Anderson became the first African American to be invited to perform at the white house, when she was asked by President Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor. In addition, Anderson became the first singer to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. In honor of Marian Anderson work and talents, On January 27, 2005, a commemorative U.S. postage stamp was commissioned as a part of the Black Heritage series.
Born on September 25, 1952 as Gloria jean Watkins…most know her her by her pen name bell hooks which is from her maternal grandmother. hooks is an American author, radical feminist, and social activist. Her writing has focused on the interconnectivity of race, capitalism, and gender and what she describes as their ability to produce and perpetuate systems of oppression and class domination. She has published over thirty books including the famous ain’t i woman: Black women and feminism (not to be confused with Sojourner Truth’s testimony) and numerous scholarly and mainstream articles, and appeared in several documentary films. Primarily through a postmodern perspective, hooks has addressed race, class, and gender in education, art, history, sexuality, mass media and feminism.
In 2010, black women accounted for 6,100 (29%) of the estimated new HIV infections among all adult and adolescent blacks. This number represents a decrease of 21% since 2008. Most HIV infections among black women (87%; 5,300) are attributed to heterosexual sex. The estimated rate of new HIV infections for black women (38.1/100,000 population) was 20 times as high as the rate for white women, and almost five times as high as that of Latinas.
Known as the Queen of Salsa, this Cuban born singer is considered to be one of the most influential women to Afro-Cuban music. She had over 23 gold albums, several Grammy awards and several honors including one from President Clinton.
Best known for her oscar winning performance as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, McDaniel broke several barriers in the entertainment world. In 1925, McDaniel was the first African American woman on radio. and was such a hit, she became known as Hi-Hat Hattie.
Actress and singer Lena Horne was born June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. She left school at the young age, 16, to help support her family. Horne became a dancer at the famous Cotton Club in Harlem before moving to Hollywood to persure acting. Horne became the first black actress to sign a long term contract with a major movie studio (MGM). But that was short lived because of the movies studio treatment of here.
You are like a pale purple flower In the blue spring dusk You are like a yellow star Budding and blowing In an apricot sky You are like the beauty Of a voice Remembered after death You are like thin, white petals Falling And Floating Down Upon the white stilled hushing Of my soul.
Bates was best known for guiding and advising the nine students, known as the Little Rock Nine, when they enrolled into Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The Little Rock Nine was a group of Black students who were bused into Little Rock Central High School, after it was publicly noted they were not in compliance with the recently passed brown v. board of education (May 17, 1954), the groundbreaking desegregation Supreme Court Case.
Bates was best known for guiding and advising the nine students, known as the Little Rock Nine, when they enrolled into Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The Little Rock Nine was a group of Black students who were bused into Little Rock Central High School, after it was publicly noted they were not in compliance with the recently passed brown v. board of education (May 17, 1954), the groundbreaking desegregation Supreme Court Case.
Known as the queen mother of the civil rights movement, Clark was an educator, activist and community organizer within the Black community. Clark was most known for her citizenship schools; where she set up a system to teach African Americans how to read and write in the deep south.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Rebecca Farmer, 415.269.6275, or Ana Sandoval, 916.446.5247
State leaders, women’s groups mark 40th Anniversary of Roe by introducing bill to improve access to abortion services
SACRAMENTO – On the 40th Anniversary of the landmark decision Roe v. Wade, state leaders, women’s health and rights groups, announced the introduction of a bill that would improve abortion access. The bill, Assembly Bill 154, authored by Assemblymember Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), improves access by expanding the types of health professionals who can provide early abortions.
Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez; Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, Vice-Chair of the Women’s Caucus; and Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair of the Women’s Caucus, joined members of the California Women’s Health Alliance on the steps of the State Capitol to mark the 40th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ensured abortion remains safe and legal. The California Women’s Health Alliance, comprising women’s health and rights organizations, is convened by ACCESS Women’s Health Justice, ACLU of California, Black Women for Wellness, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, NARAL Pro-Choice California and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.
“As a former administrator of a health clinic, I know how important timely care is for women,” said Assemblymember Atkins. “This bill will ensure that early abortion care will be available for women in California who need it.”
“For 40 years, Roe v. Wade has guaranteed that the women of America have the freedom to make the right decisions for themselves and their families, and I am proud to join my colleagues in affirming our commitment to protecting women’s rights for every Californian,” said Speaker John A. Pérez. “Roe, and reproductive rights across the country have come under a bare-knuckled attack in other states over the past few years, which is why it’s important that California continues to protect and expand women’s rights, and my colleagues and I are deeply committed to that effort.”
California has a long history of supporting a woman’s access to health care. Yet even in California, 52 percent of the state’s counties have no accessible abortion provider. In rural areas this can mean a woman has to travel five hours just to obtain services. Even women living in urban areas with local providers face overburdened clinics and long wait times that result in delays in care.
“Over the last two years, 135 laws restricting abortion were passed across the country. But here in California we do things differently,” said Amy Everitt, president of NARAL Pro-Choice California and emcee of the event.“Women in rural and urban areas around our state still face challenges in access to abortion. By passing AB 154 California can continue to lead the nation in supporting access to comprehensive reproductive health for women in their own communities by providers they know and trust.”
AB 154 would improve access by authorizing trained nurse practitioners (NPs), certified nurse midwives (CNMs) and physicians assistants (PAs) to provide early abortions. By increasing the number of trained and qualified health professionals that can provide care, this bill would allow women to obtain abortions locally from advanced trained practitioners they already know and trust. Broadening the types of health professionals who can perform abortions means women can receive a wide spectrum of reproductive health care – family planning, birth control, miscarriage management, abortion, post abortion follow up – from the same practitioner, allowing for continuity of care.
Last week the American Journal of Public Health published the results of a multi-year study that concluded that NPs, CNMs and PAs can be trained to competency and can perform early abortions as safely as physicians.Conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco’s Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, the study also found that patients expressed high rates of satisfaction with the care they received from all practitioners. By age 45 about half of American women will have an unintended pregnancy and nearly one in three will terminate her pregnancy. Seven in 10 women would have preferred to have their abortion earlier. But many women experience delays because they need time to raise money for transportation, childcare and the procedure itself.
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*The California Women’s Health Alliance comprises more than 20 organizations that are dedicated to protecting and improving women’s reproductive health in the state.
ACCESS Women’s Health Justice, ACT for Women and Girls of Tulare County, American Civil Liberties Union of California, Bay Area Communities for Health Education, Black Women for Wellness, California Church IMPACT, California Family Health Council, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Cardea Institute, Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice, Choice USA, Forward Together, Fresno Barrios Unidos, NARAL Pro-Choice California, National Health Law Program, Nevada County Citizens for Choice, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, Women’s Community Clinic, Women’s Health Specialists of California
Come Join Black Women for Wellness for a movie and discussion as we dissect Maafa 21. It starts at 6:30 pm sharp at our office. If you have anymore questions are concerns contact Onyenma at 323.290.5955. Below is trailer for the movie, and caution to those who have sensitive ears.
Yesterday Monda Scott Young, producer of Love and Hip Hop, asked the question to the cast, did this show portray black women in a negative light. Mimi, responded, “what was going on was what was going on in our life.” Continuing “It had nothing to do with you or VH1 or a script. So for them to say ‘you were portraying African American women in a negative light’…not so much.” This was followed by an hour of continued insults hurled…
Finally, these raped women may be forced to do any number of things associated with joint custody, including sharing decision making about school- ing, healthcare, and religious upbringing, and may even be required to give their children the surnames of the rapist fathers.61 Thus, raped women and their children face substantial and terrible consequences as a result of these women’s decisions to give birth to and raise their children. Yet, despite these severe consequences, only sixteen states have determined that custody and visitation laws ought to be different for men who father through rape.62
Most of us probably don’t give much thought to our morning rituals, to the extent that we’re even awake during them. But the parade of personal care products Americans use each day—from toothpaste and shampoo to lipstick and aftershave—can affect us more than we realize. At issue are the chemical ingredients they contain and the extent to which they pose any risk to consumers. Just as Americans have developed an appetite for pesticide-free foods and all things organic, so too have they turned their attention to the make up of makeup.
In 2011 the FDA issued a warning to letter to Brazilian Blowout citing the company for labeling and safety violations. However, the agency has not moved to issue a voluntary recall of the product. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel (CIR), established by the cosmetic industry to review the safety of cosmetic ingredients, determined in 2011 that the use of formaldehyde in hair straighteners is unsafe. However, the CIR is not a regulatory body and the panel’s recommendations are only voluntary.
After more than five years of pressing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to restrict the toxic chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, in food packaging, the Breast Cancer Fund is heartened that the agency announced today a ban on the chemical in baby bottles and sippy cups. But given that Canada, the European Union, China, and at least five other countries as well as 11 U.S. states have prohibited the use of BPA in children’s products, that every major baby bottle manufacturer has already stopped using the chemical, and that BPA is also found in canned food linings, some infant formula containers and other food packaging, this action is too little, too late.
There has been an onslaught of attacks on women’s health and our reproductive justice over the last couple of years… from anti-choice policy legislation across the country to cut backs in social services, now more that ever we need a well-informed, take action group of advocates.
Proper family planning services are imperative in the efforts to reduce if not eradicate this disparity and AB 2348 seeks to do just that. By increasing the availability and timeliness of contraception, a woman is encouraged and empowered to make her own decisions regarding her pregnancy. Increased availability of birth control and family planning services reduces the chances of an unintended pregnancy which fosters the decrease of a stressful pregnancy and maternal and infant mortality. We encourage the overall health and well being of our women by securing her mental, physical and even financial health -which access to safe and effective birth control is an essential part of. AB 2348 advances reproductive health by offering a woman greater control over her body and thus her life. Black Women for Wellness is asking our elected officials to stand with the community – to stand up for women – and support AB 2348.
As we were walking home from the movie, my daughter wondered out loud about the matching of the ages, mentioning Terrence J was matched with an older woman being a trend for him. And thinking on it, if that was the intention of the story line, it did not make it apparent. Romany and Regina seemed to be more aged suited, while Terrence and Meagan are closer in age to each other however Black women can be ageless for quite a long time and the make up was impeccable. No cougar intentions were felt, and the older man with a younger woman is played out much too much in our communities and as Kevin Hart pointed out in case one was not looking, Romany looked damn good. The pajamas with no shirt scene was yummy.
April is autism awareness month. What is autism? Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors often appearing in early childhood — usually before age 3. Some children diagnosed with autism are highly intelligent; others are mentally challenged. Did you know that 1 in every 88 children in America is affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)1 ; and the ratio of boys to girls with ASD is about 5-to-12.
Just in time for earth day…. below is a great panel on Frankenstein foods and the chemicals that we used to create them… If you thought Pink Slime was it, think again…Over 90% of the soy and corn plants in the US are genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) and they are not labeled. GMO’s are defined as ~ Organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. -World Health Organization
Black Women for Wellness is deeply relieved that the Florida state attorney general has arrested and will press 2nd degree murder charges against George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. It is one step forward toward achieving some type of social justice in this country for African American peoples, yet it is also a illustrative example of how far we need to go toward achieving equity and equality.
For the report, DTSC sampled 25 nail care products bought from six San Francisco Bay Area locations. Of the 12 products that claimed to be free of at least one of what’s known as the “toxic-trio”—toluene, dibutyl phthalate and formaldehyde, 10 contained toluene, and 4 contained dibutyl phthalate. Toluene is a neurological and a developmental toxicant that can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, loss of short-term memory, and is proven to be toxic to a developing fetus. Both of these chemicals can impact the health of nail salon workers as well as consumers. Dibutyl phthalate can cause adverse effects on the male and female reproductive systems, as well as developmental problems in infants and children.
In 2012 Black women are still exploited, swindled, robbed of humanity and spirit for the entertainment of society. However Venus Noir is not about the images of Black women, it is about the inhumanity of white men, it is about the debauchery of the British and French, it is a glimpse into European society and culture that devalues women in general and Black women in specific. It almost portrays Ms Baartman as a willing participant in her own enslavement and humiliation, almost. She is shown smoking to tune out, drinking to numb the pain and holding on through tears, as best she can to maintain her personhood.
Reproductive Justice is more than having an abortion or not. It’s about a woman’s holistic well-being and her ability to make choices for her health and her life overall. For Black women, the fight for access to healthcare and birth control continues. Prenatal and perinatal care are also issues that are paramount to full reproductive justice because it deals with what happens after a woman decides to have a child and gives her the opportunity to do what’s best for her health and the health of her baby. In addition, Black women should have access to midwives if they do not want to have a child in a hospital—or who don’t have access to health insurance that will pay for a hospital stay.
There are also reproductive health issues that affect Black women more than any other group, such as fibroids and HIV/AIDS. Up to 80% of Black women have fibroids, many of whom go through hysterectomies to remove the fibroids, a procedure that severely limits a woman’s reproductive choices. STI’s such as HIV/AIDS also limits reproductive choices, but are preventable through access to condoms and education. In reproductive justice, sex education is key to protecting ourselves from HIV and other STI’s.
In a world where Black women are still dehumanized and black women’s bodies have been used to perfect contraceptives, reproductive justice becomes an issue of fighting for humanity and protecting our wombs. Reproductive justice is about challenging images and ideas that portray black women as unfit mothers. Who can forget the billboards proclaiming that the most dangerous place for a Black child is in the womb? As a whole reproductive justice isn’t about giving women the choice to become mothers, it is also about giving mothers the tools they need to care for their children.
What are some of the things that come to mind when you think about Black women and reproductive justice? What does reproductive justice mean to you?
Allergies, for the most part, is your body’s way of overreacting to allergens. This can be anything from pollen, grass or dust to certain foods. When some people’s bodies comes into contact with allergens it instantly goes into defense mode and releases histamines. Histamines kick starts your body’s immune reaction by causing inflammation, leading to swollen sinuses, itchy eyes and runny noses.
“If you have a lot of stress in your life, your husband beats you, your boss at work is pushing you too hard, and then you have a sudden death in your family, all this builds up,” said Calvin Hobel, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles who has studied the effect of stress on birth outcomes. “People who have chronic stress, throughout the day, your heart rate goes up, your cortisol goes up, but it doesn’t come down.”
How to explain these pregnancy experiences? The stress of living with racism–from workplace discrimination to maltreatment in maternity wards — is now a leading hypothesis.
An anti-abortion group behind a controversial New York billboard targeting African Americans is now taking its message to the South Side of Chicago, in a billboard targeting supporters of President Obama.
Life Always is expected to unveil billboards featuring Obama’s face and the words “Every 21 minutes, our next possible leader is aborted” on Tuesday at 11 a.m. The first billboard will be near an empty lot at 5812 S. State Street, according to a press release from Life Always.
Below is a article we found on Black Women, hair and our exercise habits. The article suggest that we don’t exercise, because we don’t want to mess up our hair. In addition, the articles says very little about the chemical in the products and its impact on our health. What do you think? Have you thought about not exercising because of you hair care routine?
The combination of risque clothes and grunting noises over a thumping beat was deemed too much for broadcast air. However when thinking about some of the television ad’s and programs that have been on American television as of recently, has Serena been singled out unfairly?
Nearly 70 years ago, in the small town of Abbeville , Alabama , a young woman named Recy Taylor experienced the worst of living under Jim Crow law. In 1944, Recy was gang raped by a group of men –– her neighbors.
It turns out that the cash in your wallet may be contaminated with the dangerous chemical BPA. A recent study by Safer Chemicals Healthy Families and theWashington Toxics Coalition found that BPA (a widely used chemical that causes genetic damage, miscarriages, birth defects and acts like a hormone) is present in paper money.
The House Appropriations Committee passed $1.3 billion in cuts last week to Health Center funding. For the $1.3 billion budget cuts bill to become a law, both chambers (House and Senate) will ultimately need to pass the same bill. Voting will take place this week.
Tubman richly deserves recognition for all her exploits during this era. As a Conductor on the Underground Railroad, she is remembered as leading enslaved Blacks to freedom, including forcing the more timid ones to carry on with the journey or face death for turning back; a spy for the Union Army, gathering intelligence from plantations and escaped slaves on the positions and movements of Confederate troops; or leading a group of scouts as part of a raid on the Combahee River to remove torpedoes, destroy railroads and bridges and cut off supplies to Confederate troops in South Carolina.
An offensive, incendiary ad went up in Manhattan this week targeting the wombs of Black women. I was not alone in my anger at the ad; media personality and recording artist Free shared my upset. She invited me to provide some analysis on the ad to take the discussion on twitter beyond the emotional reactions the ad sparked. Below is what she posted at Freesworld.com. I’d love to get your thoughts here as well.
Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez; Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, Vice-Chair of the Women’s Caucus; and Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair of the Women’s Caucus, joined members of the California Women’s Health Alliance on the steps of the State Capitol to mark the 40th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ensured abortion remains safe and legal. The California Women’s Health Alliance, comprising women’s health and rights organizations, is convened by ACCESS Women’s Health Justice, ACLU of California, Black Women for Wellness, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, NARAL Pro-Choice California and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.
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