Black women created the term 'reproductive justice.' Now, it's driving a national conversation.

• Reproductive justice was created by Black women in response to the lack of inclusion in reproductive rights spaces. It's now growing in popularity as a term.
• Many reproductive justice activists say the framework has been co-opted and misused by larger organizations.
• A new generation of reproductive justice activists are shedding light on its history and expanding the movement.

Loretta Ross could feel the excitement in the Chicago hotel room, where she and 11 other Black women gathered during a health care conference in June 1994.

That day, the women had felt their communities and their reproductive health care needs were being sidelined, so they pulled away from the other 200 white women there for a private chat.