Reclaiming Our Way promoting the well-being of African American children & families

12Mar/130

Melissa Harris-Perry’s Open Letter to NYC Mayor Bloomberg

At the bottom of this post is a short video clip from last Saturday's Melissa Harris-Perry Show on MSNBC.  In the clip Melissa reads an open letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg about the city's new media campaign designed to discourage teenage pregnancy and shame teenage mothers.

Before the video is a sample poster/ad from the campaign.  Melissa takes on this ad in particular in her open letter...

I am rarely rendered speechless, but this one…just… I mean…

I cannot.

In a society that constantly tells black girls and women through popular culture and public policy that we are easily disposable, un-marriageable and wholly unlovable, this image of a child mocking her young mother with partner abandonment is a step too far. Maybe you don’t realize this, Mr. Mayor, but most of us who were raised by single moms never had any interest in shaming them. We tend to praise them. Recognize their sacrifices and see all the ways they worked to make the world better for us even when it was hard for them.

 

nyc teen preg ad - march 2013

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