Alabama on My Mind

thoughts on embryos and my ABC debut

Sorry that this is showing up several days late. I promise to make it up with an extra post this week.

Last week was a particularly busy one. Tuesday, I flew down to Los Angeles from Oakland to do some press for What Would You Do?, the ABC reality show that I’m a guest correspondent on this season. My first episode aired on Sunday 2/25. You can check it out on Hulu. My next episode is coming up on Sunday 3/17.

Oh, look at this! I found my segment from last Sunday’s show on ABC’s official YouTube channel! YAY ACCESSIBILITY!!!

John Quinones, an award winning journalist in his day job, has hosted this show for the entire seventeen seasons that it’s been on. Seventeen seasons of a TV show is unfathomable at this point (unless you’re yellow and your last name is “Simpson”). And it is an even bigger deal when it isn’t even your main gig. And whether you think you have heard of What Would You Do? or not, it has probably come across your screen at some point. Back in the early 2000’s, it started as a segment on the ABC news magazine show, Primetime (fka Primetime Live). It was so popular that it spun off into its own show. In the last few years its clips on social media have become popular, too. As you will see, it is a conversation starter to say the least.

I was super surprised and honored to be asked to be a part of it. And I was even more excited when I found out that they wanted to film in my dad’s hometown of Mobile, Alabama. I’ve talked about my connection to Mobile in my first book and in the New York Times, and I was able to focus on it for an entire episode of United Shades of America. Check it out on Max. That’s a big deal for a town that is mostly known for being the place where the last slave ship landed. It is also the birthplace of Mardi Gras. But I don’t want to say that too loud, because that indisputable fact gets New Orleans people in their feelings.

As you can see in the YouTube clip of the show, I spent a lot of time in my feelings during the film shoot. As happy as I was to be able to film in Alabama and to be able to have dinner with my dad every night, I was also nervous about how Alabama would show up on camera. I also really appreciated the fact that the producers let me work on a subject that was close to my heart. (Or maybe close to the top of my head.) And I’m really happy how well Alabama comes off in that clip.

Did you watch the clip? What would you do? Tell me about it.

I am not breaking news when I say that Alabama rarely makes national news headlines for good reasons. It is usually for reasons that just continue to support the long held stereotypes of the south. The most recent (and incredibly scary) example of this is how the Alabama government has defined embryos as children. (For a great summary, check out this story on Democracy Now.) The decision by the state courts has led to an expected pushback – even from some Republicans. But the Republicans seem to only be concerned with how this affects in vitro fertilization (IVF). To paraphrase a famous Michael Jordan quote: Republicans want frozen embryos, too. 

But as we all know, that’s not enough. Abortion rights are being threatened all over the country. 

Meanwhile in France, they are enshrining the right to an abortion in their constitution. And the truly wild thing about it is that one of the reasons that they are doing this is to stand in contrast to our country. WOOOOOOOW! Young kids in France are going to be raised to look at the United States the same way America had the little kid version of me looking at the Soviet Union: a tragically ridiculous, backwards land of sadness.

2024 continues to already be a beast in America, and we have just begun.

To combat that, I want to encourage you to support The Yellowhammer Fund (either by spreading the word or by donating). Here is their story in their words:

“The Yellowhammer Fund is a 501(c)3 abortion advocacy and reproductive justice organization serving Alabama, Mississippi, and the Deep South. We envision a society in which reproductive decisions are made free from coercion, shame, or state interference, a society in which individuals and communities have autonomy in making healthy choices regarding their bodies and their futures. We commit ourselves to community education and empowerment, policy advocacy, and the development of systems of mutual aid to ensure that our friends, families, and neighbors never go without the things they need.”

Learn more here!

Please do what you can to support in whatever way you can. Trust me. Don’t let the headlines fool you. Whether it is my family and friends, or the crew at The Yellowhammer Fund, or the people who stepped up in What Would You Do? there are good people in Alabama.

You’re With Me!

This week’s updates:

• If you are reading this on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 annnnnnnd you live in Alabama, Alaska (GOP only), Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, or American Samoa THEN TODAY IS VOTING DAY!!! Get out and VOTE! And this isn’t just about the presidential primary. I’m sure that wherever you are voting there are choices up and down the ballot where you can make your community better. If you are like me and you live in California, I personally recommend that you vote for my representative Barbara Lee for senate. If you want to lane more about her, check out this Instagram live I did with her and my friend, Pastor Michael McBride.

• March Office Hours: Our second edition of Office Hours will happen on Friday 3/29 from 11am - 12pm PST / 2pm - 3pm EST. Save the date! Thanks to everyone who joined the February gathering. We covered a lot of ground! If you want to make sure you get the invite on 3/29, consider upgrading your subscription to “paid”!

• The Donors Choose fundraisers we shared last time got funded! Boy does that feel good. Today, let’s keep our sights set on the Yellowhammer Fund. In the next newsletter, we’ll share some more Donors Choose projects. Go team!

• And now for something completely different! I was on After Midnight on Thursday. You can stream the episode here for the next few days. It expires on Thursday 3/7. If you miss out, there are some clips on YouTube.