Silence is NOT an option – 5/12/21 (05/13/2021)

1) Black moms are more likely to die in childbirth. Will Congress do anything about it?
The rate of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. is the worst of any industrialized country, and the number of such deaths has steadily risen over the last 30 years, but wide racial and ethnic disparities exist. The rate for Black women was 44 deaths per 100,000 live births, for non-Hispanic white women it was 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, and for Hispanic women it was 12.6 deaths per 100,000 live births.  Read more…

 

2) ‘More Than Just Tragic’: Ma’Khia Bryant and the Burden of Black Girlhood

In Columbus, Ohio, a police officer fatally shot Ma’Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old Black girl.  Ms. Bryant’s young age — so evident in her giggly TikTok videos, dancing and doing her hair like any teenage girl — also highlights the unique burden of Black girls: In media coverage, Ms. Bryant has often been referred to as a woman, and her behavior and her body size have been scrutinized to suggest that she presented a large, uncontainable threat to everyone at the scene.  Read more…

3) How to talk about racism in the workplace
AFT’s sponsored Many Threads, One Fabric town hall series included a lively session about how to have “courageous conversations” on racism, sexism and all the other “isms” that perpetuate inequity and discrimination. Featuring counseling professional Leven “Chuck” Wilson, the session framed truth and mercy as essential to progress, and recognized the challenge of meeting anger and frustration with calm recognition of our differences.  Read more…

4) When Blackness Is a Superpower
From Falcon to Black Panther to a potential new Superman, a wave of rejuvenated heroes, reimagined by Black creators, are rewriting superhero mythologies.  Read more…

5) Resources for Coping with Race Related Trauma:

https://www.psychology.uga.edu/coping-racial-trauma

https://www.apa.org/res/parent-resources/racial-stress?tab=3

https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/045/350/original/racialtraumaandcopingbrochure2020.pdf

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.