Activism
COMMENTARY: Abortion — A Theological Issue and Christian Responses
The abortion debate has profound implications on how theological views are preached and taught in individual churches, homes including seminaries. The pews are split. Some say abortion is murder, while others say, the woman has a right to control her body. This leads to the question: How does your faith shape your position on abortion? What Bible passages do you cite to justify your position?

By Rev. Dr. Martha C. Taylor
We are living in a world where controversial, complex issues, disagreements, debates, misunderstandings are looming large. There are controversies on gun control, vaccines, living wages, Black lives matter, animal rights, religious freedom, health care, white supremacy, voting rights, Trump, Ukraine War, Covid spreading, mass killings and the congressional January 6th sedition hearings, to name a few.
In an earth-shattering decision on June 24, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. Justice Alito wrote “Abortion presents a profound moral issue on which Americans hold sharply conflicting views. Some believe fervently that a human person comes into being at conception and that abortion ends an innocent life. Others feel just as strongly that any regulation of abortion invades a woman’s right to control her own body and prevents women from achieving full equality.
Still others in a third group think that abortion should be allowed under some, but not all circumstances, and those within this group hold a variety of views about the particular restrictions that should be imposed. The Court’s decision held that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion, and going forward, abortion rights will be determined by each state. In. other words, abortion does not automatically become illegal nationwide, however in states that ban abortion, it could result in a felony and doctors could face prison time.
The abortion debate has profound implications on how theological views are preached and taught in individual churches, homes including seminaries. The pews are split. Some say abortion is murder, while others say, the woman has a right to control her body. This leads to the question: How does your faith shape your position on abortion? What Bible passages do you cite to justify your position?
Some profess to preach and teach a prophetic liberating gospel, yet when it comes to the theological and moral issue of abortion, they take a stance that they will not make a comment in public. This raises the question of who really speaks for the church. Can bishops, pastors, lay ministers, elders, and Sunday School teachers be expected to reflect the thinking of the membership? Does the membership dictate what can be preached? In the words of a well-known pastor, do we just deal with the sweet now and now, and not the nasty now and now? I believe he got it right. Are you a prophet who will speak on difficult sensitive subjects, or do you skirt them in favor of not upsetting the pews with realities that may be painful to some?
We must deal with moral sensitive issues without injuring the freedom of women. I believe the question of whether the church should be involved in social and political issues is not that difficult. The more difficult is why it should be involved and how, and more importantly using scripture to justify their position. What about those who take scripture as a means of justifying their position on moral issues. History informs us that enslaved women were forced to have sex with their slave masters as a means of birthing more slaves; the slave owners used the scripture, “slaves obey your masters.”
With regards to abortion, some declare that God said abortion is murder, though they cannot find a thread of evidence in the bible to back their statement and rely on the commandment “thou shalt not kill.” Some pastors have interpreted scripture to say, God does not want a woman preaching or teaching. Some pastors are taking scripture out of context on the pretext that the Lord is speaking, when it is highly possible their interpretation is a misinterpretation. This all suggests that people sometimes appeal to the Bible and other religious sources in selective and self-serving ways: They come to the Bible with their previously held moral assumptions and seek to find something in the Bible to justify them. The Bible does not talk explicitly about abortion, pro or con in any kind of way. It’s just not there.
Overturning Roe assumes that some life, some bodies, are worth more than others — that some bodies can and should be restricted, controlled and used at will.
In the coming months as states create new abortion restrictions, the same kind of underground movement of women searching for safe abortions most likely will become a reality again. Will Christians accompany these women? Or, will the loudest Christian response to abortion continue to be the Religious Right, shouting from their place of privilege, piety and power? Dr. Obery Hendricks, biblical scholar and activist reminds us, “some Black Christians can be some of the most religiously conservative people in America.”
Continue to pray for Brittney Grimes, our daughter, sister, friend.
Activism
20 Years Later, Breast Cancer Emergency Fund a Testament to Faith Fancher’s Enduring Legacy
When a woman is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, chemotherapy and radiation often make her too weak to work. If she is working a low-paying job or unemployed, the mounting bills can become overwhelming. For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.

By Tammerlin Drummond
When a woman is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, chemotherapy and radiation often make her too weak to work. If she is working a low-paying job or unemployed, the mounting bills can become overwhelming.
For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.
Grant recipients have used the money to help pay for food, utilities, rent, car insurance, medical co-pays and other necessities. One woman who was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer said she used her $595 grant to buy an oxygen concentrator.
“You could say the air I breathe is because of your generosity,” she said. “I am so incredibly grateful to you and am feeling better every day.
The fund is named in honor of Faith Fancher, a popular television reporter at KTVU who died in 2003 after a valiant battle against breast disease, the web site says. Fancher saw her own cancer as an opportunity to use her public profile to raise awareness and educate others about the importance of early detection.
Fancher founded an organization called Friends of Faith that was dedicated to raising funds for low-income women with breast cancer.
It was 20 years ago this March that Fancher first approached the Women’s Cancer Resource Center about setting up an emergency grant program for women going through breast cancer treatment.
One of the earliest recipients was a 50-year-old homeless woman who used her $595 grant to pay for moving costs into housing she could afford.
“Faith understood the financial burden that low-income individuals faced when diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Dolores Moorehead, who oversees the fund at the WCRC. “This was the first fund dedicated to financial support being offered in the East Bay.”
Over the past two decades, the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund has given out $992,000 in one-time cash grants. There have been 2,500 beneficiaries, including women and some men with breast cancer.
Ricki Stevenson, a founding member of Friends of Faith, reflected on Fancher’s legacy and the enduring impact of the emergency fund that she created.
“It says that Faith continues to be a presence and it wasn’t just about her,” Stevenson said. “It was so all of the other sisters who come behind us they now have help even though they don’t have the same resources.”
Rosie Allen, another founding member of Friends of Faith, said Fancher left a lasting impact. “Twenty years later Faith is no longer with us, but the breast cancer emergency fund lives on and the need is even greater than ever.”
The Friends of Faith used to host an annual 5K walk/run at Lake Merritt to honor Fancher after she died. It raised funds for the emergency fund and other Bay Area non-profits that provide services to breast cancer survivors.
After Friends of Faith disbanded in 2017, the To Celebrate Life Foundation, former Friends of Faith board members and community members have continued to support the breast cancer emergency fund.
Shyanne Reese used her grant to help pay her rent while she was going through breast cancer treatment.
“I often reflect on how I wish I could share with Faith the impact her life and friends made on me in a non-judgement environment, relieving the financial stress of simply paying the rent so that I could focus on healing,” Reese said.
“With your support, we are able to continue this fund and support our community members when they need us most, said WCRC Executive Director Amy Alanes.
To donate to the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency fund, visit https://tinyurl.com/FaithFancher.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of March 29 – April 4, 2023
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 29 – April 4, 2023

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
How the Crack Cocaine Epidemic Led to Mass Sex Exploitation of Black People PART 3: The Case Against SB357: Black, Vulnerable and Trafficked
Although California Senate Bill 357 was intended to alleviate arrests of willing sex workers under anti-loitering laws, it opened up a Pandora’s box loophole that hinders the ability of law enforcement to halt human trafficking, especially of young Black and Brown girls. This segment continues to explore the history that led to this latest form of exploitation in Oakland.

By Tanya Dennis and Vanessa Russell
Although California Senate Bill 357 was intended to alleviate arrests of willing sex workers under anti-loitering laws, it opened up a Pandora’s box loophole that hinders the ability of law enforcement to halt human trafficking, especially of young Black and Brown girls. This segment continues to explore the history that led to this latest form of exploitation in Oakland.
It was 1980: The beginning of the end for the Black family and Black community as we knew it.
Crack cocaine was introduced to the United States that year and it rendered unparalleled devastation on Black folks. Crack is a solid smokable form of cocaine made by boiling baking soda, cocaine, and water into a rock that crackles when smoked.
The tremendous high — especially when first smoked — and the low cost brought temporary relief to the repeatedly and relentlessly traumatized members of the Black community.
What was unknown at the time was how highly addictive this form of cocaine would be and how harmful the ensuing impact on the Black family when the addicted Black mother was no longer a haven of safety for her children.
The form made it easy to mass produce and distribute, opening the market to anyone and everyone, including many Black men who viewed selling crack as their way out of poverty.
These two factors — addicted Black women and drug-dealing Black men — would lead to the street exploitation for sex as we know it today.
Encouraged to try it free initially, most poor, Black women in the 1980s used crack cocaine in a social setting with friends. When the free samples disappeared the drug dealer offered to supply the women crack in exchange for allowing him to sell their bodies to sex buyers.
The increase in the supply of women willing to exchange sex for crack — a.k.a. the “sex for crack barter system” — caused the price of sex to decrease and at the same time increased the demand for sex because more buyers could afford it.
The desperation of the women to get their hit of crack made them willing to endure any form of abuse and treatment from buyers during sex, including unprotected and violent sex.
It also pushed desperate Black women onto the street to pursue sex buyers, flagging down cars and willing to have sex anywhere actively and desperately. Street prostitution grew and buyers were able to buy oral sex for as little as $5.
This sex-for-crack barter system resulted in a dramatic increase in sexually transmitted diseases including HIV and AIDS, both of which are disproportionately represented among Black people.
It also resulted in unplanned pregnancies by unknown fathers, which then resulted in children born addicted to crack who were immediately placed in the foster care system where they were often abused and/or neglected.
For his part, the Black man who engaged in the mass production and distribution of crack was often killed by gun violence while fighting over drug territory or incarcerated for long periods of time as use and sales and distribution of crack carried longer sentences than powdered cocaine.
Crack unleashed an entire chain of new trauma upon the Black family which then all but collapsed under this latest social attack that had started with chattel slavery, followed by Jim Crow, redlining, school segregation, food deserts, et. al.
Exploitation was and is at the root of the crack cocaine epidemic. It is the latest weapon used to prey upon Black people since the beginning of our time in the United States.
The sex industry and legislation like SB357 have only increased harm to Black people who have been historically oppressed with racist laws and epidemics including crack. More must be done to restore the Black community.
Tanya Dennis serves on the Board of Oakland Frontline Healers (OFH) and series co-author Vanessa Russell of “Love Never Fails Us” and member of OFH.
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