Assata Zerai

The Relationship between Prenatal Care and Subsequent Modern Contraceptive use in Bolivia, Egypt and Thailand

Determinants of modern contraceptive use are usually examined in isolation of the effect of exposure to other aspects of health care systems. Maternal interaction with organised health service provision during post-conception and postpartum stages of reproduction can provide an opportunity to transfer contraceptive service information and counselling. We found that living in a community in which women have widespread health service contact is related to both prenatal care use and subsequent modern contraceptive use. After controlling for effects of living in high health service contact areas and various demographic and background factors, our results suggest that prior use of prenatal care has a strong influence on subsequent use of modern contraception in Bolivia, Egypt and Thailand.

Models for unity between scholarship and grassroots activism

Institutional constraints hinder the activist scholar who seeks to create alternative models for scholarship and social transformation. In this paper, I discuss results from a survey administered to Africana scholars on the Association of Black Sociologists listserv and other discussion groups servicing progressive scholars and students on the internet. The primary objective of the survey was to elicit comments on ways that Africana scholars balance activism with scholarship. The survey results indicate that there are many levels on which activists scholars can make a contribution to humanity. These include the intellectual labor of articulating our unique perspectives that we promote within our disciplines, our service as consultants to grassroots organizers, and our progressive applied work in our fi eld. Once we embrace the activist-scholar orientation, our struggle is to strike an appropriate balance among the three different types of contribution.

A Black Feminist Analysis of Responses to War, Racism, and Repression

In March 2003, the US government launched a military invasion and occupation of Iraq. This was one more phase of the US National Security Strategy doctrine that promises militarism, war, and disruption in various sovereign states. These wars abroad and the unprecedented powers of government and police agencies in the USA represent powerful intersections of patriarchal authority, racism, militarism, and elitism. Africana communities have a long history of resisting repression both directly and indirectly related to US foreign policy. Social scientists writing from a black feminist perspective have described how such mutually constructing forces of race, class, gender, and nation have influenced the lives of people of color, women, and the poor in American society and have highlighted the historical and sociological importance of resistance by these oppressed groups. Specifically, this paper addresses ways in which a black feminist analysis and praxis offer useful perspectives on activism concerning issues of peace and justice post 9—11—2001.