Atlanta Pro-Life Rally and Showdown With the NAACP
Atlanta Pro-Life Rally and Showdown With the NAACP In January Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson spoke at the "Let Them Live Rally" in Atlanta, Georgia. The event was sponsored by Pro-Life Unity and featured pro-life activists from around the country. This was a historic event, which focused on the passage of Georgia's Human Life Amendment (HR 536). If this resolution gets on the ballot, Georgia will be the first state to openly challenge the faulty ruling of Roe V. Wade.
It was a freezing twenty-five degree morning in Atlanta, but the chill didn't take away from the energy and enthusiasm of the hundreds of pro-life supporters.
A dozen speakers sat perched on a stage at the capitol at the main entrance on Washington Street ready to deliver their message. The message was one of hope and encouragement to those young and old concerned about the plight of the unborn. Speakers included Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Alan Keyes, Troy Newman (President, Operation Rescue), Alveda King (King for America, Inc.), Peter Shinn (President, Pro-Life Unity), Dr. Johnny Hunter (President, Global Life & Family Mission), Rep. Melvin Everson (R-Ga.), Jenny Hodges (National Director, Pro-Life Unity) and many more.
Rev. Peterson spoke midway through the event and gave a stirring talk about the racist roots of the abortion movement and its founder Margaret Sanger.
He talked about how abortion was first popularized by Sanger, a white women, who was the founder of the National Birth Control League, which is now known as Planned Parenthood.
Sanger was a lifelong champion of birth control and Eugenics (the movement devoted to "improving" the human species by control of hereditary factors in reproduction). Sanger called for the sterilization of "genetically inferior races." In 1939, she organized her "Negro Project" and wrote "the poorer areas, particularly in the South... are producing alarmingly more than their share of future generations."
Rev. Peterson told the crowd, "Over the past seventeen years, I have counseled and picketed at abortion clinics across the country. I will never, ever forget the story of a 13 year-old black girl I met at an abortion clinic in Los Angeles one Saturday morning. I was protesting near the clinic when I saw the young lady approach the front door. I talked to her, and tried to encourage her to put her baby up for adoption. She said it was too late to make that decision. She said she had gone into the clinic that Thursday. The doctor had injected something into her womb. For three days the baby KICKED AND GASPED FOR LIFE. On the third day, the baby died. She told me that when the baby expired, it was devastating to her."
Rev. Peterson also told the crowd, "The pro-life movement must start educating women before they get to the abortion clinic, i.e.: in the homes and the universities..."
"It is time for the black community to wake up and come out of its denial. True racism is the attack on the black unborn baby, started by Margaret Sanger and carried out by the liberal elite in this country. The solution to this problem is a strong belief in the Creator, strong families, and self-respect..."
"It's time for the black clergy to stand up for life and most importantly, men must step to the forefront of this issue."
Several speakers followed including former U.N. Ambassador Alan Keyes who also gave a very moving address about the sanctity of life and the inalienable rights of the unborn.
There were a small group of pro-abortion hecklers who showed up to disrupt the event, but they were swiftly ushered away from the event by Atlanta Police officers.
After the rally concluded, Rev. Peterson learned that members of the Atlanta NAACP were holding a press conference inside the capitol building. The group was announcing a ten-point plan for blacks in Atlanta. Since BOND has had an ongoing national boycott of the NAACP for their failure to address serious problems in the black community, Rev. Peterson and his assistant sat in and listened.
Eight to ten NAACP members dressed in yellow t-shirts were gathered behind a large conference table while a couple of reporters and a television crew were setting up. The press conference got under way and a reporter asked the group a question. "If you had 20 seconds to get your message across to the public what would be the most important of the ten points?" The NAACP members responded that an "apology for slavery" would be the most crucial item in order for black Americans to move forward.
Rev. Peterson then stood up and politely asked, "Is the NAACP going to support the Human Life Amendment (HR 536) and stop the genocide against black babies?"
The members looked stunned and for a moment seemed confounded. Then, their leader responded that "abortion is legal in Atlanta...and we have no plans to do anything with this issue."
Rev. Peterson then took the opportunity to ask a follow up: "Why won't the NAACP take a stand against abortion?" The NAACP representatives refused to answer. They concluded their press conference and vacated the room.
These events serve as a reminder that there are good people like those at the "Let Them Live Rally" committed to Truth and willing to take a stand for good. It also shows that those traditional "civil rights" groups like the NAACP have abdicated their responsibilities and are no longer needed.
Special thanks to Peter Shinn and his family, as well as Jennifer Hodges and all the other dedicated and faithful Americans who are fighting for the rights of unborn babies.