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Study Hall! Racist actions, doulas, and intersectional change.
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Happy Saturday! It's Study Hall, our weekly recap of the content we reviewed through Q&A and additional resources shared by our community. We covered a wide range of topics, so we have a lot to dive into. Remember – you can submit a question by responding to this email for the week ahead!
You can also get weekly discussion guides for your workplace or university by subscribing to Anti-Racism Daily at Work. Quickly onboard colleagues, track their progress, and use the topics mentioned to create strategic change internally and the community around you. Learn more: antiracismdaily.com/corporate
We're posting daily recaps on Instagram @antiracismdaily. And stay tuned for more Study Hall sessions on our Patreon starting next week! Excited to keep learning with you.
This newsletter is a daily labor of love and I appreciate every contribution. You can give once on our website, PayPal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza). Or, pledge $5/month on Patreon to help us stay sustainable for the months ahead.
Nicole
TAKE ACTION
1. Reflect on the questions prompted by our community.
2. Ask yourself two questions about one of the topics we discussed this week. Discuss these questions with a friend or colleague.
GET EDUCATED
Read the past week's content on the archives
June 31, 2020 | Keep fighting for Breonna Taylor.
June 30, 2020 | Support Black maternal health.
June 29, 2020 | Protect public workers.
June 28, 2020 | Denounce anti-Semitism.
June 27, 2020 | Support Asian Americans through COVID-19.
June 26, 2020 | Pay attention to the Portland protests.
An Asian American friend was called a racial slur by a Black person. How should society deal with racism from other marginalized communities?
From Support Asian Americans through COVID-19 on July 27
In short – in the same way we handle racism from dominant culture. Any type of racism, regardless of the perpetrator, is harmful. And because we've all become assimilated to a society with racism at its core, it's frustrating yet unsurprising that marginalized communities would apply the same discrimination and harm against each another. We touched on this a bit in the anti-Semitism newsletter we published the day after we received this question.
Anti-racism expert Ibram X. Kendi explains this well in his book How to be an Antiracist, which is required reading for this work, in my opinion. You can get a snippet of this topic in a 2019 interview with CNN.
Katie's post referenced that she doesn't believe BIPOC people should have to constantly be compared to white people. You often use the term non-white. Why use that term if it may continue to exacerbate that issue?
From Support Asian Americans through COVID-19 on July 27
First, it's important to note that our shifting use of "BIPOC" or "non-white" or "Black and Brown" or "people of color" reflects the perspectives of our writers (both our staff and the news we're quoting and referencing). All terms aim to identify a community that is often impacted by dominant culture, which is majorly influenced by whiteness.
I personally prefer to use "non-white" in those scenarios, and since I write most frequently, you hear it most often. To me, it intentionally separates so many communities not from white people, but the whiteness that has the power of normal in our society. It does name an entire group of diverse, multi-cultural people against whiteness itself, which can absolutely be considered a form of erasure. I just hope it reminds us why we're having the conversation in the first place. But I'm going to keep learning about this; language is important and I don't want to cause further harm.
Do you have suggestions on how to validate the pain of Jewish silence and the fact that being Black is more stigmatized than being Jewish, without inadvertently feeding into anti-Semitic sentiment?
From Denounce anti-Semitism on July 28
There's no reason we can't have complex, nuanced conversations on how racism and anti-Semitism show up at the same time. If we allow the anti-Semitism in the Black community and anti-Blackness in the Jewish community to divide us, we're both allowing white supremacy to win. And the impact of white supremacy won't discriminate between the two. Both communities will suffer.
So right now, we have an incredible opportunity to unite in favor of common goals and objectives, see our similarities over our differences, and commit to the deep and necessary healing to keep moving forward, together. If part of that includes, as you're referencing, focusing on the needs of Black people right now based on current events, then that just prioritizes one action item of many to tackle on the list.
The critical work of doulas to support equitable maternal health.
From Support Black maternal health on July 30
This isn't a question, but a powerful response from Heather on how necessary doulas for the advancement of maternal care. I didn't touch on doulas in this newsletter; I tried to stay focused on the direct political changes that our government can make, and plan on focusing on doulas in another newsletter. But let's start that conversation now! I've shared Heather's thoughtful response below:
One way we can help advocate for the rights of birthing people is to make sure they all have access to a birth doula!
Doulas advocate for their clients rights, provide informational, physical & emotional and support to the birthing family. We significantly reduce the likelihood of negative outcomes for all birthing people. Sadly many women don’t even know what a doula does or the benefits. And many more can not afford one, despite the fact the most doulas are willing to work with a payment plan or sliding scale.
Currently, due to Covid, most hospitals across the US have told their clients they can only have one support person while birthing in the hospital. Of course, most people are going to choose their significant other. Myself and other doulas are working hard to pass legislation that makes doulas an essential worker, so that hospitals can not ban us from supporting our clients. I have personally witnessed via virtual care, my clients rights ignored during this time. Something I KNOW would not have happened if I were present in the room.
Actions I and other are working on so that every birthing person who wishes to have a doula can-
1. Have insurance companies 100% cover the costs. It is only in the insurance companies benefit since it significantly reduces health risks and negative outcomes.
2. Pass legislation that hospitals can never ban a birth doula from the birthing setting and is not counted as a visitor but an essential employee
I found a change.org petition advocating for doulas to be considered essential workers that you can sign here.
Do you have any advice for what people in other countries can do in situations like this? I’m Canadian and I want to help (and have donated to causes) but because a lot of petitions call for your zip code and to call your political representative in the US, I feel like I can’t be that effective. Is it better to keep sharing posts about her or to find issues like this in my own country / area instead?
From Keep fighting for Breonna Taylor on July 31
We're considering expanding the Anti-Racism Daily to other countries, as we know it's frustrating that we cover mainly U.S. based news! Thanks for your patience as we continue to plan.
Generally speaking, I recommend looking for ways to tackle the same issues in your own community – whether you're abroad or in the U.S. Breonna Taylor's story isn't unique – there are many Black women who still fight for justice. Consider who the Breonna Taylor is in your community, or more critically, who could be the Breonna Taylor in your community? What practices and policies make it easy for harm to happen on vulnerable populations like Black women where you live? And how can you take action each day to prevent it?
CLARIFICATIONS
From Support Black maternal health on July 30
My piece on Black maternal health failed to note that transmen and gender non-binary individuals are also impacted by the racial disparities of maternal care, not just cisgender Black women. Thanks for the catch, Stephanie!
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
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Support Black maternal health.
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Happy Thursday!
I have to say, the challenges I know Black women face through the pregnancy process has discouraged me from having kids of my own. I'm incredibly grateful that this work is happening in Congress. Today's newsletter only scratches the surface of the racism people of color experience related to maternal health, and as I wrote this email it morphed into three more! But I do know that if we improve Black maternal health, we'll make maternal health more accessible for everyone.
We will keep reporting on racism until it doesn't exist anymore. And we'd love your support to make that happen. Consider giving one-time on our website, (or Venmo @nicoleacardoza), or pledge $5/month on our Patreon to keep this work growing. Many thanks to all that have supported so far!
Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Sign the letter to show your support for the reproductive justice movement.
Share the resources from the Birth Justice Toolkit to raise awareness about the importance of reproductive justice.
Contact your senator and urge them to support the Black Maternal Health Momnibus using the letter found here.
GET EDUCATED
Amid the racial reckoning of 2020, leaders and allies in the reproductive justice movement are calling for action. Congresswomen Alma Adams and Lauren Underwood launched the Black Maternal Health Caucus in April 2019, which has blossomed into a comprehensive initiative for Black maternal health rights. This includes the Black Maternal Health Momnibus, a compilation of nine bills that aim to address the disparities in access and treatment for Black people. This work calls for “reproductive justice,” a term created by a group of Black women (the Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice) gathered in 1994 to create change based on not just reproductive rights, but social justice.
Learn more about the Black Maternal Health Caucus with Rep. Lauren Underwood in this podcast with the American Hospital Association >
And this level of action is long overdue. In the United States, women are more likely to die from complications of pregnancy and birth than in any other high-resource country. Black and Indigenous women are 2x to 3x more likely than white women to die (Every Mom Counts). And although Black women make up about 13% of the female population, they account for nearly 40% of maternal deaths (NYTimes). The campaign behind Black maternal health, organized by Every Mom Counts, puts it simply: “racism, not race, is killing Black, Brown, and Indigenous people in our maternity care system” (Every Mom Counts).
This insight is not new. The gross disparity of mortality rates between white and Black communities has existed since the U.S. started collecting data in 1850 (NYTimes). Prominent sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois wrote about this in his book “The Philadelphia Negro” in 1899 and mourned the death of his baby son in “The Soul of Black Folk” a couple of years later (NYTimes). But the collision of COVID-19 and the protests exacerbated decades of searing inequalities, highlighting the limited access and poor care that Black people receive from hospitals (NYTimes).
There have also been more documented stories of Black women experiencing discrimination – and worse – through their maternal health journey. Kira Johnson went to the hospital for a routine C-section. She suffered from internal bleeding for ten hours before the medical staff at Cedars Sinai took action, and ultimately lost her life (4Kira4Moms). Serena Williams publicly shared her horrifying experience giving birth in Vogue Magazine, and Olympian Allyson Felix testified in Congress about a traumatic birthing experience of her own (Washington Post).
It’s clear, as we covered in one of our earliest newsletters, that our society has a long way to go to respect Black women. We saw that with the coverage of the death of Breonna Taylor and other cis and trans women murdered during the protests (Anti-Racism Daily), and watching that unfold with the violence against Megan Thee Stallion, a prominent Black female artist (Jezebel).
As a result, Black, Ingenious, and other cisgender, transgender and gender non-binary people of color are left unheard in the conversation on reproductive justice. A recent article in the NYTimes garnered controversy when young activists expressed how their focus on reproductive rights is different than the feminist movement of the 1970s, which centered the needs of more affluent white women. Instead, they feel more compelled to address immediate, ‘life or death” situations that endanger the rights to access and opportunity for those services (NYTimes).
“A lot of the language I heard was about protecting Roe v. Wade. It felt grounded in the ’70s feminist movement. And it felt like, I can’t focus on abortion access if my people are dying. The narrative around abortion access wasn’t made for people from the hood”.
Brea Baker, an activist and organizer in Atlanta, for the NYTimes
But here’s the thing: data suggests that the majority of maternal deaths are preventable. Expanding Medicaid coverage before delivery and post-partum can prevent two-thirds of maternal mortality (NYTimes). Data from the CDC shows that this coverage is critical, particularly after childbirth. Lower-income mothers are eligible for Medicaid, which supports 40% of all pregnancies in the U.S. Still, coverage expires shortly after their child is born – although the coverage varies widely by state. Women of color are more likely than white women to be covered by Medicaid, so this disparity contributes to the high mortality rates for Black women (KFF). Studies prove that consistent support throughout the pregnancy decrease mortality rates and increase the health of mother and child (NYTimes).
Increasing health insurance coverage is part of the movement (and is one of the nine bills included in the Momnibus). But so is addressing the broader, systemic aspects of racism that affect Black maternal health long before someone decides to have a child. Everything from the environment to the stress of racial microaggressions, housing insecurity, unequal pay, access to transportation and healthy food, and many other factors influence one’s opportunity to have a healthy pregnancy and birth.
So as we do this work, we must remember that reproductive justice extends beyond the hospital. Reproductive justice is means solving environmental racism (New Security Beat) and dismantling the harmful practices at immigration detention, including the forced separation of families and barring access to necessary medical support (American Progress). It means abolishing the over-policing of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (Every Mother Counts). And most importantly, it means listening to Black women and centering their needs, especially when transforming maternal care.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Congresswomen are passing a series of bills to support Black mental health, supported by dozens of leaders, allies, and activists in the reproductive justice movement
Black women are disproportionately more likely to experience poor maternal health
Although lack of coverage plays a major role, the systemic impact of racism – from treatment at hospitals, to police brutality, unsafe environments and more – affects Black maternal health
We need to listen to Black women and center their needs, in this movement and all others
RELATED ISSUES
June 14, 2020 | Learn how racism is a public health crisis.
July 12, 2020 | Learn how air pollution exacerbates COVID-19.
June 5, 2020 | Breonna Taylor. Say her name. And remember it.
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza