FOCUS ON ABORTION: AMERICANS SHARE THEIR STORIES

An Exhibit by Photojournalist Roslyn Banish

"A Traveling Exhibit to Encourage Civil Discourse."

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Miami is proud to host this traveling exhibit showcasing photographic portraits and first-person narratives of individuals who have had an abortion or are close to the abortion experience. The exhibit is intended to encourage civil discourse about abortion by sharing these nuanced and personal stories. Reading the first-person narrative with its accompanied portrait, the exhibit strives to mitigate the profound stigma that surrounds abortion.

The storytellers come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds and generations. They live in urban, suburban and rural areas throughout America. Together they provide a broad, complex and poignant picture of abortion in our country.

ROSLYN BANISH – AUTHOR & PHOTOJOURNALIST

Roslyn found her passion when she enrolled in a photography course at the Institute of Design in Chicago, where she received a Master's degree in Photography. From the beginning, she was drawn to photographing people. Over time she realized that she wanted to include what her subjects had to say, along with the photographs. This approach of combining photographs and text has allowed her to more fully document human issues.

Published works include "Focus on Living: Portraits of Americans with HIV/AIDS", (UMass Press). An exhibit of photographs and interviews from the book travelled to 35 community-based venues, from colleges to health centers to LBGTQ centers to a cafe.

Other books: "City Families: Chicago and London," and children’s books "A Forever Family," "Let Me Tell You About My Baby,” "Just Gus: A Rescue Dog and the Woman He Loved."

Roslyn has exhibited her work in England and the U.S. and has taught photography in the U.S., England and Italy.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION OF MIAMI

We would love to have you join us for our worship service Sunday, September 29th at 11:00 am. Come and experience these powerful images. You will hear members of our congregation recite stirring and inspirational stories from the exhibit.

UU Miami is a Spiritual Hub for progressive thinkers and doers. Nurturing Families in a Multi-faith World. We are a liberal faith community that encourages spiritual and ethical exploration, education and dialogue; honors human diversity and the dignity and rights of every person; promotes personal and world peace; and protects the natural resources of the world.

In our 85+ years of serving Miami, UU Miami remains steadfast in our commitment to standing up for the reproductive justice for all people.

Our faith tradition has a long history of progressive witness for freedom and justice. Soon after the merger of Universalism and Unitarianism, the new Association (1961) adopted statements in support of civil rights and the rights of women. In time, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations added advocacy for those facing oppression based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. We have offered sexuality education across the lifespan within our congregations, and have advocated for these beliefs in the public sphere.

As participants in the reproductive justice movement, Unitarian Universalists commit to follow the lead of, act in solidarity with, and be accountable to communities of color and other marginalized groups, using our positions of power to support those communities’ priorities. Both those affected and their allies play important roles. Unitarian Universalists are laying the groundwork for the transformative power of multicultural organizing in partnership with reproductive justice organizations and leaders, looking for leadership from those most affected. We will use our position to speak loudly in the religious arena, as the religious voice has often been used to limit access to reproductive justice.

See our faith community's full Unitarian Universalist Reproductive Justice Statement of Conscience (2015).

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Miami

7701 SW 76th Avenue, Miami, FL 33143

305.667.3697

www.uumimiami.org

FOCUS ON ABORTION: AMERICANS SHARE THEIR STORIES

An Exhibit by Photojournalist Roslyn Banish at The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Miami