Dr. Serina Floyd: We cannot separate the history of this country from what we see in the present-day. There is just no way to [do that]. Somebody showed a slide at a presentation [at the conference this weekend] that kind of resonated with me, because it talked about that connection: from slavery, to Jim Crow, to mass incarceration, to the reproductive injustices that are happening [today]. And whether you’re talking about that thread of Black women’s reproduction not only not being valued, but being oppressed and controlled—from their (from our, but their from a historical perspective) reproduction being the economics, and how it was forced for financial benefit for those in power, to a timeframe through eugenics [1920s-1970s] where it’s like, “Nope, you are a burden on society, so therefore we don’t want you to reproduce.” So it’s from “You need to reproduce, because I can make money off of your reproduction” to “No, you know what, because,” through what has happened post-slavery to put you in the economic situation that you are in, “Now you are in a burden on society and therefore your reproduction should not continue.” It’s not only not valued, but it is despised, honestly. From there, into, “How then do we control that reproduction?” So, whether you discuss things like reproductive coercion and forced sterilization, all the way through to now, to everything happening with abortion. Again, this whole idea that those in power, white supremacy, seeks to control your reproduction still. So whether I am controlling reproduction because I can benefit financially from it, to I am controlling your reproduction because I see you as a burden to society and your reproduction is not at all valued, to now I want to have control over your reproduction just because I want to have it. I want to tell you that you can’t have an abortion, you are forced to have this child. Yet, I want to do nothing to help support you to be able to do so. I just want to have that power over you. I want to be able to tell you that you can’t do this. Because I don’t think you should do it. Behind a guise of safety or the unborn child.