We are one of the only groups in the US working directly and intentionally with social justice organizations and leaders to increase their capacity to address critical constituency-specific issues associated with these emerging technologies. We are constructing vehicles for them to engage across movements and in coalition to develop a pro-active policy agenda and get ahead of the curve on this justice issue. Generations Ahead grew out of the program on Gender, Justice and Human Genetics at the Center for Genetics and Society. The program was founded following the groundbreaking conference, “Gender and Justice in the Gene Age,” in 2004. At that meeting, 65 activists and academics discussed concerns and strategies for addressing the uses of genetic technologies from a feminist perspective.
Since 2004, we have successfully convened social justice leaders for cross-movement dialogues, projects and public events, and increased leaders’ knowledge of the issues and capacity to integrate these issues as a part of their organizational concerns. We have engaged over 150 organizations focused on reproductive health, rights, and justice; human rights; disability rights; LGBTQ rights; health disparities; and racial justice, to develop an intersectional, multi-movement approach that addresses these issues. This approach ensures that a social justice perspective is central in the debates surrounding human genetics, and that the interests of historically marginalized communities are central in the analyses, debate and policy advocacy.