Rhetoric Society Quarterly Mar 2023

Florynce Kennedy’s Cultivation of Reproductive Expertise inAbramowicz v. LefkowitzandAbortion Rap

Emily Winderman ; Brittany Knutson

Abstract

This essay centers the legal and coalitional strategies of Black feminist Civil Rights attorney Florynce Kennedy in pre-Roe v. Wade abortion rights advocacy. Examining the depositional records of the 1969 case Abramowitz v. Lefkowitz and its subsequent distillation into the 1971 book Abortion Rap, we demonstrate how Kennedy’s rhetorical tactics enabled white women’s reproductive experiences to be intelligible—but centered—as expertise in the legal domain. Kennedy’s lines of questioning enabled feelings about unwanted pregnancies to become intelligible as expertise, challenging the authority of established experts. Kennedy impatiently leveraged her expert knowledge of the legal system to manage the state’s objections that threatened the well-being of witnesses and integrity of the case. While Abortion Rap appealed to the intersections of Black women’s reproductive concerns, it also hindered the possibility for coalitional trust to be built between legal experts and Black Power activists around abortion advocacy.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2023-03-15
DOI
10.1080/02773945.2022.2129758
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (59) · 5 in this index

  1. “Abortion RapBook Review,The New Republic.” 8 May 1971. Papers of Florynce Kennedy, 1915–2004, Box 17 Folder …
  2. Abramowicz, M. D., et al. v. Lefkowitz, et al. No. 4469. “United States District Court for the Southern Distr…
  3. Beito David T. (2009)
    Black Maverick: T.R.M. Howard’s Fight for Civil Rights and Economic Power
  4. 10.1111/johs.12045
     ↗
  5. Bracey Sherman, Reneé [@RBraceySherman]. “If You’re Upset and in Pain, You’re Not Alone. I’m in N.Y. and Driv…
Show all 59 →
  1. Carey (2020)
    Necessary Adjustments: Black Women’s Rhetorical Impatience
    Rhetoric Review
  2. Chávez Karma R (2013)
    Queer Migration Politics: Activist Rhetoric and Coalitional Possibilities
  3. The Combahee River Collective Statement. United States, 2015. Web Archive. Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/i…
  4. Condit Celeste M (1994)
    Decoding Abortion Rhetoric: Communicating Social Change
  5. Condit (2019)
    Public Health Experts, Expertise, and Ebola: A Relational Theory of Ethos
    Rhetoric & Public Affairs
  6. 10.14325/mississippi/9781496809070.001.0001
     ↗
  7. 10.1080/00335630.2012.714899
     ↗
  8. Davis Dána-Ain (2019)
    Reproductive Injustice
  9. 10.1080/07491409.2019.1605232
     ↗
  10. 10.1080/07491409.2014.989462
     ↗
  11. 10.1080/00335630500488275
     ↗
  12. 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469634371.001.0001
     ↗
  13. Fixmer-Oraiz Natalie (2019)
    Homeland Maternity: U.S. Security Culture and the New Reproductive Regime
  14. 10.4324/9781315815459
     ↗
  15. 10.1080/10417940802418825
     ↗
  16. 10.1080/07491409.2020.1839991
     ↗
  17. 10.1080/00335630.2019.1629002
     ↗
  18. Greenlee, Cynthia R. “T.R.M. Howard: Civil Rights Rabble-Rouser, Abortion Provider,”Dissent, 16 May 2013. www…
  19. Guy-Sheftall Beverly (1995)
    Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought
  20. Harper Kimberly C (2020)
    The Ethos of Black Motherhood in America: Only White Women Get Pregnant
     ↗
  21. 10.1080/02691728.2011.578301
     ↗
  22. 10.1080/07491409.2019.1630697
     ↗
  23. 10.36019/9780813593821
     ↗
  24. Kauffman Linda (1993)
    American Feminist Thought at Century’s End: A Reader
  25. Kennedy Flo (1976)
    Color Me Flo: My Hard Life and Good Times
  26. Kennedy, Florynce R. “Correspondence with McGraw-Hill,” Box 17 Folder 8. Papers of Florynce Kennedy, Arthur a…
  27. 10.5325/j.ctv14gp859
     ↗
  28. Larson Stephanie R (2021)
    What It Feels Like: Visceral Rhetoric and the Politics of Rape Culture
  29. McCann (2016)
    “Chrysler Pulled the Trigger”: The Affective Politics of Insanity and Black Rag…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  30. 10.1080/02691728.2011.578302
     ↗
  31. Mehlenbacher Ashley Rose (2022)
    On Expertise: Cultivating Character, Goodwill, and Practical Wisdom
  32. 10.1080/07491409.2021.1881005
     ↗
  33. 10.5749/minnesota/9780816676484.001.0001
     ↗
  34. Nelson Jennifer (2003)
    Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement
  35. Palczewski Catherine Helen (1993)
    Conference Proceedings—National Communication Association/American Forensics Association …
  36. 10.1080/00028533.2003.11821594
     ↗
  37. Pittman (2006)
    Black Women Writers and the Trouble withEthos: Harriet Jacobs, Billie Holiday, …
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  38. 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469623917.001.0001
     ↗
  39. Roberts Dorothy (1999)
    Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty
  40. Ross Loretta J (1993)
    Theorizing Black Feminisms: The Visionary Pragmatism of Black Women
  41. 10.2307/j.ctv11smgdh
     ↗
  42. Schulder Diane (1971)
    Abortion Rap: Testimony by Women Who Have Suffered the Consequences of Restrictive Aborti…
  43. Schuster Mary (2019)
    The Victim’s Voice in the Sexual Misconduct Crisis
  44. Schuster Mary Lay (2011)
    Victim Advocacy in the Courtroom: Persuasive Practices in Domestic Violence and Child Pro…
  45. Segal Judy Z (2005)
    Health and the Rhetoric of Medicine
  46. 10.1080/07491409.2013.835667
     ↗
  47. Springer Kimberly (2006)
    The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era
  48. Taslitz Andrew E (1999)
    Rape and the Culture of the Courtroom
  49. Washington Harriet A (2008)
    Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Co…
  50. We Testify. https://www.wetestify.org/. Accessed 10 Mar. 2022.
  51. 10.4324/9780203122228
     ↗
  52. 10.1080/10410236.2020.1868744
     ↗
  53. 10.1177/0021934704273152
     ↗
  54. Yam (2020)
    Visualizing Birth Stories from the Margin: Toward a Reproductive Justice Model …
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
CrossRef global citation count: 1 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related articles

  1. Philosophy & Rhetoric Apr 2025
    Introduction: On the Desirability of Speaking to Others ↗
    Nirvana Tanoukhi; Nicholas Dunn
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument social media race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric literary studies editorial matter
  2. Pedagogy Apr 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism african american rhetorics cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing graduate education two-year college teacher development writing centers technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions digital rhetoric multimodality social media literacy studies race and writing gender and writing community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  3. Philosophy & Rhetoric Sep 2024
    Style: A Queer Cosmology ↗
    Joe Edward Hatfield
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism teacher development race and writing gender and writing literary studies editorial matter
  4. Philosophy & Rhetoric Sep 2024
    Where’s the Rhetoric? Imagining a Unified Field ↗
    Joshua Hanan
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism composition theory genre theory discourse analysis cultural rhetorics argument qualitative research quantitative research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric affect and writing body and rhetoric editorial matter
  5. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Jun 2024
    Zoetropes and the Politics of Humanhood ↗
    Michelle G. Gibbons
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism decolonial rhetorics qualitative research race and writing gender and writing