A message from our Executive Director for Dobbs Day
I am writing this from the busy living room at the PAAU Activist House in northeast Washington DC. The space around me is full of activists gearing up for a long day tomorrow celebrating the 2nd anniversary of the end of Roe v. Wade. We just returned home from a small vigil outside the Washington Surgi Center, where we sang together and grounded ourselves in the brutal truth of the late-term abortions still happening in our city every day.
Right next to me, my co-worker Connie’s baby is cooing in his swing, while several activists brainstorm sign designs for tomorrow, while still others are cooking a meal together in the kitchen. Around me, I feel the excitement in the air as these activists from seven different states (some of whom are brand new to protesting) make signs, discuss plans, and prepare supplies for our day of protest and rallying tomorrow.
There is an ancient Haudenosaunee philosophy called the “Seven Generations Principle” that says the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future. At PAAU, we are organizing for generations to come by learning from generations past. We are building resilience, creativity, and strength.
This house has become a hub of comfort and solidarity. It is a space that can fit as many activists as it needs to. A space where the “nonconventional” young activists in the movement can feel safe and seen and brave. The vision I dreamed of for a space like this has come true and will continue to grow for years to come. However, this beautiful space costs us $3,200 monthly to upkeep because of the inflated rent prices in DC. On top of that, we have two remote staff members who are both young moms that I need to pay before I even consider our other monthly costs and activism expenses.
Today I am asking you to believe in this vision for a future seeped in tenacity and hope. Invest in us so that we may invest in generations to come. Every dollar you invest in PAAU multiplies our creative outpouring to dream bigger and work harder for preborn liberation. I am leading these young people forward toward this justice that we imagine every day.
As one of the only Gen Z directors of a pro-life organization in the country, I am mapping out a future for PAAU and the pro-life movement, and the most essential part of that future is the group of people surrounding me right now, laughing and joking and dreaming together. Even as we see our friends from older generations locked up in jail for the pro-life cause, we are braving forward with hope to carry on this mission.
Will you step up and help?
This Dobbs Day, I am asking that you become a monthly supporter at PAAU. If you join our team of supporters at just $20 per month, I will mail you our not-yet-released zine called “Radical Imagination” which was made in the Alexandria Detention Center by incarcerated PAAU staff member Lauren Handy. I hope you will consider joining our team today so we can continue to grow this joyous community and expose the injustice of abortion all across the country. If a monthly donation isn’t in the cards today, please consider a generous one-time donation today.
These young people are the future of our movement. Invest in the generations to come by giving today.
Toward total liberation for all,
Caroline Taylor Smith
PAAU Executive Director
