Black Women Will Save Us: Developing and Cultivating a Healing-Centered Community in a Preterm Birth Crisis

• In Event: What Is the Black Maternal Health Crisis and What Is It Doing in a Nice Field Like Education?

Abstract

Objectives/Purpose
A healing centered approach is strength-based, holistic, cultural, spiritual, civic action and collective healing (Ginwright, 2018). In this paper, I share how my son and I healed during and after a preterm birth crisis, due to letter and prayer writing from Black women faculty. I argue that Black women will save us, because of the healing communities we cultivate due to trauma and crisis.
Perspective/Theoretical Framework
This work is situated in Healing Centered Engagement framework:
Views trauma and healing from a political perspective. In the context of this paper, I am aware of the Black Maternal Health crisis and its roots to anti-Blackness, in understanding my birthing experience and my son’s stay at the NICU.
Is cultural and makes explicit the connection between healing and identity (Ginwright, 2018, para. 14). The culturally grounded activity that I invited the Black women to engage in, was to write prayers and letters to my son to support us through this journey. The letters and prayers included photographs, utilized Black language, and engaged in Black feminist-womanist storytelling (Baker-Bell, 2017).
It intentionally builds healing spaces rooted in people’s experiences, knowledge, skills and curiosity as positive traits to be enhanced (Ginwright, 2018). I intentionally built a virtual healing space that allowed me and my son to be in community with other Black women who could hold space for us, throughout our trauma.
Focuses on restoring, healing and sustaining the adults who attempt to heal youth(Ginwright, 2018). While I initially wanted support and letters for my son, I too received support from the Black women.
Methods/Modes of Inquiry/Data Sources
Correspondence as a data generation process is a methodological innovation (Kralik et al., 2000); a research method for qualitative and feminist research (Letherby & Zdrodowski, 1995). This paper focuses on my experience of using correspondence (Letherby & Zdrodowski, 1995) (email letters from Black women) as a form of primary data in my postpartum journey and NICU experience of my son, as a healing practice. Specifically, I lean on the study of Thomas and Znaiecki (1958) who used letters extensively alongside a life history event as data.
After initially reading the letters to my son, they provided healing, support, love and care to manage my traumatic birthing experience with my son, and to navigate the healing process while my son was in the NICU. After processing this experience with my Black woman therapist, I noticed that Black women supported our healing journey as a family, and how many of them were also in academia. I took a deeper dive into the letters, and discovered that Black women saved me and provided a safe healing space for me as I navigated the NICU. Preliminary findings will be presented.
Arguments/Conclusions/Significance
There are community organizations and personal activism that addresses the Black maternal health crisis and trauma that Black families are experiencing. This paper is an example of personal activism and collective healing practices that I engaged in with Black women that supported my healing process.

Author

• Kisha M Porcher, University of Delaware