SisterSong Inc., based in Atlanta, advocates for legal and state-supported abortion. ¹ SisterSong is a party in a lawsuit seeking to block Georgia’s ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. ² It portrays the fight for abortion as essential to the liberation of Black and Indigenous women and the fight against white supremacy. It also works to advance left-wing priorities on other issues like transgenderism³ and prison abolition.⁴ SisterSong also claims to represent the interests of illegal immigrants and sex workers.⁵

The organization’s executive director, Monica Simpson, was a guest of Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA) at President Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address. ⁶ SisterSong’s board of directors include an “openly queer preschool teacher” and a “Black trans womanist.” ⁷

Background

SisterSong was founded in 1997 by 16 organizations that had been a part of Women of Color Coalition for Reproductive Health Rights (WOCCRHR).⁸ SisterSong is based in Georgia and claims to focus much of its activism in southern states.⁹

Agenda

SisterSong advocates that abortion be not only legal but also provided free to the woman. The organization has affirmed, “Mainstream movements have focused on keeping abortion legal as an individual choice. That is necessary, but not enough. Even when abortion is legal, many women of color cannot afford it, or cannot travel hundreds of miles to the nearest clinic. There is no choice where there is no access.” ¹⁰ One of the ways SisterSong wants to achieve this vision is by addressing “intersecting oppressions.” ¹¹

SisterSong has argued that “reproductive politics in the US is based on gendered, sexualized, and racialized acts of dominance that occur on a daily basis.” ¹² In an interview, Monica Simpson, the executive director of SisterSong, said, “Abortion has never for us been a single-issue lens. So, when people are voting for abortion, they’re not just voting for abortion. They’re voting for economic justice, they’re voting for queer and trans liberation, they’re voting for the environment.” ¹³

The Democratic Party’s decision in 2016 to abandon its acceptance of the Hyde Amendment, which restricts direct federal funding of abortions, has been attributed partly to SisterSong; before that time, more prominent abortion advocacy organizations like Planned Parenthood and NARAL had resisted such a step.¹⁴

Along with Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and several other organizations, SisterSong is a party to a lawsuit against the state of Georgia that seeks to block a ban on abortions performed after six weeks’ fetal gestation passed by the state legislature in 2019. ¹⁵ The ban was enacted in 2019, but it was enjoined by a federal judge. However, after the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the injunction and allowed the ban to take effect. ¹⁶ SisterSong and other plaintiffs subsequently filed a lawsuit arguing that the ban was invalid since it was passed before the Dobbs decision. ¹⁷ Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney enjoined the law at the plaintiffs’ request, but his ruling was later overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court, allowing the law to temporarily take effect. ¹⁸

SisterSong sponsored the 2022 “Let’s Talk About Sex!” Conference¹⁹ and has participated in such conferences as far back as 2011.²⁰ SisterSong hosted a conference in Atlanta in January 2023, resulting in the “Visioning New Futures for Reproductive Justice Declaration.”²¹

People

SisterSong has 11 staff listed on its website and a 10-member board of directors. ^{22 23} Members of the board of directors include an “openly queer preschool teacher” and a “Black trans womanist” as well as employees of Planned Parenthood and Everytown for Gun Safety. ²⁴

Monica Simpson was a guest of  Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA) at the 2023 State of the Union Address. Williams said that she was “grateful for Monica’s leadership in the movement for Reproductive Justice as we continue to work collectively to stop extremist Republican attacks on our freedoms.” ²⁵ Simpson stated that “Congresswoman Williams is a fierce champion of issues that are central to SisterSong’s guiding tenet of Reproductive Justice—including abortion and bodily autonomy, voting rights, racial justice, and LGBTQI+ equality.” ²⁶

Finances

In the 2020 fiscal year, SisterSong’s total revenue was $8,432,588, and its total expenses were $2,374,427. ²⁷ In the 2019 fiscal year, SisterSong had $4,174,386 in total revenue and $2,558,219 in total expenses. ²⁸

SisterSong receives significant funding from and has extensive ties to the Ford Foundation,²⁹ which frequently promotes the work of SisterSong.³⁰ Between 2006 and 2023, the foundation had given 10 grants that totaled $3,295,000 to SisterSong.³¹

SisterSong received $250,000 in grants from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation in 2021 and $200,000 in 2019. ³² The organization also received a grant from MacKenzie Scott in March 2022. ³³ Other sources of funding include the Proteus Fund and Groundswell Fund.³⁴

1. SisterSong. “Reproductive Justice.” https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice. Accessed February 23, 2023.
2. ACLU. “SisterSong v. State of Georgia.” https://www.aclu.org/cases/sistersong-v-state-georgia. Accessed February 20, 2023.
3. “Georgia Supreme Court Allows Six-Week Abortion Ban to Again Take Effect.” ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union, November 23, 2022. https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/georgia-supreme-court-allows-six-week-abortion-ban-again-take-effect.
4. “Visioning New Futures for Reproductive Justice Declaration 2023.” SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. SisterSong, January 2023. https://www.sistersong.net/visioningnewfuturesforrj. 
5. “Visioning New Futures for Reproductive Justice Declaration 2023.” National Birth Equity Collaborative. National Birth Equity Collaborative, January 25, 2023. https://birthequity.org/news/visioning-new-futures-for-reproductive-justice-declaration-2023/.
6. Office of Congresswoman Nikema Williams. “Congresswoman Nikema Williams Hosting SisterSong Executive Director Monica Simpson for State of the Union Address.” February 7, 2023.
7. SisterSong. “Board of Directors.” https://www.sistersong.net/board-of-directors. Accessed February 23, 2023.
8. Silliman, Jael Miriam, Loretta Ross, Gutiérrez Elena R., and Marlene Gerber Fried. Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2016. 
9. “Building Southern Synergy.” SisterSong. SisterSong, Inc. Accessed April 16, 2023. https://www.sistersong.net/building-southern-synergy-programs. 
10. SisterSong. “Reproductive Justice.” https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice. Accessed February 23, 2023.
11. SisterSong. “Reproductive Justice.” https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice. Accessed February 23, 2023.
12. SisterSong. “Reproductive Justice” https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice. Accessed February 16, 2023.
13. Sanchez, Chelsey. “Abortion Rights Won the Midterms, but We’re Still Fighting For Our Lives.” Bazaar. November 12, 2022. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a41924650/midterm-elections-2022-abortion-rights-monica-simpson-interview/.
14. “Clinton Leads Way on Abortion Rights as Democrats Seek to End Decades-Old Rule.” The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited, July 26, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/26/abortion-rights-clinton-hyde-amendment-federal-funds. 
15. ACLU. “SisterSong v. State of Georgia.” https://www.aclu.org/cases/sistersong-v-state-georgia. Accessed February 20, 2023.
16. ACLU. “SisterSong v. State of Georgia.” https://www.aclu.org/cases/sistersong-v-state-georgia. Accessed February 20, 2023/.
17. ACLU. “SisterSong v. State of Georgia.” https://www.aclu.org/cases/sistersong-v-state-georgia. Accessed February 20, 2023.
18. ACLU. “Georgia Supreme Court Allows Six-Week Abortion Ban to Again Take Effect.” November 23, 2022. https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/georgia-supreme-court-allows-six-week-abortion-ban-again-take-effect.
19. “Let’s Talk About Sex! 2022.” Let’s Talk About Sex Conference. Accessed April 16, 2023. https://www.letstalkaboutsexconference.com/lets-talk-about-sex-conference-2022. 
20. Witcher, Francesca. “My Sistas Have Spoken! Now It’s Time to Act: The 2011 SisterSong ‘Let’s Talk About Sex’ Conference.” Feminist Campus. Feminist Campus, July 21, 2011. https://feministcampus.org/my-sistas-have-spoken-now-its-time-to-act-the-2011-sister-song-lets-talk-about-sex-conference/.
21. “Visioning New Futures for Reproductive Justice Declaration 2023.” National Birth Equity Collaborative. National Birth Equity Collaborative, January 25, 2023. https://birthequity.org/news/visioning-new-futures-for-reproductive-justice-declaration-2023/.
22. SisterSong. “Team SisterSong.” https://www.sistersong.net/team-sister-song. Accessed February 23, 2023.
23. SisterSong. “Board of Directors.” https://www.sistersong.net/board-of-directors. Accessed February 23, 2023.
24. SisterSong. “Board of Directors.” https://www.sistersong.net/board-of-directors. Accessed February 23, 2023.
25. Office of Congresswoman Nikema Williams. “Congresswoman Nikema Williams Hosting SisterSong Executive Director Monica Simpson for State of the Union Address.” February 7, 2023. https://nikemawilliams.house.gov/posts/congresswoman-nikema-williams-hosting-sistersong-executive-director-monica-simpson-for-state-of-the-union-address.
26. Office of Congresswoman Nikema Williams. “Congresswoman Nikema Williams Hosting SisterSong Executive Director Monica Simpson for State of the Union Address.” February 7, 2023. https://nikemawilliams.house.gov/posts/congresswoman-nikema-williams-hosting-sistersong-executive-director-monica-simpson-for-state-of-the-union-address.
27. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). SisterSong Inc. 2020. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/510544927
28. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). SisterSong Inc. 2019. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/510544927/202003219349306350/full.
29. “Reproductive Justice Is the Right to Self-Determine, Featuring Monica Simpson of SisterSong.” Ford Foundation. Ford Foundation, May 24, 2020. https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/videos/reproductive-justice-is-the-right-to-self-determine-featuring-monica-simpson-of-sistersong/.
30. Henriquez, Silvia, and Sarita Gupta. “In the Wake of Roe, a Resurgent Fight for Reproductive Justice.” Ford Foundation. Ford Foundation, January 19, 2023. https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/stories/posts/in-the-wake-of-roe-a-resurgent-fight-for-reproductive-justice/. 
31. “Grants Database/Ford Foundation.” Ford Foundation. Ford Foundation. Accessed April 16, 2023. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/?q=sistersong&p=1.
32. David and Lucile Packard Foundation. “SisterSong Inc.” https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/sister-song-inc-2/. Accessed February 17, 2023.
33. Scott, Mackenzie. “Helping Any of Us Can Help Us All.” Medium. March 23, 2022. https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/helping-any-of-us-can-help-us-all-f4c7487818d9.
34. “SisterSong Atlanta, GA.” Cause IQ. Nonprofit Metrics LLC. Accessed April 16, 2023. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/sistersong,510544927/.