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Genaria Pierce's manifesto

Genaria Pierce posted Jun 13, 2024 2:56 PM

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This manifesto is to help share the experiences of Black birthing people in America. The experience of Black birthing people in the United States is connected to the institution of racism, sexism, and class within the medical field, this has led to them being the number one group in the U.S to experience maternity care complications and/or death. In order to change this, my manifesto will serve to raise more awareness and be a form of an  andragogy of the inequities Black birthing people in the U.S face so maternal complications will no longer happen due to the color of your skin.

Given the opportunity to become a parent is a dream anyone wanting to have kids, hopes to make a reality one day. However I don’t think many plan to be a parent figure for the baby they give birth to, and then never see the child again right after bringing them into this world because they experienced complications during the birth. Maybe if you were becoming a mother in the 1700s, this would be a more normal practice, but we live in the 21th century and the United States of America has the highest birthing mortality rate when compared to other wealthy countries in the world. 

According to the CDC In 2022, the overall mortality rate in the U.S was 22.3 out of 100,000. If you look more closely at this statistic, however, Black women’s birthing mortality rate is 49.5 deaths per 100,000 compared to, “White (19.0), Hispanic (16.9), and Asian (13.2) women. (CDC 2022)”. On top of this, Black women also experience high infant mortality rate (IMR), according to the author of “Women’s Experiences with Prenatal Care”, D’Angelo who noticed this discrepancy among birthing women in the state of Connecticut, “The IMR within the non-Hispanic Black/African American community and the Hispanic/Latino community was 11.9 and 7.1 per 1000 births respectively. The rate within the non-Hispanic White community was only 3.8 per 1,000 live births” (D’Angelo 128). Given that Black women make up less of the U.S population compared to white and Hispanic women each, but have a higher birth and infant mortality rate than both shows that there are clearly forms of  disparities with treatment they receive. 

But wait, how could the world’s richest and most powerful country have such a high birthing mortality rate for one of the most marginalized groups in the U.S when the medical field is constantly leading the world in medical advancements? Well to answer this, we have to first look at the history of America’s healthcare, the connection with systemic racism and its interactions with enslaved people. 

During the time of slavery, enslaved people were treated medically as plantation owner livestock, the only treatment they got was decided by the owner, not themselves (Smith 241). This made treating wounds and injuries difficult to manage as they were mostly given medical support if they weren’t able to work as efficiently as before. On top of this, enslaved people were “...often used without permission as guinea pigs in medical experiments” (Smith 241). White Americans did not only use enslaved men in tests but also enslaved women for reproductive studies. In fact, enslaved women were forced into reproductive treatments, tests, and studies that furthered the gynecologist field into what we have today (Tobin 54). This is how the United States so quickly became leaders in medicine during the 18th and 19th centuries. Enslaved people did not have  agency over themselves and were often forced to be used in tests of medicine, practices, and other treatments. Having inhuman medical practices was widely accepted by a society that lacked  morality because Black people were not seen as humans, but as less than, often as animals like the livestock mentioned above. This mentality of seeing Black people as less than human is rooted in present day racism within medicine and why there are so many antidotes of people experiencing bias or being ignored at doctor's visits.

Focusing more on the experience of Black women we can begin to connect not only racist discrimination in healthcare but also how laws enforced the medical practices. During the Jim Crow era, Black women did not have any form of legal support from sexual assault or rape (Tobin 54). As a result of centuries of racism and sexism in the nation, despite the emancipation proclamation of 1865 freeing enslaved people, it did not help protect Black people and women from local laws whose objective was to continue and oppress them. On a national level, Black women also experienced waves of “... Eugenics programs targeted Black women for sterilization to reduce the “undesirable” Black population” (Tobin 2022). As another way of oppressing the Black community to make sure they are seen as inferior to the white population the government backed movements like eugenics to reinforce the caste system created from the institution of slavery. These forms of traumatic experiences Black women had to face is where the idea of a ‘strong Black woman’ starts to rise in America’s psyche, which quickly became a stereotype that is still used today. This stereotype does more harm than good because seeing Black women as these strong individuals makes it easier to justify treating them poorly and not providing the care they need in healthcare.

The understanding of Black mothers within America’s society is connected to legal and political ideas that are generations old but are still prevalent today. Being through so many forms of discrimination has negative effects on your mental wellbeing, as a result Black women were also given the title of being angry or mad, but in reality they were responding to their environment. Despite this, society has continued to brand Black women as combative in day to day life, if they “step out of line” of what is expected of them in public, especially in healthcare. For instance, “Pregnant Black women are often viewed as “non-compliant” or aggressive when questioning or refusing treatment such as a Cesarean section, while White women may be perceived as more health-literate” (Tobin 54 & 55). Systemic biases like these are why Black birthing people are not only given the proper care but also suffer at a greater rate for illnesses and diseases outside of maternal complications. If we want to begin and make the experiences of Black birthing people better within medical environments we not loney need to advocate for change within those institutions but also combat any forms of internalized or unconscious biases, and the first step of doing this is realizing they are there. 

Even though there are many systemic and institutional factors at work against the betterment of Black birthing people, there are still people and groups whose goal is to create more equality within healthcare. In one St Louis hospital they have the doula program. A doula is a person that works in medical environments and provides anyone going through reproductive experiences such as birth, abortion, menstruation, and other things through mental, physical, emotional, and informational support. Within the hospital, “Continuous guidance from a doula has been cited as one of the most effective interventions in easing pregnancy” (Green 2023). The doulas within the hospital have patients as well as personal anecdotes of having someone to help advocate for you with medical staff during childbirth has been effective at mitigating and improving experiences for Black parents. Even though doula programs are not as big as they need to be, especially since Black women only make up 10% of doulas (Green 2023), they are still the start of change that is needed within this country. Beyond doulas programs there are countless organizations and groups whose mission is to fight against Black birthing people mortality and complications, some are even based in Chicago, Illinois. A few examples include: Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Chicago birthwork collective, HealthConnect one, and many others across the country. 

The reasons why Black women have such high birthing and infant mortality rates is because of the history of racism, sexism, and biases intersecting with limited access to quality healthcare providers. Many may ask how to support those who are fighting against this issue and I believe the first thing you may do is  heutagogy or self-directed learning of laws, policies, and local groups and help spread the word about this issue with others who may not know. I hope this has inspired you to take action in this

Top of Form

 Overdue - June 15 at 11:59 PM

Bottom of Form

Read ONE classmate's manifesto essay. Select a classmate who does not have peer feedback yet. If everyone already has peer feedback, then you may choose anyone to give your peer feedback too. Answer the following questions:

1. Write individual reflections detailing how this essay compares and contrasts with your own essay.

2. Address the  Emily Wray RISE Model Peer Feedback Questions : 

1. R - Reflect: Recall, ponder, and articulate (ex: I relate/concur/disagree with X because Y. I liked what you did with X because Y. You could ask yourself "What did you find most compelling about your classmate's essay? What did you relate to or respectfully disagree with and why?" If you disagree with something, perhaps they can use that as a counterargument they disprove later.)

2. I - Inquire: Seek information and provide ideas through questioning (ex: Have you considered looking at X from Y perspective? When you said X, am I understanding you to mean Y? You could ask yourself "Besides what is already in the essay, what can you ask your peer to possibly add as another perspective to their essay that either proves your peer's position or allows your peer to disprove a counterargument from someone who disagrees with them?)

3. S - Suggest: Introduce ideas for improvement of CURRENT iteration (ex: You might consider tweaking X for Y effect. You might want to include supporting information from X resource. You could also ask yourself "What particular areas of your peer's essay need strengthening, clarifying, more evidence, supporting details, anecdotes, etc.?")

4. E - Elevate: Raise to a higher degree or purpose in FUTURE iterations (ex: Perhaps you can expand this in X capacity to further address Y. Perhaps you can re-purpose X as Y for Z. You could also ask yourself "Besides what is already in the essay, how can something be added to the essay to make it seem more innovative/groundbreaking?")

Here is an example of a student voicing peer feedback using the Emily Wray Peer Feedback Model:  Watch "STUDENT EXAMPLE: Using the RISE Model for Peer Feedback" .

Remember to be kind while being a critic. Being a critic will help strengthen your classmate's essay and help them earn higher grades on the final draft. Be sure to watch this video on how to be a thoughtful peer editor critic to your group members:  How to Write a Good Discussion Board Post.

To complete this discussion board:

1. Post your essay as an original post in the discussion board. 

2. Leave feedback for ONE peer's essay. 

Note: To submit your original post, click on the blue button "Start a New Thread." Before posting, be sure to save your work and proofread several times. Your writing should be college level and free from major grammatical errors. To respond to your classmates, click on the person's post and locate the blue button "Reply to Thread" at the bottom of the writing. Ideally, students will post their original  post at least three days before the due date of this discussion board  so that each student has time to respond to their classmates' original posts.

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Genaria Pierce's manifesto

Genaria Pierce posted Jun 13, 2024 2:56 PM

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This manifesto is to help share the experiences of Black birthing people in America. The experience of Black birthing people in the United States is connected to the institution of racism, sexism, and class within the medical field, this has led to them being the number one group in the U.S to experience maternity care complications and/or death. In order to change this, my manifesto will serve to raise more awareness and be a form of an  andragogy of the inequities Black birthing people in the U.S face so maternal complications will no longer happen due to the color of your skin.

Given the opportunity to become a parent is a dream anyone wanting to have kids, hopes to make a reality one day. However I don’t think many plan to be a parent figure for the baby they give birth to, and then never see the child again right after bringing them into this world because they experienced complications during the birth. Maybe if you were becoming a mother in the 1700s, this would be a more normal practice, but we live in the 21th century and the United States of America has the highest birthing mortality rate when compared to other wealthy countries in the world. 

According to the CDC In 2022, the overall mortality rate in the U.S was 22.3 out of 100,000. If you look more closely at this statistic, however, Black women’s birthing mortality rate is 49.5 deaths per 100,000 compared to, “White (19.0), Hispanic (16.9), and Asian (13.2) women. (CDC 2022)”. On top of this, Black women also experience high infant mortality rate (IMR), according to the author of “Women’s Experiences with Prenatal Care”, D’Angelo who noticed this discrepancy among birthing women in the state of Connecticut, “The IMR within the non-Hispanic Black/African American community and the Hispanic/Latino community was 11.9 and 7.1 per 1000 births respectively. The rate within the non-Hispanic White community was only 3.8 per 1,000 live births” (D’Angelo 128). Given that Black women make up less of the U.S population compared to white and Hispanic women each, but have a higher birth and infant mortality rate than both shows that there are clearly forms of  disparities with treatment they receive. 

But wait, how could the world’s richest and most powerful country have such a high birthing mortality rate for one of the most marginalized groups in the U.S when the medical field is constantly leading the world in medical advancements? Well to answer this, we have to first look at the history of America’s healthcare, the connection with systemic racism and its interactions with enslaved people. 

During the time of slavery, enslaved people were treated medically as plantation owner livestock, the only treatment they got was decided by the owner, not themselves (Smith 241). This made treating wounds and injuries difficult to manage as they were mostly given medical support if they weren’t able to work as efficiently as before. On top of this, enslaved people were “...often used without permission as guinea pigs in medical experiments” (Smith 241). White Americans did not only use enslaved men in tests but also enslaved women for reproductive studies. In fact, enslaved women were forced into reproductive treatments, tests, and studies that furthered the gynecologist field into what we have today (Tobin 54). This is how the United States so quickly became leaders in medicine during the 18th and 19th centuries. Enslaved people did not have  agency over themselves and were often forced to be used in tests of medicine, practices, and other treatments. Having inhuman medical practices was widely accepted by a society that lacked  morality because Black people were not seen as humans, but as less than, often as animals like the livestock mentioned above. This mentality of seeing Black people as less than human is rooted in present day racism within medicine and why there are so many antidotes of people experiencing bias or being ignored at doctor's visits.

Focusing more on the experience of Black women we can begin to connect not only racist discrimination in healthcare but also how laws enforced the medical practices. During the Jim Crow era, Black women did not have any form of legal support from sexual assault or rape (Tobin 54). As a result of centuries of racism and sexism in the nation, despite the emancipation proclamation of 1865 freeing enslaved people, it did not help protect Black people and women from local laws whose objective was to continue and oppress them. On a national level, Black women also experienced waves of “... Eugenics programs targeted Black women for sterilization to reduce the “undesirable” Black population” (Tobin 2022). As another way of oppressing the Black community to make sure they are seen as inferior to the white population the government backed movements like eugenics to reinforce the caste system created from the institution of slavery. These forms of traumatic experiences Black women had to face is where the idea of a ‘strong Black woman’ starts to rise in America’s psyche, which quickly became a stereotype that is still used today. This stereotype does more harm than good because seeing Black women as these strong individuals makes it easier to justify treating them poorly and not providing the care they need in healthcare.

The understanding of Black mothers within America’s society is connected to legal and political ideas that are generations old but are still prevalent today. Being through so many forms of discrimination has negative effects on your mental wellbeing, as a result Black women were also given the title of being angry or mad, but in reality they were responding to their environment. Despite this, society has continued to brand Black women as combative in day to day life, if they “step out of line” of what is expected of them in public, especially in healthcare. For instance, “Pregnant Black women are often viewed as “non-compliant” or aggressive when questioning or refusing treatment such as a Cesarean section, while White women may be perceived as more health-literate” (Tobin 54 & 55). Systemic biases like these are why Black birthing people are not only given the proper care but also suffer at a greater rate for illnesses and diseases outside of maternal complications. If we want to begin and make the experiences of Black birthing people better within medical environments we not loney need to advocate for change within those institutions but also combat any forms of internalized or unconscious biases, and the first step of doing this is realizing they are there. 

Even though there are many systemic and institutional factors at work against the betterment of Black birthing people, there are still people and groups whose goal is to create more equality within healthcare. In one St Louis hospital they have the doula program. A doula is a person that works in medical environments and provides anyone going through reproductive experiences such as birth, abortion, menstruation, and other things through mental, physical, emotional, and informational support. Within the hospital, “Continuous guidance from a doula has been cited as one of the most effective interventions in easing pregnancy” (Green 2023). The doulas within the hospital have patients as well as personal anecdotes of having someone to help advocate for you with medical staff during childbirth has been effective at mitigating and improving experiences for Black parents. Even though doula programs are not as big as they need to be, especially since Black women only make up 10% of doulas (Green 2023), they are still the start of change that is needed within this country. Beyond doulas programs there are countless organizations and groups whose mission is to fight against Black birthing people mortality and complications, some are even based in Chicago, Illinois. A few examples include: Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Chicago birthwork collective, HealthConnect one, and many others across the country. 

The reasons why Black women have such high birthing and infant mortality rates is because of the history of racism, sexism, and biases intersecting with limited access to quality healthcare providers. Many may ask how to support those who are fighting against this issue and I believe the first thing you may do is  heutagogy or self-directed learning of laws, policies, and local groups and help spread the word about this issue with others who may not know. I hope this has inspired you to take action in this