Community Group
I have serious love for the Community Action Network’s (CAN) community group. It’s a small, expertly facilitated group of moms who have been meeting to inform the work of the CAN since late 2018. We have been able to talk about our birth experiences, what it’s like being a mom, and grow around some of those feelings. And we’re not expected to share our stories for trauma porn quotes in someone’s end of year report or robbed of our agency to express what changes we see fitting our needs and the needs of our communities. Our stories are confidential, and we are fairly compensated for our time as experts about being moms of color in Philly. But what hits right for me is that while we’re bonding and growing as moms of color, we are also addressing an issue plaguing Philadelphia-- the huge disparity of infant mortality among Black babies. It’s an issue of systemic racism, and we talk about that.
Racism and how its systemic tentacles harm us is not an elephant in the room. It’s one of the main topics of conversation. This kind of stuff is one of many ways that we elevate our freedom, acknowledging the role of racism, particularly in health systems. We talk about it, identify where problems yearn for opportunities, and then-- what’s satisfying for me, and let’s keep it real, unusual for a municipal government funded program-- we are able to see real action taken to make change. Perhaps that’s the healing part. Being heard, and then seeing the music of our discontent transformed into what I’m trying to hear more of: Black-femme led programs being funded and developed and documentation and services designed to lay groundwork for sustainable healing. And none of that happens at this scale, depth, or solidity without us in the community group.
This kind of stuff is one of many ways that we elevate our freedom, acknowledging the role of racism, particularly in health systems.
