Police handcuff young girl, Essence spotlights Missy Elliot, erasure in book publishing...
Plus, a new TV drama highlights the epidemic of missing Black girl and women, Oakland residents declare "state of emergency" amid attempted abductions, and a writer on living with undiagnosed ADHD.
Welcome back,
Here are some of this week’s top news stories about Black girls and women that you might’ve missed, along with some compelling evergreen pieces. Please like and share this newsletter, and consider becoming a paid subscriber if you haven’t already. I appreciate y’all!
— Patrice
Black Women in the Rural South Bypassed By Federal Program Meant to Reduce Maternal Mortality
KFF Health News, Sarah Jane Tribble
“The grant-funded initiative, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, began rolling out four years ago and, so far, has budgeted nearly $32 million to provide access and care for thousands of mothers and babies nationwide — for instance, Hispanic women along the Rio Grande or Indigenous mothers in Minnesota.
KFF Health News found that none of the sites funded by the agency serves mothers in the Southeast, where the U.S. Census Bureau shows the largest concentration of predominantly Black rural communities. That omission exists despite a White House declaration to make Black maternal health a priority and statistics showing America’s maternal mortality rate has risen sharply in recent years. Non-Hispanic Black women — regardless of income or education level — die at nearly three times the rate of non-Hispanic white women.”
Fallout widens after released video shows Sacramento officers handcuffing child
Shawnte Passmore, CBS News
“Public scrutiny looms over the Sacramento Police Department after an audit revealed multiple civil rights violations, but a video of officers handcuffing a 10-year-old girl is creating a firestorm.
The incident in question stems from February 2022. Body cam footage shows officers grabbing a young girl and placing handcuffs after she opened the door. You can hear an officer ask who else is in the house as the young girl cries. The video is hard to watch for many.
‘I wish I could say ‘shocked,’’ said Meg White, co-founder of Justice Unites Individuals and Communities Everywhere. ‘Unfortunately, Sacramento has a history of being very brutal, specifically with Black residents.’”
The Senate has no Black women. Lisa Blunt Rochester’s bid could change that.
Mel Leonor Barclay, The 19th News
“Blunt Rochester, 61, joined the House in 2017 as the first woman and person of color to represent Delaware in Congress. She is now running to replace longtime Sen. Tom Carper, her mentor, who announced plans to retire last month. […]
The Senate has had no Black women since Kamala Harris became the vice president; Harris was only the second Black woman to ever serve in the chamber.
Blunt Rochester has described her rise in politics as improbable. ‘It literally took 30 years before I even ran for Congress. And I did that after the unexpected death of my husband,’ Blunt Rochester told Politico this month. ‘And I ran even though I had never run for anything, as a widow, over 50, Black, woman, and we made history.’”
Missing Black Girls Deserve More Attention. With NBC’s Found, They’re Getting It.
Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29 Unbothered
“We know of the ‘missing white woman syndrome’ that sees the public prioritize certain cases over others (MSNBC anchor Joy Reid, who makes a cameo in the series, spotlighted this during the Gabby Petito case), and we know that so many missing Black girls remain nameless and faceless. Found is hoping to not only be an addictive addition to your fall TV lineup — it’s also shedding light on an issue we need to be talking more about.
With a Black woman at its center, and a Black girl as its first case, Found of course depicts the specific plight of Black women and girls, but Gabi and her team also take on clients of other marginalized groups who are disproportionately impacted when they go missing, like Indigenous women and girls, other people of color, elderly folks and sex workers.”
Black Women Are Being Erased in Book Publishing
Jennifer Baker, Electric Lit
“On August 29th, 2022, after 19 months and 18 book acquisitions, I was informed that my position as senior editor at Amistad “was no longer necessary.” (Imagine being told your role was unnecessary less than two years after being assured of the necessity to nurture more Black editors.) One of the first things I thought upon hearing those words was erasure. Erasure as colleagues reached out congratulating me on a new job. (They’d been told I was “leaving” and not that my company account had been disabled five minutes after logging off the virtual meeting in which I was let go). Erasure came to mind when my authors, and their agents, told me they hadn’t heard a word from anyone at the company until I publicly announced my departure two weeks later. And it felt like erasure in the extreme when I saw how quickly I was removed as “editor” and others were given credit for the labor I’d put into editing, and advocating for, the books I had acquired. I was effectively erased because, like Kendra Rae, the narrative about my sudden departure from Amistad had been woven by others, and not by me.”
How My ADHD Diagnosis Changed The Way I Live My Life As A Black Woman
Chanté Joseph, Refinery29 Unbothered
“A few years ago, I spoke to my friend Stephanie Ozuo, who is an ADHD advocate and career coach, about her diagnosis. Her emotional experience felt all too relatable to me. At the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in March, I found it increasingly difficult to manage work tasks, so I decided to get an ADHD assessment.
The NHS says that you must display six or more symptoms (five if you're an adult) to be diagnosed with ADHD. Due to long NHS waiting times, I opted to get privately tested via the ADHD Center. The assessment was expensive, costing £545 (or around $694); luckily my employer was kind enough to cover the cost. At this time, however, my mind was like a pinball machine without any controls: constant lights, information, actions, and ideas but no motivation to execute them. By the time I received my assessment, I'd had to quit my job because I couldn't function.”
Missy’s Midas Touch
Brooklyn White, ESSENCE
“I want to do everything that I say in the song.”
That was Missy Elliott’s response when director Hype Williams asked for her ideas about the visual component of her 1997 hit song “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly).”
In the video, she wore what appeared to be a crown. It was, in fact, a pair of vintage Alain Mikli shades, with glittering points that hugged her scalp. The effect was a crowning and a baptism at the same time. It was also a formal introduction to a new type of pop star: a thick girl entranced by the declarations of Run-D.M.C. and professional fly girls Salt-N-Pepa, primed to catapult the planet into the new millennium. She jerked her body and smirked her way into people’s consciousness—and into their hearts. To fans watching her, she almost seemed like an alien—but in fact, she’s so human, it hurts.
Meet the Black outdoorsy groups reclaiming the joys of nature
Char Adams, NBC News
“As my wilderness class learned to tie basic knots — like slip knots, hang knots and the trucker’s hitch — it became clear that other participants were curious about my presence. A little boy asked where I was from and if I needed help with my knots (I didn’t), and an older man told me, “I’m glad you’re here. We need more of this!” We both knew what he meant. Throughout the experience, though, I kept thinking about how fun it would be to have other Black women in the course with me, or a similar course tailored to Black women.
This sense of community is common when it comes to Black outdoors enthusiasts. Toyin Ajayi launched Outdoorsy Black Women in 2021 in Atlanta because she was looking “for a space for Black women like me.”
Community leaders are pleading for Oakland to protect young, Black people from trafficking
Kristal Raheem, Oakland Voices
“This year, the issue has gained more attention in the media since community members and organizations announced a ‘state of emergency’ in Oakland for the attempted abductions and kidnappings of Black girls and women. The state of emergency was called in response to 10 attempted abductions occurring within the span of a month between April and May.
On Thursday, June 1, 2023, the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC) hosted an Emergency Town Hall called “About that Action: Protect & Empower Our Black Girls & Women.” EOYDC CEO Selena Wilson shared that the center was chosen as a location for the town hall after one of their youth leaders was almost abducted while leaving her shift. […]
‘From the age of twelve, I would have grown men trying to talk to me… I felt safe because there were always houses around where I knew somebody,’ Wilson told Oakland Voices. ‘Our kids nowadays, due to gentrification and the housing crisis, don’t usually get to live in the same spot for more than a couple of years. There’s instability and a lack of a sense of a village.’”
‘On the Record’: Underrated doc tackles the misogyny Black women face in the #MeToo era
People’s World, Chauncey K. Robinson
“The so-called godfather of hip-hop, Russell Simmons, has made the news recently after being publicly accused by his ex-wife and children of verbal abuse. In light of these allegations, it seems only fitting to revisit the underrated (and perhaps deliberately buried?) 2020 documentary that centers on allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against the controversial hip-hop mogul.
On the Record is a documentary that focuses on the stories of Black women attempting to find their voices, and some sense of justice, in the era of #MeToo. It wrangles with the intersectionality of race and gender when it comes to Black women being believed and supported in the face of harassment and sexism. It isn’t a comfortable film to watch, but a necessary one when tackling the ongoing #MeToo movement and the search for true accountability from those in power who abuse their status.”
Have you seen these Black girls & women posted by the Black and Missing Foundation?
NYC Missing Persons Day will be held tomorrow, Saturday, June 24, from 9 to 3PM at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner. This free in-person event offers resources and confidential support for the families and friends of long-term missing persons (missing for 60 or more days) to help find and identify their missing loved ones.
Kyra Jones-Kelley, 13, Battle Creek, MI
Monae Dawson, 31, Oakland, CA
Keoni Martinez, 16, Houston, TX
Ebony Giddens, 32, Columbus, GA
Casey Young, 44, Spartanburg County, SC
