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In her book, The Pivot of Civilization, Sanger complained that governments have not managed "to restrain, either by force or persuasion, the moron and the imbecile from producing his large family of feeble-minded offspring."

Particularly disturbing to many pro-life African Americans is Sanger's involvement in the Negro Project. Devised more than 60 years ago to promote sterilization and birth control among blacks, the Negro Project focused on training black ministers and doctors to take Sanger's message into minority neighborhoods. In an ambiguously worded letter to colleague Clarence Gamble dated December 10, 1939, Sanger wrote: "The minister's work is also important and also he should be trained, perhaps by the Federation as to our ideals and the goal that we hope to reach. 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."

Abortion-rights groups continue to recruit African American clergy. In 1997, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), previously the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights, launched the Black Church Initiative. According to the program's founder, Carlton W. Veazey, the initiative was a response to the high rate of pregnancy among black teens. It sought to create discussion in black churches about sexuality, reproductive health, AIDS, violence, and sexual orientation.

The successful kickoff event included 400 pastors and black religious leaders. Afterward, the group developed a curriculum called "Keeping It Real," which has been introduced in 600 mostly inner-city churches in 15 states, says Veazey.

The RCRC is based in Washington D.C. and includes abortion supporters from mainline Christian denominations as well as the Unitarian Universalist and the American Humanist associations. Also, the RCRC is closely allied with Planned Parenthood and top secular abortion-rights groups.

Veazey told CT that he has a program with Planned Parenthood called "All Options Counseling." In it, Planned Parenthood will call him if it needs an RCRC-trained minister to come to a clinic and counsel a pregnant woman one on one. "I support Planned Parenthood 100 percent," he says.

Veazey says his group "absolutely does not promote abortion in any way." But an RCRC listing of online resources says, "Our primary role is educating the public to make clear that abortion can be a moral, ethical, and religiously responsible decision."

To some prolife activists, Sanger's Negro Project and the Black Church Initiative seem eerily similar. "As far I'm concerned, their Black Church Initiative is the same thing, repacked," says Johnny M. Hunter, national director of LEARN, Inc. "[Veazey's] going along with a group that's doing the KKK's work for them."

Veazey called some of Sanger's statements "unfortunate." He says charges of racism and genocide against Sanger are scare tactics. "The black community and religious leaders of our country would not be supporting us if we were pursuing genocide."

Prolife African Americans say they are vigorously challenging the link between abortion-rights groups and inner-city churches. LEARN's Childress says abortion providers know "if they ever lose their foundational stronghold in the black church, [their] movement ceases to exist."

"They also understand that the greatest threat to their agenda would be conservative churches that espouse a Judeo-Christian ethic." Childress says he is trying to get the word out through his radio program and website, blackgenocide.org. His radio program, "The Urban Prophet," is broadcast five days a week in eight states and twice weekly in New York.

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February 2003, Vol. 47, No. 2