Tagged With "Great Mother"

On Dec. 3 , a 28-year-old black mother lost her parental rights to her four children – ages 1 to 9 – in a Minnesota courtroom, just outside the Twin Cities. Instead of opening presents with their mother, the children spent Christmas with a white family two hours away. Across the country, black parents – like this mother, whom we will call Jane R. to protect her privacy – are more likely to lose custody of their children than their white, Asian and Latino peers. While African Americans...

While there has been extensive media coverage looking at the health risks faced by mothers before and after they gave birth, as well as the heavy toll of postpartum depression. But less remarked is the emotional trauma and devastation that mothers can face from a difficult labor and delivery. These kinds of birth-related traumas may be far more common than realized: 18 percent of mothers report experiencing post-traumatic symptoms from childbirth, according to one estimate from the 2008...

Note: These findings were presented at the Child Trauma Conference in Lagos on October 25-26, 2019. Rationale: Many children today live with layers of stress both subtle and overt which in this report are collectively referred to as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Specifically, these ACEs are physical, emotional and sexual abuse; physical and emotional neglect; household dysfunction and domestic violence as well as community violence. The children have a life marked by chaos,...

This is one in a series of profiles showcasing some of Harvard’s stellar graduates. Deeneaus ‘D’ Polk, M.P.P. ’20, found his way from Mississippi to Harvard Kennedy School with plans to return to the South Growing up in the small, blue-collar Mississippi town Pascagoula, Deeneaus Polk could not have predicted that his path would take him to Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Or that it would run by way of Germany. As the oldest of three children, Polk — who goes by “D” — was responsible for...

Sometimes a random encounter turns out to be not so random at all. JacqueRae Hill, a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines, shared one such encounter on Facebook . She said that her heart has been heavy with everything going on, which is especially hard hard when your job is to put a smile on people's face. But something happened on a recent flight that lifted her spirits. She wrote: "As we are boarding my first flight of the day I smile and I greet people when they come on and a man was...

My early life was defined by deep emotional pain and turmoil. In exchange for all that I endured, I was gifted reunification with the Motherland. As a young person, I stood on the same shore where my ancestors lost their freedom as the clear blue ocean water licked my feet and enticed me with her beauty. It was an anointing. Finally, I was home. For the past 27 years, I have been deeply submerged in West African culture. Throughout that time, I have lived on and off the Continent; spending...

As we endure the pain of lost loved ones, manage the anxiety of financial insecurity and potentially fret over becoming ill, it is a brilliant time for change in our country and around the world. There is a special kind of racist exclusion in America. When I took my young son to live in India, initially, he struggled everyday on the bus to school. There was a lot of hazing and bullying from older students. I remember him begging me to please take him to school in a rickshaw so that he didn’t...

Over the next few days, I am going to provide a little food for thought about the loss of cultural identity that has profoundly impacted Africans across the Diaspora. Remember that the descendants of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade that live off of the Continent, are perhaps the only collective in the world that does not know their origin. We are African, but Africa is a continent of fifty-two countries with thousands of different cultures and dialects. Today’s micro-discussion is on names.

I was fairly new to the study of plant medicine when I was introduced to herbalist Sade Musa, who leads the community education and healing project Roots of Resistance . Part of my commitment to self-care and reducing harm meant getting in touch with Mother Earth and learning to seek her out in moments of overwhelm, but it was frustrating that most of the traditions I was being introduced to were European or repackaged indigenous practices. I was starting to feel like the only way to get in...

My story began as I was born to an unwed African American teen mother. She had my brother when she was 14 and had me at the age of 16. I vaguely remember the house that I was born in down south. Blacks were not allowed to be born in the hospital at that time so we made use of midwives. My grandfather shot my dad twice in the back with a 22 caliber handgun. He was chasing him away from our house because he told him to stay away from my mother. Shortly thereafter we were kicked out of the...

COVID, ACES and Radical Self-Care Dr. LateshIa Woodley, LPC, NCC & Alexis Kelly, MPA COVID Thursday, March 13, 2020, I woke up thinking I love my life, I have the best job in the world, I get to wake up every day and strive to make a difference in the lives of students and families. Little did I know that a few hours later my life, the lives of my family, and the lives of the families that I serve would forever be changed due to the COVID pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, I was leading...

NOVEMBER 17, 2020 5:08 AM AEDT Women with lower levels of choline delivered prematurely by 2 weeks, increasing risk of later mental health problems for their offspring. Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campu s have found that many pregnant Black Americans have low levels of choline, an essential nutrient that aids in prenatal brain development. Stress caused by institutional racism may play a role. The study, out now in Schizophrenia Bulletin , also found that these...

1. Restorative Justice We are committed to collectively, lovingly and courageously working vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension all people. As we forge our path, we intentionally build and nurture a beloved community that is bonded together through a beautiful struggle that is restorative, not depleting. 2. Empathy We are committed to practicing empathy; we engage comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their contexts. 3. Loving Engagement We...

Anneliese M. Bruner was in her mid-30s when her father presented her with a small red book. It was bound in cloth and worn at the corners. “This is a book your grandmother wrote,” he told her, “and I want you to see what you can do with it. You are the matriarch of the family now, and I’m giving this to you.” Opening it, she saw a panoramic photograph that revealed the utter destruction of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Okla. , in the immediate aftermath of a white mob descending on the...

LEVEL 2 HISTORICAL TRAUMA SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION MARCH 2022!!! The wait is finally over! Iya Affo and Heal Historical Trauma will present: Historical Trauma Specialist Certification- LEVEL 2: A Neurological, Environmental & Cultural Perspective on March 1st & 2nd 2022. LEVEL 2 will cover the following: Neurological implications of Historical Trauma and how to align neurobiology with desired behavioral outcomes. Indigenous Attachment Theory Understanding the injurious relationship...

LEVEL 2 HISTORICAL TRAUMA SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION MARCH 2022!!! The wait is finally over! Iya Affo and Heal Historical Trauma will present: Historical Trauma Specialist Certification- LEVEL 2: A Neurological, Environmental & Cultural Perspective on March 1st & 2nd 2022. LEVEL 2 will cover the following: Neurological implications of Historical Trauma and how to align neurobiology with desired behavioral outcomes. Indigenous Attachment Theory Understanding the injurious relationship...

In Honor of Black History Month 2k22 Please Enjoy the Following NEW Trainings: Facilitating a Full Expression of Resilience: BIPOC are resilient. In learning how trauma is formed and passed from one generation to the next in our communities, we will understand how to facilitate a full expression of resilience in vulnerable communities. This course takes a deep dive into the reality of flight or fight mode and how many people enduring oppression, discrimination and hate live with a constant...

In Ecuador, ancestral or traditional medicine is the medicine of the different Indigenous peoples and nationalities who live there. While th e Ecuadorian Constitution guarantees its recognition, respect, and promotion, Afro-Ecuadorian ancestral healer María Eugenia Quiñónez Castillo explains that there is still a long way to go to reach a real convergence of wisdom and practices in the country. In this interview, she took time off working at the La Fe (Faith) Ancestral Medical Center and...

Intergenerational trauma Trauma occurs when a person suffers intense emotional pain or a threat to their life or sense of safety to such an extent that it overwhelms their ability to cope . We often think of trauma as occurring from catastrophic or violent events. But researchers have found that daily accumulations of stress , like repeated experiences of racism , can result in traumatic symptoms that are detrimental to one’s physical, mental, and emotional health. In the past 10 years, a...

NOT TOO LATE FOR COHORT 1!! Also registering for COHORT 2!! New!! 48-HOUR HISTORICAL TRAUMA SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION in collaboration with THE INTERNATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAUMA ASSOCIATION We are the only entity offering a comprehensive, 48-hour Historical Trauma Specialist Certification Program. The Program is broken into 6 levels and is built on a foundation of BIPOC cultures and neurobiology. It is taught from a multicultural perspective, injecting traditions and ideology from various...

New!! 48-HOUR HISTORICAL TRAUMA SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION in collaboration with THE INTERNATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAUMA ASSOCIATION We are the only entity offering a comprehensive, 48-hour Historical Trauma Specialist Certification Program. The Program is broken into 6 levels and is built on a foundation of BIPOC cultures and neurobiology. It is taught from a multicultural perspective, injecting traditions and ideology from various cultures from around the world. In this inclusive study we rely...

New!! 48-HOUR HISTORICAL TRAUMA SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION in collaboration with THE INTERNATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAUMA ASSOCIATION We are the only entity offering a comprehensive, 48-hour Historical Trauma Specialist Certification Program. The Program is broken into 6 levels and is built on a foundation of BIPOC cultures and neurobiology. It is taught from a multicultural perspective, injecting traditions and ideology from various cultures from around the world. In this inclusive study we rely...

People Images/Getty Images To read more of George B. Sanchez-Tello's article, please click here. Peggy Melancon, known as Mother Peggy, got on the wrong bus in South L.A. She didn’t recognize her hairdresser. She kept losing her keys. These were the signs of her illness that daughters Jeanie Harris and Sharon Melancon recognized only after Mother Peggy was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease. Mother Peggy would need someone with her all the time, and Harris, Melancon and...

AC Care Alliance care navigator Nikki High, left, visits with a client family at her home in Gardena, California. Photo: Harrison Hill By Heather Stringer, California Health Care Foundation, August 25, 2023 Leslie Arnold’s 87-year-old mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease 10 years ago, and caring for her has become increasingly difficult as the disease has progressed. Sometimes his mother is resistant to changing out of soiled clothes or going to bed, and she stays up reorganizing...