Filmmaker to explore abortion rights in Mississippi
Documentary expected to come out next Spring
(Talamieka Brice, a documentarian based in Mississippi is working on a movie about abortion rights that’s expected to be released next year. It will explore the connection between white supremacy and the antiabortion movement.)
A Mississippi filmmaker is currently documenting the abortion rights movement that developed in that area following the Dobbs case.
“There's a whole segment of the population that has been working standardly to curb those rights for abortion,” said Talamieka Brice, the woman behind the impending documentary. “So we can't just be silent and we have to get out in the forefront. So what I'm looking to do is to educate people on a lot of stuff, (including) the history of terrorism and white supremacy.”
Brice had a previous film, A Mother’s Journey, screened all over the world, including in New York and Chicago. That movie tells the story of her upbringing in Mississippi and path to becoming a mother after having a miscarriage.
Brice began working on the current documentary, which is being done in conjunction with SHERO Misissippi, in March. She wants to connect the civil rights movement in Mississippi with the current abortion rights movement. Brice’s brother had been terrorized by the Ku Klux Klan, which is active in the state and connected to teh antiabortion movement.
“You cannot talk about abortion rights without talking about race,” she said.
One of the things that I spoke to her and Michelle Colon, who heads SHERO, about was the demographic breakdown of antiabortion and abortion rights support. White women in the area often are in favor of keeping abortion access, but there’s a social pressure to not publicly express that. Whereas in the Black community, there is more willingness to express their opinion that abortion should be safe and legal. Among white men, it is more likely that they oppose abortion access. But Black men also can frequently not support the right to an abortion.
The documentary was previewed at the recent rally in Jackson, the state’s capital. It’s expected to be released next Spring.