Photographer: Charlotte Bassin

We will not stay silent when people’s rights are under attack. 

Across the country, policymakers are enacting laws that threaten access to lifesaving healthcare and bodily autonomy. Between abortion bans, restricted access to gender-affirming care, and the continued threat of cuts to healthcare and food assistance programs, policies that undermine our humanity are waging harm, especially for communities that already experience systemic marginalization and injustice. And we’re pissed!!!  

That is why we at Athena Project are launching a month-long expansion to our Reproductive Justice campaign that is all about taking action to stand up for our rights and dignity. On top of our standard weekly posts highlighting a piece of Repro Justice art, we will be uplifting additional pieces of art every week, alongside concrete action items that YOU can take to support the fight for reproductive freedom. 

If you haven’t already, check out our first campaign blog post that takes a deeper dive into the current state of Reproductive Justice in the US.

The #ArtInAction Reproductive Justice campaign will run from May 25 to June 21, and each campaign week will feature a new call to action. Each action item you complete (and share with us) will enter you into a drawing for the chance to win a free Repro Justice art print or piece of Athena merch! Here’s your guide to each of the action items and how you can participate:

Logo designed by Julie Kitzes (@juliekitzes)

For this action item, it is not feasible to merely screenshot a protest sign online without receiving explicit permission from the publisher of the image; however, you are welcome to use signs posted online as inspiration when creating your own.

You can submit a photo of your protest sign(s) using this submission form, or by sending it to us via email (@[email protected]) or Instagram DM (@athenaprojectarts).

We will then take the protest sign images that we receive and highlight them on our social media pages, website, and/or newsletter. We will credit you in your preferred way in all places where your image is shared.

We have two action items in store for Week 2, and doing them both should take less than 10 minutes combined: Check your voter registration status and call your members of Congress. Once you’ve done one or both of these action items—or encouraged a friend to do so—let us know in the comments of one of the Week 2 Repro Justice social media posts, or send us a DM if you wish to share your participation more privately.

Checking your voter registration status ensures that you are registered to vote for upcoming elections, and that your information (e.g., the address that your ballot will be mailed to if you live in a mail-in state, like Colorado) is up to date. To check your voter registration status, you can visit your state’s Secretary of State website. Here’s the link to do this in Colorado.

It can feel intimidating to call your member of Congress, but breaking it down step-by-step can help.

Here’s what to do:

1. Figure out who your members of Congress are. You can find your House Representative here and your Senators here. 
2. Find their phone numbers directly (find House phone numbers and Senate phone numbers), or call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121, and they will transfer you to the correct office.
3. Call! Odds are, you won’t be talking to your representative directly; rather, you’ll be leaving a message with one of their staff or on an answering machine. 
4. It can help to have a template to reference when making the call. If there is a specific bill that you would like your representative to support/oppose, make sure you tell them to vote yes/no on that bill explicitly. Here’s an example call template:

We invite you to comment on social media (or send us a DM), telling us that you made your call and/or checked your voter registration status, along with WHY you chose to support Repro Justice in this way. This makes your action visible and enters you into the drawing to win a Repro Justice art print or piece of Athena merch.

Powerful change starts at the local level. For Week 3, we invite you to volunteer with or donate to a local Reproductive Justice-related organization. Remember, Athena’s definition of Reproductive Justice is vast, and includes access to abortion, gender-affirming care, contraception, comprehensive sex education, safe and healthy environments to raise children, and more. Find a locally based organization that works on one or more of the issues that fall under Reproductive Justice, and let us know when and WHY you volunteer/donate in a comment on one of our Week 3 Repro Justice social media posts (or send us a DM).

If you need a list of Colorado-based orgs to start with, check out the following list:

1. Cobalt
2. The ACLU of Colorado
3. Period Kits Colorado
4. COLOR
5. New Era Colorado

Note: While donating to/volunteering with Athena Project doesn’t count for entry into the prize drawing, it does support the work we do that makes this campaign possible.

Take your voice (and perhaps the protest sign you made in Week 1) to the streets! For the final week of the #ArtInAction Repro Justice campaign, we invite you to attend a protest to support Repro Justice. Once you’ve registered for or attended the protest, let us know you did and tell us WHY in a comment on one of our Week 4 Repro Justice social media posts, or send us a DM.

Don’t know where to find a list of protests happening in your area? Try checking out Indivisible or Mobilize, which feature a whole list of upcoming rallies and events.

This piece, created by Caitlin Blunnie (@liberaljane), reads, “Gender affirming care saves lives.” Athena’s definition of Reproductive Justice is multi-faceted and includes access to gender-affirming care, recognizing that we all deserve the right to control our own bodies and futures.

If you are interested in submitting your work, you can learn more about what we’re looking for in this Athena blog post or by reaching out to us via email at [email protected].

For inspiration, we invite you to check out last year’s amazing campaign art submissions, which are all featured in this blog post.

Those who participate in Athena’s #ArtInAction Reproductive Justice campaign will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win a free Repro Justice art print or piece of Athena Project merch. There are several ways you can enter to be one of two winners:

Those who participate in Athena’s #ArtInAction Reproductive Justice campaign will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win a free print of this design, created by Julie Kitzes (@juliekitzes).

3. If you would rather share your participation in a non-public way, you can send us a direct message (on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn) or email ([email protected]) telling us which action item you completed and why. You will receive one entry for each DM/email, with a limit of one entry per action item. 

All of these chances apply during the entire active campaign time window, from May 25 until June 21.

Find us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to check out our ongoing Tuesday Reproductive Justice art shares and stay tuned for updates about the upcoming #ArtInAction Reproductive Justice campaign. We invite you to like and share these posts to raise campaign awareness and visibility. 

If you are looking for more ways to support Athena Project, you can become an Athena volunteer or donate to support our work. 

*We recognize that the action items centered in our campaign may not be safe and accessible for everyone, especially amidst ongoing attacks on immigrant communities, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ people. We invite everyone to participate in our campaign to whatever extent they are able, knowing that there are many powerful ways to engage with the issue of Reproductive Justice that we have not explicitly named in our campaign. We are grateful for everyone who is taking peaceful action in support of Repro Justice, recognizing that such actions can look different for everyone. We invite you to reach out to us and let us know what actions you have taken to support Repro Justice, even if they are different than the action items featured in the campaign, or if sharing on social media feels unsafe. 

Our actions matter, and our activism makes a difference. 

With hope and with fire 🔥,

Iris

#ReproductiveJustice Campaign Coordinator