Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Loretta Ross
Loretta J. Ross (born August 16, 1953) is an American academic, feminist, and activist who advocates for reproductive justice, especially among women of color. As an activist, Ross has written on reproductive justice activism and the history of African American women.
Ross was born in Temple, Texas on August 16, 1953, the sixth of eight children in a blended family. Her father, who immigrated from Jamaica, was an Army weapons specialist and drill sergeant. He retired from the military in 1963, worked for the Post Office, and held odd jobs to support his family. Ross' mother worked as a domestic worker and owned a music store, but was a stay-at-home mother while Ross was growing up. For her primary education, Ross attended integrated schools: Army schools through second grade, then public schools. She was double-promoted in elementary grades and was an honors student in high school. Ross' grades were high and she received honors during her school years. She was driven to excel in school so that she could have a good job and not have to do housework like her mother.
In 1964, at age 11, Ross was raped by a stranger. Three years later, Ross was raped by her distant cousin. Abortion was not a legal option in 1969; she gave birth to her son, Howard, as a result of the rape. Ross lost her scholarship from Radcliffe College of Harvard University when she decided to keep her son instead of placing him up for adoption. At age 16, she got pregnant again from consensual sex with her first boyfriend. However, abortion was legal in D.C and she was able to safely terminate the pregnancy.
In 1970, Ross attended Howard University for her tertiary education after being denied admission to Radcliffe after officials found out about her child. During her undergraduate career at Howard, she became actively involved in black nationalist politics, civil rights movements (feminism and antiracism), and tenant organizing. Ross joined a Marxist–Leninist discussion group called the D.C. Study Group, and the South Africa Support Project.
In 1976, at age 23, Ross experienced sterilization abuse when she was rendered sterile with the Dalkon Shield, an intrauterine device that was marketed despite being found to be defective. The device caused major negative health consequences to its users,particularly African American and poor communities[citation needed]. Loretta Ross received the Dalkon Shield at Howard University from a health clinic free of charge. This device caused her to develop a pelvic inflammatory disease, which she endured for six months. During these six months, her concerns were brushed off. Clinic staff told her that her problem stemmed from a rare STD caught by having sex with GI soldiers that had come back from Vietnam. However, she did not know any GIs. After six months of dealing with her disease brought on by Dalkon Shield, she developed a severe infection which resulted in a coma. After waking up from the coma, she learned that the doctors had performed a total hysterectomy. Ross says that her doctor visited her after the surgery was complete and wrongly assumed that she would be happy to no longer need the usage of birth control or deal with menstruation. Ross was among the first women of color to win the lawsuit against the manufacturer of the Dalkon Shield, A.H. Robins.[citation needed] This incident convinced Ross that her sterilization was a form of population control due to the birth control being given for free at a historically Black college, and became extremely vocal around issues regarding reproductive rights. In November 1980, the murder of her close friend and political ally, Yulanda Ward, became a turning point in Ross' life as an activist. Yulanda Ward was a co-chairwoman of the District's City Wide Housing Coalition; she was mysteriously shot and killed in the midst of a street robbery. Ross has referred to this murder as a political assassination.
In 2007, Ross completed her bachelor's degree at Agnes Scott College. Under the direction of professor Elizabeth Hackett, Ross wrote Just Choices: Women of Color, Reproductive Health and Human Rights, her capstone Women's Studies independent study project at Agnes Scott. She is pursuing her PhD in Women's Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 2018, she was hired by Arizona State University to teach a 400-level course on Reproductive Justice, a topic on which she has co-authored three books.
In 2019, she joined the faculty of Smith College as a Visiting Associate Professor of the Study of Women & Gender.
Hub AI
Loretta Ross AI simulator
(@Loretta Ross_simulator)
Loretta Ross
Loretta J. Ross (born August 16, 1953) is an American academic, feminist, and activist who advocates for reproductive justice, especially among women of color. As an activist, Ross has written on reproductive justice activism and the history of African American women.
Ross was born in Temple, Texas on August 16, 1953, the sixth of eight children in a blended family. Her father, who immigrated from Jamaica, was an Army weapons specialist and drill sergeant. He retired from the military in 1963, worked for the Post Office, and held odd jobs to support his family. Ross' mother worked as a domestic worker and owned a music store, but was a stay-at-home mother while Ross was growing up. For her primary education, Ross attended integrated schools: Army schools through second grade, then public schools. She was double-promoted in elementary grades and was an honors student in high school. Ross' grades were high and she received honors during her school years. She was driven to excel in school so that she could have a good job and not have to do housework like her mother.
In 1964, at age 11, Ross was raped by a stranger. Three years later, Ross was raped by her distant cousin. Abortion was not a legal option in 1969; she gave birth to her son, Howard, as a result of the rape. Ross lost her scholarship from Radcliffe College of Harvard University when she decided to keep her son instead of placing him up for adoption. At age 16, she got pregnant again from consensual sex with her first boyfriend. However, abortion was legal in D.C and she was able to safely terminate the pregnancy.
In 1970, Ross attended Howard University for her tertiary education after being denied admission to Radcliffe after officials found out about her child. During her undergraduate career at Howard, she became actively involved in black nationalist politics, civil rights movements (feminism and antiracism), and tenant organizing. Ross joined a Marxist–Leninist discussion group called the D.C. Study Group, and the South Africa Support Project.
In 1976, at age 23, Ross experienced sterilization abuse when she was rendered sterile with the Dalkon Shield, an intrauterine device that was marketed despite being found to be defective. The device caused major negative health consequences to its users,particularly African American and poor communities[citation needed]. Loretta Ross received the Dalkon Shield at Howard University from a health clinic free of charge. This device caused her to develop a pelvic inflammatory disease, which she endured for six months. During these six months, her concerns were brushed off. Clinic staff told her that her problem stemmed from a rare STD caught by having sex with GI soldiers that had come back from Vietnam. However, she did not know any GIs. After six months of dealing with her disease brought on by Dalkon Shield, she developed a severe infection which resulted in a coma. After waking up from the coma, she learned that the doctors had performed a total hysterectomy. Ross says that her doctor visited her after the surgery was complete and wrongly assumed that she would be happy to no longer need the usage of birth control or deal with menstruation. Ross was among the first women of color to win the lawsuit against the manufacturer of the Dalkon Shield, A.H. Robins.[citation needed] This incident convinced Ross that her sterilization was a form of population control due to the birth control being given for free at a historically Black college, and became extremely vocal around issues regarding reproductive rights. In November 1980, the murder of her close friend and political ally, Yulanda Ward, became a turning point in Ross' life as an activist. Yulanda Ward was a co-chairwoman of the District's City Wide Housing Coalition; she was mysteriously shot and killed in the midst of a street robbery. Ross has referred to this murder as a political assassination.
In 2007, Ross completed her bachelor's degree at Agnes Scott College. Under the direction of professor Elizabeth Hackett, Ross wrote Just Choices: Women of Color, Reproductive Health and Human Rights, her capstone Women's Studies independent study project at Agnes Scott. She is pursuing her PhD in Women's Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 2018, she was hired by Arizona State University to teach a 400-level course on Reproductive Justice, a topic on which she has co-authored three books.
In 2019, she joined the faculty of Smith College as a Visiting Associate Professor of the Study of Women & Gender.