The Supreme Court's war on Black women, predicting pre-eclampsia, teen found dead in Atlanta jail
Plus, the death of Kira Dixon Johnson launches a federal investigation into California hospital, an exodus of Black women Hollywood execs, an overlooked battalion of Black women comes to light & more.
The Supreme Court Is Waging War on Black Women and Girls
Rolling Stone, Marley E. Dias
“It’s a painful reversal from a court that has the power to protect liberty and opportunity. Where my childhood meant watching Supreme Court make history legalizing same-sex marriage, its shifts in makeup have corresponded to a series of decisions that have pushed Black women to the margins of society.
The Supreme Court’s decisions come in the context of historic firsts, both for the court and for Harvard. When Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson and President Claudine Gay made history as the first Black women to be appointed to the Supreme Court and Harvard, respectively, Black women gained a needed seat at the table. But the decisions have shown that we need more than seats at the table — we need systems that recognize, rather than ignore, structural racism, and actively work to address them.”
A Blood Test Predicts Pre-eclampsia in Pregnant Women
The New York Times, Roni Caryn Rabin
“The condition disproportionately affects Black women in the United States and may have contributed to the recent death of Tori Bowie, a track star who won gold at the 2016 Olympics. Two Black teammates of Ms. Bowie — Allyson Felix and Tianna Bartoletta — also developed pre-eclampsia during their pregnancies.
The new test may offer an early warning, identifying which of the many pregnant women who have suggestive symptoms will go on to develop the life-threatening disease within the next two weeks.
‘It’s groundbreaking. It’s revolutionary,’ Dr. Doug Woelkers, a professor of maternal fetal medicine at the University of California, San Diego, said of the test. ‘It’s the first step forward in pre-eclampsia diagnostics since 1900, when the condition was first defined.’”
California Hospital Facing Federal Civil Rights Investigation for Treatment of Black Women in Childbirth
People, Alexis Jones
“The investigation comes after Charles Johnson filed lawsuits against the institution following his wife Kira Dixon Johnson's death at age 39 after she gave birth to their second son together in April 2016.
‘My wife would be here with her boys if it wasn’t for the color of her skin,’ Johnson said at a press conference, per NBC News, echoing claims made in his complaint against the hospital. ‘After allowing my wife to bleed and suffer needlessly while my family and myself begged and pleaded with them to simply just treat her with dignity and respect.’
In 2019, Johnson told ABC News that he asked medical staff to help his wife after he saw blood in her catheter following her scheduled C-section. However, he said, ‘his pleas were ignored for hours.’”
Black women face 'systemic racism' in health care across Americas: UN
AFP
“Maternal mortality among women of African origin is "alarmingly high," both in absolute terms and when compared to non-Black and non-Indigenous women in the region, according to a damning new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reviewing nine countries in the Americas.
The study drew on data from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States and Uruguay.
"Structural racism and sexism are evident in maternal health disparities that exist across income levels and national and regional borders," the report said.”
What Happened to Noni Battiste-Kosoko?: The 19-Year-Old Inmate Found Dead in Fulton County Jail
Black Enterprise, Sharelle Burton
*Editor’s Note: I haven’t been able to verify this with any news publications, but a handful of social media users have claimed that Noni was arrested in May and jailed for protesting Cop City. I highly recommend reading Taiyler S. Mitchell’s HuffPost report on the controversial police training facility in Atlanta and a recent report on the severe (or fatal, in the case of environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Terán) treatment and criminalization of protestors.
“The body of 19-year-old Noni Battiste-Kosoko was found by detention center officials while making dinner rounds, Fox 5 Atlanta reports. The victim was being held for a misdemeanor bench warrant since May 2. Her bond was initially set at $2,000, but after new charges came out of of Miami-Dade County, Florida, she was held without bond.
Around 6:30 p.m., Battiste-Kosoko was found unresponsive in her cell on July 11, 2023. Medical personnel and the Atlanta Fire rescue team found no obvious signs of injury. Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office is expected to perform the autopsy.”
RELATED: Justice Department to investigate jail conditions in Georgia's most populous county, Seattle PI
California Black Caucus Calls on Studios to Explain Sudden Departures of Multiple Black Female Executives in Hollywood
Variety, Clayton Davis
“The CLBC held a press conference on Thursday, citing the executives’ resignations and removals after the State Legislature approved the $1.6 billion Film Tax Credit initiative to provide tax incentives for the film studios.
A mass exodus of Black women from senior leadership posts — Vernā Myers (Netflix), LaTondra Newton (Disney), Jeanell English (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and Karen Horne and Terra Potts (Warner Bros.Discovery) — has raised questions about the depth of the film and television industry’s commitment to diversifying the top ranks of the entertainment industry.”
Six Triple Eight: The battalion of black women erased from history
BBC News, Oprah Flash & Amy Johnston
“Based at King Edward's School, in Edgbaston, the women - who went on to Rouen and Paris in France - faced many challenges including using outdated equipment, cultural differences and gender discrimination.
They worked in cramped, unheated and dimly lit buildings with packages stacked to the ceilings. Many reported being surrounded by mice and rats which had sought out spoiled food in some of the parcels.
Despite this, they defied all odds and earned themselves a reputation for their efficiency and dedication by working under their motto: No mail, low morale.
When they returned home in 1946, the unit, which also included some Hispanic women, were not given ceremonies, parades or any public recognition of their accomplishments.”
Former Essence Magazine employees say they witnessed a 'hellish' and 'dehumanizing' culture at the leading publication for Black women in America
Insider, Yoonji Han
“Insider spoke with 20 former and current employees across titles and departments about their experiences working at Essence. Five former employees were still at the magazine in 2022 or 2023; an additional nine worked at Essence during the time the letter was published in 2020.
Many employees who were at Essence in 2020 say they experienced or witnessed a ‘hellish’ and ‘dehumanizing’ culture with a rigid, top-down hierarchy; some complained of mismanagement and poor compensation — issues that current and recent employees say haven't been fully resolved in the three years since the letter was published. Most of the sources requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation and to protect their careers.
‘Essence is a dream place — ‘Black girl magic’ — but it's a known thing inside, and it's leaking outside, that it's more like ‘Black girl tragic,’’ one former employee said.”
Black Women Twice As Likely To Be Cyber-Flashed
21Ninety, C.J. Nelson
“Cyber-flashing is defined as the act of using digital means, usually messaging or social media apps, to send pornographic images of oneself to another without their consent. Cyber-flashing can have disastrous effects on the victim, causing them distress, making them feel unsafe and endangering their long-term well-being.
The latest study, into cyber-flashing titled, ‘The exposé on women’s and marginalized genders’ social media experiences,’ builds on a 2022 study that revealed that more than a fifth of girls and women in the United Kingdom have been cyber-flashed in the year prior. This recent study however goes even deeper. It found that 50 percent of the Black women who were part of the 2,000 women surveyed about their cyber-flashing experiences said they had indeed been cyber-flashed. This is in comparison to 26 percent of white women who shared the same traumatic experience.”
In the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Hip-Hop Exhibition, Black Women Artists Shine Bright Like a Diamond
ARTNews, Jasmin Hernandez
“Nearly 90 artists are included in the exhibition, but it’s acclaimed Black women artists including Carrie Mae Weems, Tschabalala Self, Lauren Halsey, Jordan Casteel, and Nina Chanel Abney, who exalt Black femininity, beauty rituals, style, sexuality, and of course, queendom, in their works, and provide the exhibition’s most Black feminist moments.
Both Self and Weems depict Black girlhood and womanhood within a hip-hop context. Self’s captivating, collaged painting Setta’s Room 1996 (2022) features a Black teen girl (inspired by the artist’s sister Princetta) in a hyper-feminine polka dot outfit, holding a landline phone receiver with fancy yellow nails. A poster of Lil’ Kim’s explosive 1996 debut album Hard Core hangs on a pink wall. Self, who investigates the Black female figure and its complicated meanings in society, illustrates the over-sexualized tropes Black women face, and its expectation on Black girls’ innocence.”
Colorism is driving women of color to use harmful skin lightening products, says new study
NBC News, Char Adams
“Skin lightening, also called whitening or bleaching, is a multibillion-dollar industrywith products that can damage the skin and that, researchers say, promote a dangerous message about beauty and social value. But people who use these products — primarily marketed to women — seldom understand the health risks of using the over-the-counter chemicals, Northwestern University researchers found in a study recently published in the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology.
The researchers surveyed hundreds of people, a majority of them Black women. Many of the respondents reported using skin lightening products, with a portion admitting that they didn’t know the products contained harmful ingredients like hydroquinone, which can cause skin rashes, swelling, discoloration and more.”
The real reason why Keke Palmer and Black women’s bodies are constantly policed
Reckon, Emma Akpan
“It’s important to understand that while conversations like this happen on the internet, they have consequences in everyday life. If Keke Palmer, a highly successful Black singer, actress, and entertainer can be publicly shamed for owning her sexuality, what does that mean for the young Black teenage girls who are reading these tweets?
Just as it appears in pop culture, purity culture currently defines right wing politics in this country. This kind of weaponized christianity is a fundamental pillar of everything from abortion bans, to anti-trans legislation, to attacks on birth control.
But for as long as men have tried to dictate what we do with our bodies, Black women have resisted. The ways in which Black women have used the internet as a space to speak openly about our sexuality and desire makes me hopeful.”
Zubachee sees Web3’s potential to help Black women create businesses
Technically, Alanah Nicole Davis
“Still in its infancy, Web3 is ushering in a new era that some believe could transform ownership and foster business growth. For Zubachee, a metaverse ecosystem created by former bankers Lyndsae’ Peele and Casey Ariel (who now serves as an advisory board member), Web3 represents a pathway to empower and uplift Black women in business.
‘The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for access to capital, both venture capital and basic funding, to start and grow businesses,’ said Peele in a phone interview with Technical.ly.
Peele is working on creating a Web3 marketplace that aims to provide tailored tools and support for Black women entrepreneurs.”