252 Search results for "black mothers"

Black mothers and Black babies, who often literally struggle to remain alive in the U.S., are miracles. Educator and journalist Linda Villarossa’s recent investigative report “Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis,” both beautifully and hauntingly details these challenges in illuminating ways. For Black women,  structural, social and psychic trauma often shrouds reproductive justice. However, doulas, trained healthcare […]

The positive pieces: Serena Williams sounds purposeful, peaceful and in love with life in the February 2018 Vogue  cover article. The world’s most dynamic athlete chronicled visions that became her reality. Last September, she and husband Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder, became the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl named Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. Yet, amidst […]

by Jenn M. Jackson My sixty-eight year old mother has been an unpaid, unofficial caretaker for my grandmother for at least twenty years. She was a social worker for more than three decades. Now, she also works for free as an administrative assistant at church. After delivering fresh produce and cooked meals to my elderly […]

A joint effort from NPR and ProPublica attempts to make clear the distinctive impact that racism is having on Black women and their progeny.  The NPR article “How Racism May Cause Black Mothers To Suffer The Death Of Their Infants” tells the story of Shalon Irving, a 36 year old single Black mother who died […]

Last night Monday I stumbled across an article with the headline, “Man who had 30 kids with 11 women wants child-support break.” Of course the ethnicity of this father turned out to be Black. My first reaction to this story was a shaken head, because Black male bodies seem incapable of accountability. Missing fathers, no […]

Silje Sande an American Professor, discusses something called “The Necessary Tension.” She writes “In a democracy the tension between civil obedience and disobedience is a necessary tension.” She argues that Civil Disobedience confronts and holds accountable the norms that exist in society today. I think that black single mothers and families around the country should […]

by Juahl Ganaway In a scene ripped from The Sugar Shack, the character Pearline (played by the stunning Jayme Lawson) stalks across the stage purring the lyrics to “Pale, Pale, Moon,” the Brittany Howard-penned song that feels more like an invocation than a performance.  “I wanna sing Like I hear the crickets do I wanna […]

A history of forced institutionalization in service of white supremacy

Editor’s Note: This month at BYP, we will be exploring Education & Schooling, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. What are the implications of charter and private schools in communities of color? How do we counteract anti-Black textbooks and teachers in our childrens’ education? How did you heal from bullying […]

By Najya A. Williams Throughout my childhood, my mom always scheduled early morning dental appointments to accommodate the remarkably busy lives we both led. Once I was old enough to schedule my own visits, I unsurprisingly fell back into this familiar routine. I normally don’t think twice about my check-ups, especially if I’m not experiencing […]

By Monika Estrella Negra The majority of the Black punks I have talked to were drawn to (or got lost in) the Punk scene in order to escape the rigidity and heteronormative idealism of traditional Black political organizing. This is not to infer that all Black punks identify with far leftist views, nor does it […]

This essay contains discussions of racialized sexual violence and mentions r/pe and molestation.  by Mekleit Dix The Handmaid’s Tale is a wildly popular American Television show based on a novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. It portrays a dystopian nightmare: sterility in women becomes a widespread epidemic resulting in a break down of […]