabel Wilkerson detailed in her two books: Warmth of Other Suns and Caste. Both books described the historical basis for the oppression and terrorism of Africans in America and gave context to what became the greatest migration of people this nation had ever seen. Beginning in the early 20th century, millions of black people escaped from the south in an effort to simply live free thus forever changing the landscape of our country.
As whole families migrated north, family size was not immediately seen as an issue for African Americans. Oftentimes, large families came north in waves with the father going first to secure employment and lodging, then the mother and younger children coming later. Those small northern homes often entertained southern relatives wishing to move north to “better themselves,” and thus the migration of millions became self-sustaining and family financed. Scores of black families can still mark their migration history by which children were born “down south” and which children were born “up north.”
Well into the 1960’s, it was rare to see families with fewer than five children. It didn’t matter that there may have been only two or three bedrooms and one bathroom in most of the modest homes black folks could afford. Family was family and somehow those large families managed to make it work!
But it became apparent to the new black northerners that the cost of urban living was often prohibitive to raising large families. There was no farm produce or livestock that families could rely on to keep food costs down like in the south. This left many families living paycheck to paycheck as those who charged rent could do as they pleased.
The black family began to encroach upon the white northerners once black people began to buy homes. Tensions surrounding jobs and adequate housing grew as redlining and grandfather clauses barring black home ownership in certain neighborhoods were police-enforced. Segregation created ghettos which persisted well into the 1980’s. It was a strange and cold new environment Southern and Northern blacks were entering into where the rules of engagement with whites were unknowable and precarious.
Over time, the lucrative northern manufacturing jobs that African Americans were initially needed for shifted overseas and masses of humanity were left to find low-wage, low-impact jobs. As a result, housing equity, which was just beginning to be built, was lost. Housing equity was and is the main means to building generational wealth for most Americans.
Family systems began to fracture as drugs and a second wave of mass incarcerations took their toll on the men who, just a decade before, represented the proud black homeowner and civic participant. Now neighborhoods and mores broke down like never before. The black church, being unable to keep up with the swift and massive changes, became insular and isolated as they were overwhelmed with the societal shifts. White flight and then middle class black flight left our cities decimated and more like impenetrable war zones. Many folks who were left in poverty felt like their only choice was to get out of the ghettos and move into the suburbs; they found that they most assuredly were NOT welcomed.
Into this societal chaos and confusion slides Margaret Sanger and her politics of eugenics or selective population control. Ms. Sanger had aligned herself early on with rich and powerful northerners like John D. Rockefeller who were also concerned about being overwhelmed by southern blacks. These population control plans collided with the hardships of life in the north for second generation black migrants which led to talk of “helping negro women out.”
Black women began to become interested in limiting family size out of financial necessity and lack of employment opportunities. Ideas put forth by eugenicists for controlling the birth rate of blacks using forced sterilization had limited success and drew unwanted attention according to Dorothy Roberts, author of Killing the Black Body.
When it became difficult to sell eugenics especially after World War II and all that happened in Nazi Germany to the Jews, population control methods were repackaged as “planning parenthood.” Leaders such as W.E.B DuBois joined in this movement with the aim of giving black women control. On the surface, this made sense. Historically, black women had little choice about anything. The clarion call, control your own reproductive destiny was used by Sanger and her fledgling organization, Planned Parenthood, to evoke a fake sense of personal freedom all while hiding the underlying agenda of eugenics.
Other leaders in the black community such as Marcus Garvey, Ms. Fannie Lou Hammer, Dr. Martin Luther King, The Nation of Islam, the Black Panthers and prominent Black pastors heard what was really being said underneath the Planned Parenthood rhetoric which was: If you can control the population of the poor and other “undesirables”, you keep them powerless.
“The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the Minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”
– Margaret Sanger, Eugenicist and founder of Planned Parenthood
The United States Office of Population Affairs (OPA), which was established in 1970, to regulate population growth especially among low-income families, brought legislative clout to the mix. Peruse their website today and you will be able to find the telling statement that, “OPA and the Title X program is designed to provide access to contraceptive services, supplies, and information. By law, priority is given to persons from low-income families. This was all under the guise of healthcare access. (Title X Program Funding History | HHS Office of Population Affairs)
Thinly veiled attempts to keep the black population from growing was shunned by black leadership of the day. In fact, few in the black community saw government-sanctioned population management as a good idea; after all, there had been enough of that kind of control in the earliest history of this country amongst all minority groups.
But then, the politics of the newly revamped Democratic Party in the 60’s tied themselves with organizations such as Planned Parenthood because they seemed to be on the same bandwagon as other groups fighting for human rights. Reproductive control slowly morphed into reproductive rights which stuck as part of a new agenda. And where did all of this new Title X government money pour into? The black community which was desperate for revitalization and access to services. The wolf was dressed in lambskin and invited to eat at the economic redevelopment table. Segregated cities, with limited access to physicians, became easy targets for “health clinics” and the “right” to abortion was spawned.
The pervasive and persuasive subliminal messages embedded in Planned Parenthood literature were:
Plan when YOU want to parent - it is your right to do so. Here are the government-funded tools to allow you to regain control over YOUR destiny. Have children when YOU are economically ready and not a minute before. Consider abortion to be the same as contraception: a simple and safe procedure - just like any other medical procedure. In fact, you won’t need to be hospitalized. We can perform abortion on-demand in the comfort of your own neighborhood “health center” and have you back at work within a few days. Come back as many times as you can afford - it is your right to do so and the costs will always be subsidized as long as Title X is in place.
What Planned Parenthood REALLY meant was, we don’t want YOUR kind reproducing. Yes, you read that last sentence right. From its beginning Planned Parenthood’s agenda has been to limit the reproduction of the negro and other undesireables. Their true goal has always been population control in certain neighborhoods. Why was their agenda eventually co-opted by religious leaders and parishioners alike? Because the eugenics message was masterfully rebranded as “health care” in underserved communities. Why did we, as Christians, allow God to have little or nothing to say about our purity, holiness and reproduction? Because we wanted control over this aspect of our lives.
Does any of this ring true for you? It did for MANY African American Christian women and men. Not only was the lure of economic mobility for a people who had experienced multi-generational poverty too much to ignore, but the sin of spilling innocent blood was largely brushed aside by some ministers and medical professionals who convinced us that “it was only a blob of tissue.” It’s no wonder we took the bait.
Financial difficulties often topped the list of reasons why many women, even Christian women, chose abortion even when they didn't want to. There were many congregations back in the day, who would shame a young woman in front of the whole church, if she was found to be pregnant out of wedlock. Many others were secretly sent “down south” for various made up reasons before their pregnant belly started to show. Countless children have been raised as a “cousin” to their own biological mother. Please know that there is no condemnation in understanding the ‘why’ of our choice(s). Let us recognize, however, that relatively few government funds actually went towards helping families parent an unexpected pregnancy even when that was the desire of the parent’s heart. Isn’t that curious? Putting it in the most basic terms, the government was willing to help me terminate my child and not so willing to help me parent my child.
Once the propaganda made the child out to be the crisis and not the limited bank account or resources, it set up an either/or scenario. The underlying message was, Keep your child and stay poor OR abort your child and gain financial freedom. If we don’t catch this subtlety, then we miss how the abortion-mill rhetoric managed to pit women against their unborn children.
After Roe v. Wade was ensconced into law - equating abortion with the right to privacy - we could not only abort our children legally, but we could also keep our secret(s). We were clearly in the grip of the oldest enemy of humankind which is Satan, and his familiar tactics. Yes, the same one that comes to lie (John 8:44), and steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) got a foothold into our families. The practice of child sacrifice, as in the nations that practiced it millenia ago (2 Chronicles 28:3), became the accepted - no - expected behavior of a new, free generation in America. What was legal versus what was moral were disconnected from each other and we spiraled out of control.
We were now free and had the legal right to kill our own children. We want to recognize that for some very young women, the choice to keep or abort their child was outside of their control. We also have to acknowledge that after 1973, the government did in fact give tacit permission to someone in that young person’s life to sign for the abortion.
The prophet Jeremiah spoke of the sins of the nation of Israel towards the innocent children of his time. Jeremiah 19:4-5 NLT states: 4 "'For Israel has forsaken me and turned this valley into a place of wickedness. The people burn incense to foreign gods--idols never before acknowledged by this generation, by their ancestors, or by the kings of Judah. And they have filled this place with the blood of innocent children. 5 They have built pagan shrines to Baal, and there they burn their sons as sacrifices to Baal. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing!
God, in His benevolence, was trying to get Israel to see the sin they were committing.
God is still trying to get our attention.
Through all of the societal upheavals of the 70’s and 80’s, God continued to keep His eye on us! Just like the captives in Egypt and Babylon, God purposed us to “be fruitful and multiply” (Exodus 1:7), bless not curse our new home (Jeremiah 29:4-15) and continue to look for His rescuing arm (Jeremiah 23:3). The caveat is that we must first recognize that what we have allowed society to dictate to us about the lives of our preborn children was and is wrong.
The preborn have been planned for by God (Jeremiah 29:11), and new parents have responsibilities (Titus 2:4; Isaiah 49:15). Once that realization sinks in, there is no limit to how God can bless His people when we return to Him and put our faith and trust in Him regarding procreation (2 Chronicles 6:38; Jeremiah 23:3-8; 24:6-7).
These next 8 weeks will be focused on recognizing, repenting and reconciling our choices. It will be heavy work, and I highly recommend that you enlist support from someone you trust who can lift you up through the process. Note that the word process is used. This healing journey most likely will be multi-layered like an onion. Tears will be shed as layers of painful truths are removed, not only for you, but for the millions that have gone before you. But remember beloved, you’re here because you know there is unfinished business to attend to in order to be reconciled with God.
This guide to healing was designed to be used in a small group setting, however, if you do decide to work at your own pace, know that Holy Spirit can and will see you through. Your sisters at Arise Daughter are also available to serve as mentors when and if you need us!
What were two “takeaways” from the video that left an impression?
1.
2.
What Does God Have to Say?
Underline key words in each verse for discussion and reflection. Getting to the heart of God’s word for us will be important throughout this study.
And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’
Genesis 1:22
What does God say to His new creation?
What purpose did God have for speaking to His creation?
Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His [own] image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ Genesis 1:26-28
As you consider these verses, was “multiplying” meant to be a blessing? Why?
So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” “And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply in it.”
Genesis 9:1, 7
What was so significant about this second command to be fruitful and multiply?
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. Genesis 17:6
What important promises were made to Abram regarding his offspring?
So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.
Genesis 47:27
Why is it significant to look at where Israel prospered?
Your wife [shall be] like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD. Yes, may you see your children's children. Peace [be] upon Israel!”
Psalm 128:3-4, 6 NASB
What is God calling us to look like and live like in these verses?
How is the blessing generational?
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you [are] the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:4-5
As you interpret this verse, where does the source of our strength come from?
Are we designed to make a life outside of God? Why not?
Check In - Grounding Exercise: “Visualizing The Lord’s Prayer” by personalization. Include the words, “me”, “my” and “I” where appropriate.
Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'
Matthew 6:9-13 AMP
What are your thoughts, feelings and emotions about starting this journey?: Share in the group or feel free to journal what you're feeling. Take your time and allow your thoughts to flow. Try your best not to censor or edit what you write.
Art Exercise: “Who Am I Right Now?”
(Please complete the Art Exercise Disclaimer by clicking “HERE”). Using the heart below, write out who you think you are inside the outline of the heart as a free stream of thought - no editing; just write.
🤍
Write Out Your Prayer
Let God know what you now understand about the lies you were told, or simply talk to God about what it feels like to start this healing journey. Include three things you are grateful for.
Songs
“I Don’t Feel Noways Tired” by Peter Collins and Infinity Song.
“I Don’t Feel Noways Tired” by Rev. James Cleveland.
“Deep Enough” by Anthony Brown.
“Breathe” by Maverick City Music
End of Excerpt
Thank you for taking the time to read this excerpt of,
“Arise, And Fly Free.” This is just the beginning step to a deep healing and reconciliation for my post-abortive Sisters and I pray its utility to the African American community has been apparent in the pages you’ve read thus far.
I am looking forward to hearing your feedback. Please feel free to email the author, Sylvia Blakely at: AriseDaughter@gmail.com May God richly bless you!
Notes:
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