Maternal Justice

Black birth workers support sacred birth and self-determination for Black mamas

This piece is published in partnership with Echoing Ida, a Forward Together Program. In a room filled with bright lights, Janeal entered her active stage of labor. With each contraction, she yelled and screamed. I held her hand and reminded her to breathe. Her hands were warm and soft. This was her...

Birth Control Coverage is in Jeopardy, and This is a HUGE Problem

The Affordable Care Act’s mandate that Marketplace plans and all new private insurance plans , from 2012 on, cover birth control without requiring a copay or coinsurance is a critical component of the health care legislation. This mandate has made it possible for women to obtain highly effective...

What happened in Durham

Like many people, a week ago I was feeling pretty down about the state of racial justice and just basic humanity in the United States. But then something happened. In response to the hate and violence displayed in Charlottesville, hundreds of Durhamites came together for a huge vigil on Sunday night. Many friends of mine posted pictures and powerful testimonials to the collective love they felt gathered together. But I also noticed that some activists had less satisfied responses, including frustration that the mostly-white event marginalized voices of color and those with more radical tactics. Much of that frustration fed into a Monday demonstration, which had already been planned to take place in front of Durham's old courthouse, where there was a confederate monument with an inscription to "the boys who wore gray."