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An anti-abortion student group at Purdue University targeted the university's Black Cultural Center Tuesday with a series of messages written in chalk, angering many on campus who said the messages were racist and sexist in nature. "All lives matter," the group wrote. "Womb = most dangerous place 4 black kids. Planned Parenthood = #1 killer of black babies. Civils rights begins in the womb." [sic]
"The not-so-subtle meaning behind these messages is that if women of color, specifically black women, exercise their legal right to have an abortion, they are committing a form of self-induced genocide," the Purdue Social Justice Coalition, a student and faculty group, said in a statement. "Aside from the typical sexist nature of these messages, which deny women's autonomy over their own bodies and reproductive choices, what happened at Purdue also reflects racism on campus. Contrary to the idea that 'All Lives Matter,' women of color were specifically targeted with these messages and singled out."
In a statement Wednesday, the group responsible for the messages, Purdue Students for Life, defended its actions, saying they chose to focus on the Black Cultural Center "in light of Black History Month" and the "fact that abortion and the industry that surrounds it disproportionately affects and harms the black community."
"Regarding the recent flyers and chalking, what we're finding is that there has been a lot of misinterpretation and misunderstanding of our intended message, and because of that, unfortunately some people's feelings have been hurt," the group, which currently has no black members, stated. "This is not about shaming anyone. It's about human equality and the fact that all human lives have dignity that cannot be taken away, be they black or white, male or female, born or preborn."
The Purdue Black Cultural Center did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
