PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — La'Tasha D. Mayes has been fighting for the rights of Black women, girls, femmes and folx for nearly two decades.
She co-founded New Voices for Reproductive Justice in 2004 and currently serves as its president and CEO.
In the battle to clear a space so Black women and girls can thrive, the organization creates programs and direct actions that address Black maternal health, provide access to contraception, and improve dignity for pregnant incarcerated women. They lobby elected officials to pass laws that would improve Black women's lives, engage voters and much, much more.
"How do Black women live a long, healthy and joyful life?" Mayes questioned.
"We all have the human right to control our body, our sexuality, our gender, our work, our reproduction and our ability to form our families."
Mayes decided to take on reproductive justice issues after watching her single mother raise two kids. They struggled in West Philadelphia, and her mother's life was much tougher than it should have been, Mayes said. Her mother died of a stroke in her late 50s.
She said it didn't have to be that way.
"Black women lead hard and difficult lives," she explained. "Our mothers often make great sacrifices for us, but what if they didn't have to."
Mayes' activism began in childhood. She always debated others over the rights of LGBT people and women. When she went on to study at the University of Pittsburgh, she helped organize a national march for choice, bringing together women of color across western Pennsylvania.
At that moment, she realized the power that women of color, as a collective, have.
"There's power in what we can do as people who are organized," she added, "and we started to build the organization from there."
Black people are not a one-issue people, said Mayes. Since its inception, New Voices has raised issues at the intersection of race and gender.
The organization has since expanded to Cleveland and beyond. In 2016, the group planted itself in Philadelphia. Mayes moved back last year, and New Voices has thrived in the city.
With collaborations last summer, New Voices organized the SayHERName March for Justice, bringing hundreds of people to 52nd Street to honor Breonna Taylor, Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells and Nalani Johnson — Black women and girls lost to senseless violence.
Fells, a 27-year-old transgender woman, was killed last summer in West Philadelphia.
"We had to step into that moment," Mayes recalled. "It was the most amazing thing I had seen in a long time from New Voices."
New Voices also launched a COVID-19 Community Relief Initiative that gave families a range of services, like diapers, menstrual products, community wash drives and cash grants for utilities. It also created an emergency contraceptive initiative.
This month, New Voices kicked off Women of Color Herstory Month, with a theme centered on "Black Majesty."
"Because that's who Black people are," said Mayes. "That's who Black women are. There is nothing that Black women cannot accomplish."
As for the future, New Voices seeks to expand even more. The nonprofit already has a national presence, but Mayes wants to ensure it sets up shop in 15 new cities over the next 15 years.
She's changing the game by blazing a trail for women of color.
"There is no success in this world not just without the labor of Black women, but also without the leadership of Black women," she added.
KYW Newsradio's GameChangers honors 10 individuals or organizations that have made a significant, positive impact in communities of color in the greater Philadelphia region. KYW community affairs reporter Cherri Gregg will host a virtual evening honoring this year's awardees on Feb. 24.
For a full list of 2021 honorees, click here.
