Activism
Cherisse Scott has served in the Reproductive Justice movement for over 15 years. At the time of seeking reproductive healthcare, Ms. Scott was misled and misinformed by a crisis pregnancy center posing as an abortion clinic. The trauma of this experience allowed her to see first-hand how many Black and other disenfranchised women and girls are manipulated & misinformed and need unhindered access to comprehensive reproductive and sexual health education, social and medical support to make knowledgeable decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. Recognizing how a woman's life can positively change when she is empowered with access and information about her reproductive and sexual health, Ms. Scott began advocating for reproductive and sexual health and justice in 2005.Cherisse is the founder and CEO of SisterReach, located in Memphis, Tennessee. Some of SisterReach's work under Ms. Scott’s leadership, includes their 2015 research report on the need for comprehensive sexuality education for southern youth of color; their Pro Woman Billboard campaign organized in opposition to anti-abortion billboards erected in Memphis; their Faith & Advocacy Training Curricula which trains people working at the intersection of faith, social justice and religion using the RJ lens as a catalyst for culture and social change. In 2016, Ms. Scott presented to the United Nations regarding the impact of Tennessee's "fetal assault" law on TN women and families. SisterReach later conducted research and released a report on the Impact of the Fetal Assault Law on Marginalized Women and leverages it to inform policy and procedure change on the local, state and national levels. Cherisse and the work of SisterReach is featured in the January 2018 edition of O Magazine, recognized by Essence Magazine as one of their 2018 Woke 100, she is featured in the 2019 premier documentary, PERSONHOOD: Policing Pregnant Women In America, and is a featured contributor in Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change The World, which is a book of essays released in 2020 from some of the leading voices in social change. Cherisse is an ordained minister, mother, singer and songwriter, poet and national speaker on reproductive justice and other human rights violations experienced by vulnerable Tennesseans.
Links to my published work and features:
- https://memphisvoyager.com/interview/life-work-with-cherisse-scott-of-memphis-hickory-hill-but-we-work-across-shelby-county/
- https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/columnists/david-plazas/2020/06/16/tennessee-voices-cherisse-scott-sisterreach/3197718001/
- https://reckonsouth.com/8-women-activists-minding-the-gap-in-the-south/?fbclid=IwAR2UIrpriO-FBpv4AGnhk6BVIGxs4clQMlxD-9zNwh5cO_NSyhWxrCbb8xg
- Cherisse featured on NowThis
- Samantha Bee interview about Cherisse's crisis pregnancy center experience
- https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2020/05/12/tennessee-abortion-politics-get-way-good-health-care-policy/4954439002/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKgbcUSHynI
- SisterReach - Leading Reproductive Justice in Tennessee
- http://tuvmag.com/index.php/2019/11/02/cherisse-scott-exclusive-interview-ceo-founder-sisterreach/
- https://rewire.news/author/cherisse-scott/
- https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-funky-politics/e/61398794?autoplay=true
- It's a Woman's World w/Cherisse Scott | The Funky Politics | KUDZUKIAN from THE FUNKY POLITICS powered by KUDZUKIAN
- http://www.oprah.com/inspiration/o-magazine-2018-health-heroes/9
- https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/31days-feminism-cherisse-scott-n528201
- #31Days of Feminism: Cherisse Scott
- https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/religion/news/2013/06/19/67230/sister-reach-faith-and-speaking-out-for-reproductive-justice-an-interview-with-cherisse-scott/
- Sister Reach, Faith, and Speaking out for Reproductive Justice: An Interview with Cherisse Scott - Center for American Progress
- https://nowthisnews.com/videos/news/tennessee-legislators-try-to-silence-cherisse-scott
- Tennessee Legislators Try to Silence Cherisse Scott