For Us, By Us: Black Women Stake a Claim in Cincinnati
On August 19th of this year, ten powerful, intelligent Black women sat together tasked with determining how 2.9 million dollars in Ohio Medicaid Funds would be spent in Hamilton County. Although hopeful about the opportunity, life had taught us all to be skeptical of the results. This past Friday, after three months of speculation, we learned that our voices were heard—that our reservations were not cast aside, that our experiences were undeniable, and that our truth would be accepted as a universal truth in this state. This is the culmination of over a year of Queens Village’s effort to carve out a platform for Black women in Cincinnati.
Across the nation, “Trust Black Women” is a rallying cry. Finally, this cry was heard in Cincinnati, and particularly, within Cradle Cincinnati — an organization resolved to reduce infant mortality in Hamilton County. In 2018, Cradle Cincinnati hired Dr. Meredith Shockley-Smith, a former Black Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies professor, recognizing that the vast racial disparities in infant death required a Black woman’s perspective and leadership. Soon afterward, she formed a board of ten additional Black women to drive the work. We are two of those women.
Josselyn Okorodudu: I began the work as a Queens Village Board member in the summer of 2018 when Dr. Shockley-Smith asked for my support. Although I started with little knowledge of infant and maternal mortality, what I did come with was an acute awareness that Black women deserve better. Now, I sit as the Community Engagement Strategist for Cradle Cincinnati. For the sake of my daughter, my family, my friends and myself, I fight every day to ensure that Black women are seen, heard and valued in this city.
Danyelle Bush: I joined the work as a Queens VIllage Advisory Board Member in the summer of 2018 when my former professor, Dr. Meredith Shockley-Smith, reached out asking that I represent Black women. It was an opportunity I could not refuse. I started with a solid foundation steeped in African American and Women & Gender Studies and trust in the vision to uplift Black women, amplify their voices and bring visibility to their reality. A year after my appointment to the board, I am now the Media & Communication Strategist for Cradle Cincinnati.
Over the past 18 months, it has been our mission to set afire the landscape for Black women in Cincinnati. In 2019 alone, Queens Village has held more than 50 events and workshops and touched over 500 members in our community. Our work has been featured at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, on John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight and in countless local news outlets, including NPR and Channel 9 WPCO. We have shown what can occur when one rejects the dangerous misconception that Black women are the problem, and instead, embraces Black women as the solution.
During the summer of 2019, the Ohio Department of Medicaid reached out to Ryan Adcock, Executive Director of Cradle Cincinnati, to review proposals that impact infant mortality rates in Hamilton County. Wisely, he decided that Black women needed to be centered in the decision-making and reached out to Queens Village to prioritize the proposals that were submitted. Ten Black women — mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, friends — joined together to do what Black women do and have done for generations. They recognized the weight of the responsibility on their shoulders, they dug in their heels and did the work. Because of their wisdom and determination, Black babies stand a better chance to survive and thrive.
We speak the names of the women on the Queens Village Board whose voices will impact thousands of women in this city: Danielle Gentry, Monica R. Williams, Tanyqua Oliver, Jori An Cotton, Desirae Hosley, Lavenia Jones, Angel Evans, Jamaica Gilliam, Danyelle Bush and Dameta Wright.
We speak the names of the women who work alongside us at Cradle Cincinnati to implement the work of Queens Village: Crystal Brown, Charice Hambrick, Lucia Palmarini and Dr. Meredith Shockley- Smith.
We are grateful for the dedication and support of Cradle Cincinnati Connections — the on the ground fleet of dynamic women who support, nurture and heal in Cincinnati daily.
We thank the women who have shown up for Queens Village — every meeting, every celebration, every social media post.
We honor the women who are engaged in reproductive justice work across this country and we lift the women who have experienced the loss of their infants and even their own lives.
We all stand on the shoulders of the Black women who have come before us.
The movement to reduce infant mortality seeks a fundamental shift in the way we see, hear and value Black women. To witness a change, we need Black women to continue to speak up and show up. We need those who wield power and hold privilege to listen and step back.
Together, we can make the world more equitable, safe and welcoming for all mothers and babies.
Josselyn Okorodudu and Danyelle Bush
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