It’s Black History Month, a time to honor past achievements, and to look forward to the future. It’s also a time to recognize the injustice the African American community has faced, and is facing today. I want to particularly address a growing inequity in the United States: three times as many black babies are aborted as white babies.

In general, abortion numbers are decreasing. But, African American women are almost four times as likely to have an abortion as white women. 70% of abortion providers are located in minority communities. 15 million African Americans have been aborted since Roe vs. Wade. Today, African Americans are the only minority in the country whose numbers are declining.

It’s no secret that Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger, wanted to use abortion to reduce the number of “unfit” in society. In her mind, “unfit” meant poor, mentally ill, or African American.

In 1939 she wrote to a colleague, “The most successful education approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”

It seems that Sanger’s Nazi-esque goal is succeeding.

But, African American ministers, whose influence Sanger once used against their own community, are fighting back. Pastor Clenard Childress is a nationally recognized speaker whose website www.blackgenocide.com gives solid facts about abortion and the African American community, and offers resources for churches.

Pastor Childress is working to unite African American pastors and religious leaders to speak out against abortion, saying “If there’s a devouring force that’s decimating my community, as a shepherd, I must respond with the truth. …the devourer is the abortion industry.”

Bishop Daniel Robertson of Mount Gilead Baptist Church in Richmond, VA sponsored the first annual Pastors for Life Conference focused on reaching African American ministers. In an interview, Bishop Robertson said, “There are a lot of pastors, whether they’re Black or White, they’re just comfortable, they don’t want to stir up anything.”

Yet, he continued, “You can’t stay behind the stained glass windows of your sanctuary, you really have to reach out into your community and make a difference.”

These pastors are not afraid to stir things up, or to face the grim statistics on abortion and race. How can we honor these men and respond to their challenge, not only this month, but throughout the year?