assignment #6 - lily gardner: rest in power

Rest in Power Elijah Cummings, a great man, gone too soon. The greatest white privilege is life itself. (Ibram X Kendi, Director of Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University, found in The Atlantic)

When Serena Williams Announced her pregnancy in the spring of 2017, a flurry of congratulations descended upon her, until she was forced to undergo an emergency C-section due to a plummeting heart rate. She was then denied the necessary subsequent treatment by white nurses, who said the pain meds were making her crazy. 

Black infants in America are more than twice as likely to die as white infants, a rate higher than in 1850, when the institution of slavery were still abundant. Black women are three to four times more likely to die during pregnancy than white women. Black women will die, on average, two years earlier, black men: seven. 

White people are “dying of whiteness” - policies such as loosening gun laws that, while disproportionately impacting people of color, lead to more suicides by white men. Black Americans are dying of our white policies, and the consequences of weathering, or the cumulative impacts of racism and socioeconomic disadvantage on health and well being. 

Freshman year, I read Linda Villarosa’s article, “Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis” instead of doing the assigned reading for AP Gov. I cried. Sophomore year, I dedicated six months to researching the adverse perinatal outcomes among African American Women in the United States. I became enraged. Junior year, I did something about it (hopefully).

Rest in Power to all people who have died before their time, because of the crimes of my ancestors, and the systems of oppression perpetuated by our people.