'Mississippi Taught The World How To Organize' [AUDIO]

Tyler serves as the Mississippi State Director at Planned Parenthood Southeast, and much of her organizing efforts emphasize education and breaking the stigma around abortion. A part of that work means meeting folks where they are and getting the conversation started, regardless of where they stand on the issue. 

Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, another aspect of her work is ensuring that Mississippians are aware of their options and have the necessary resources to get the care they need. 

One of the biggest hits to abortion access in Mississippi was the closing of The Pink House. Tyler shares her complicated feelings about this loss and how the community, namely Black women, has continued to show up for another through it all. 

Mississippi state leaders on both sides of the political spectrum stand firm on their intent of making this state uninhabitable for Black folks. This raises the question of why. Why do Black folks, especially Black women, continue to fight in a state hellbent on killing them? Tyler understands that dissonance deeply, but it doesn’t deter her. It is love that keeps her going. Love for her community, love for her predecessors, and love for the place she calls home.

We are owed this. Perhaps the most powerful declaration of the entire conversation. Black folks are owed so much from a state that was, in the ominous words of Fannie Lou Hamer, built on the Black Back. That legacy of slavery, violence and evil still permeates every institution in the state of Mississippi. It is a legacy that remains dedicated to controlling and brutalizing its most vulnerable citizens. Tyler reminds us that this fight is an extension of our ancestors who never got what they were owed.. 

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