Abolitionists Rising

Last updated

Abolitionists Rising (formerly known as Free The States [1] ) is an American anti-abortion organization based in Oklahoma. It is known for its categorical opposition to abortion and cold contact engagement with pedestrians, college students, and pro-choice or pro-life figures.

Contents

Key principles

In using the term "abolitionist" in its name, Abolitionists Rising also draws a parallel between pro-abortion rhetoric and pro-slavery rhetoric (namely, "My property, my prerogative" and "My body, my choice"). [2] [3]

The organization calls attention to the religious motivation of many abolitionists during the Second Great Awakening, and frequently cites historic abolitionist thought as authority, including that of William Wilberforce, William Lloyd Garrison, and Frederick Douglass, [4] [5] especially the belief that humans, from conception onwards, are made in the image of God and thus deserve equal protection under the law of the land. [3] [6]

Activities

Online advocacy

Abolitionists Rising promotes laws and policies that advocate for the outlawing of abortion, indiscriminate of circumstance. In part due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, [1] and in part due to the group's viral videos on social media (such as via YouTube Shorts), [7] the organization gained significant traction in 2023. [8]

Partnership with other abolitionists

The organization says that several of its members have joined from the pro-life movement, [2] and have worked with former Oklahoma State Senator Joseph Silk [9] and Senator Dusty Deevers. [10]

Appeal through art

Much of the artwork generated by Abolitionists Rising is created by T. Russell Hunter, one of the main debaters who is frequently featured in the organization's social media content. Many of these artworks are put on posters, which are held up at art walks and other public streets to prompt conversation. [11]

Theological engagement

Often the debaters also opt for the use of biblical language. For example, they consistently describe abortion as "child sacrifice," [12] drawing a parallel between modern abortion and ancient Israel's infanticidal practices in its worship of Molech. Like the original abolitionists, the group also describes immorality primarily in terms of the category of sin, such as characterizing the practice of chattel slavery as the sin of "manstealing," [13] [14] a word that harkens back to Exodus 21:16.

Reception

The organization has also been accused of "[appropriating] anti-slavery messaging and imagery" by some in the pro-choice demographic [6] and being too extreme by some in the pro-life demographic. [15] In the face of such accusations, Abolitionists Rising members maintain that a national ban on slavery, too, was once perceived as an extreme stance. [15]

In 2023, in Wichita, Kansas, a group of Abolitionists Rising members were confronted by a former police officer, who was identified in a video making threats, knocking down a camera, and allegedly injuring one of the debaters. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas–Nebraska Act</span> 1854 organic act

The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law by President Franklin Pierce. Douglas introduced the bill intending to open up new lands to develop and facilitate the construction of a transcontinental railroad. However, the Kansas–Nebraska Act effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, stoking national tensions over slavery and contributing to a series of armed conflicts known as "Bleeding Kansas."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Wilberforce</span> English politician and abolitionist (1759–1833)

William Wilberforce was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, and became an independent Member of Parliament (MP) for Yorkshire (1784–1812). In 1785, he underwent a conversion experience and became an Evangelical Anglican, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States abortion-rights movement</span> Support for womens right to elective abortion

The United States abortion-rights movement is a sociopolitical movement in the United States supporting the view that a woman should have the legal right to an elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy, and is part of a broader global abortion-rights movement. The movement consists of a variety of organizations, with no single centralized decision-making body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free Soil Party</span> Precursor to the US Republican Party

The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Anti-Slavery Society</span> Abolitionist society in existence from 1833–1870

The American Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, had become a prominent abolitionist and was a key leader of this society, who often spoke at its meetings. William Wells Brown, also a freedman, also often spoke at meetings. By 1838, the society had 1,350 local chapters with around 250,000 members.

<i>The Liberator</i> (newspaper) American abolitionist newspaper (1831–1865)

The Liberator (1831–1865) was a weekly abolitionist newspaper, printed and published in Boston by William Lloyd Garrison and, through 1839, by Isaac Knapp. Religious rather than political, it appealed to the moral conscience of its readers, urging them to demand immediate freeing of the slaves ("immediatism"). It also promoted women's rights, an issue that split the American abolitionist movement. Despite its modest circulation of 3,000, it had prominent and influential readers, including all the abolitionist leaders, among them Frederick Douglass, Beriah Green, Arthur and Lewis Tappan, and Alfred Niger. It frequently printed or reprinted letters, reports, sermons, and news stories relating to American slavery, becoming a sort of community bulletin board for the new abolitionist movement that Garrison helped foster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison abolition movement in the United States</span> Movement to end incarceration

The prison abolition movement is a network of groups and activists that seek to reduce or eliminate prisons and the prison system, and replace them with systems of rehabilitation and education that do not focus on punishment and government institutionalization. The prison abolitionist movement is distinct from conventional prison reform, which is intended to improve conditions inside prisons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States anti-abortion movement</span> Movement in the United States opposing abortion

The United Statesanti-abortion movement is a movement in the United States that opposes induced abortion and advocates for the protection of fetal life. Advocates support legal prohibition or restriction on ethical, moral, or religious grounds, arguing that human life begins at conception and that the human zygote, embryo or fetus is a person and therefore has a right to life. The anti-abortion movement includes a variety of organizations, with no single centralized decision-making body. There are diverse arguments and rationales for the anti-abortion stance. Some allow for some permissible abortions, including therapeutic abortions, in exceptional circumstances such as incest, rape, severe fetal defects, or when the woman's health is at risk.

The Republican National Coalition for Life (RNCL), often stylized as RNC/Life, is an organization formed to maintain the commitment of the Republican Party of the United States to anti-abortion principles.

The Wish List is a political action committee devoted to electing pro-abortion rights, also called pro-choice, Republican women to the House of Representatives and Senate. The Wish List was founded in 1992. The acronym "WISH" stands for Women In the Senate and House. The Wish List recruits candidates to run for federal office and state legislative offices.

The Republican Majority for Choice (RMC) was a Republican organization in the United States dedicated to preserving legal access to abortion. The group also supported federal funding for all kinds of stem cell research, including embryonic stem cell research.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is an American 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the US, by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA Pro-Life America Candidate Fund political action committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Crothers</span> Presbyterian minister & abolitionist

Samuel Crothers was a Presbyterian minister, writer, and outspoken antislavery advocate.

Abortion abolitionism is an absolutist anti-abortion philosophy, often in disagreement with mainstream anti-abortion positions and organizations that are largely incrementalistic. Abortion abolitionists are in opposition to incrementalism, often opposing or criticizing laws that fall short of the complete abolition and prohibition of abortion. Abortion abolitionists have adopted the term "abolitionist" to separate themselves from being classified as simply "pro-life" and to make a moral comparison between abortion and slavery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abolitionism in the United States</span> Movement to end slavery in the United States

In the United States, abolitionism, the movement that sought to end slavery in the country, was active from the colonial era until the American Civil War, the end of which brought about the abolition of American slavery, except as punishment for a crime, through the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Olsen</span> Oklahoma politician

Jim Olsen is an American politician who serves in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 2nd district as a member of the Republican Party. He was elected to the state house in the 2018 election to succeed John R. Bennett. During his tenure he has been criticized by other members of the state house for his positions and statements on abortion, slavery, and education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Kansas abortion referendum</span>

The 2022 Kansas abortion referendum was a rejected legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Kansas Constitution that appeared on the ballot on August 2, 2022, alongside primary elections for statewide offices, with early voting from July 13. If enacted, the amendment would have declared that the Kansas Constitution does not guarantee a right to abortion, giving the Kansas state government power to prosecute individuals involved in abortions, and further declared that the Kansas government is not required to fund abortions.

Abolitionist children’s literature includes works written for children by authors committed to the movement to end slavery. It aimed to instill in young readers an understanding of slavery, racial hierarchies, sympathy for the enslaved, and a desire for emancipation. A variety of literary forms were used by abolitionist children’s authors including, short stories, poems, songs, nursery rhymes and dialogues, much of it written by white women. Pamphlets, picture books and periodicals were the primary forms of abolitionist children’s literature, often using Biblical themes to reinforce the wickedness of slavery. Abolitionist children's literature was countered with pro-slavery material aimed at children, which attempting to depict slavery as a noble pursuit, and slaves as stupid and grateful, or evil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusty Deevers</span> American politician

Dusty Deevers is an American politician and pastor who has served as a member of the Oklahoma Senate since December 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.

References

  1. 1 2 Silver, Hannah; Cooper, Cloee (October 26, 2023). "101: Abortion Abolitionists". Political Research Associates.
  2. 1 2 "Abortion 'abolitionists' in Kansas and other states want to charge women with murder". KCUR. 2023-06-22. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  3. 1 2 "Woke Christians Seethe and Rage, Say Viral Anti-Abortion Shirt is 'Racist'". Protestia. 2023-05-14. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  4. ↑ "Abolitionist Theological Foundations". Abolitionists Rising. 2023-05-15. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  5. ↑ "Biblical, Not Secular". Abolitionists Rising. 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  6. 1 2 Gelder, Austin (2023-03-21). "New anti-abortion group clogs Stuttgart municipal phone lines, city and emergency services plead for mercy". Arkansas Times. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  7. ↑ "'Abolitionist Rising' Becomes Most Viewed Anti-Abortion Channel on YouTube, Besting Major Pro-Life Orgs". Protestia. 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  8. ↑ Sherman, Carter (2023-12-14). "An 'abortion abolitionist' became an Oklahoma senator. The fringe is celebrating its big victory". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  9. ↑ "2022 Abolition NOW EFBC Conference Registration". Free The States. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  10. ↑ Staff, A. O. L. (2024-02-27). "As more seek abortions elsewhere or order pills online, Oklahoma lawmakers seek tougher laws". www.aol.com. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  11. ↑ "Ideological enemies". WORLD. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  12. ↑ Harvey, Sascha. "Opinion: Keep your 'abolitionist' rallies off my campus". The Sunflower. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  13. ↑ Abzug, Robert. "Abolition and Religion" (PDF). National Humanities Center. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  14. ↑ "No Exceptions". Abolitionists Rising. 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  15. 1 2 "Abortion 'abolitionists' in Kansas and other states want to charge women with murder". Nebraska Public Media. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  16. ↑ Leader, Stuttgart Daily (2023-03-17). "Former SPD patrolman identified in altercation shown in circulating video". Stuttgart Daily Leader. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.