Category Archives: Front Page

Faces of our Spirit-Filled Network: Sister Erin Zubal

Faces of our Spirit-Filled Network: Sister Erin Zubal

Sister Erin Zubal
June 4, 2018

How did you first learn about NETWORK?

I learned about NETWORK from the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland Social Justice Office when I first entered the community.  NETWORK has informed and educated me on many social justice issues, which in turn has empowered me to do advocacy work.

What inspired you to get involved and join NETWORK?

I was inspired to take action with Nuns on the Bus in 2016.  The goal of the trip was “to bring a politics of inclusion to divided places, change the conversation to mending the vast economic and social divides in our country, and counter political incivility with a message of inclusion.” Our world is in great need of this and I believe it is important to advocate for systemic change that seeks to address the needs of our brothers and sisters who are underserved. What better way to do this than travel the country to listen to the realities and lived experiences of people in our own communities—and then take those stories to our elected officials and encourage them to legislate for the common good.

What issue area(s) are you most passionate about?

Housing, healthcare and advocating for a faithful budget.

How does your faith inspire you to work for justice?

My faith has deeply inspired my work for peace and justice.  As an Ursuline Sister of Cleveland, the story and legacy of martyrs Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford, Maura Clarke and Jean Donovan have had a tremendous impact on my call to work for systemic change in our world.  Even though I was not yet born when the women were killed, their history and legacy shared with me by my sisters has formed and shaped me as a woman religious. We must continue the work of those who have gone before us—and be faithful to the call as women of faith, committed to contemplation, justice and compassion in all we do.

Is there any quote that motivates or nourishes you that you would like to share?

“If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” Lilla Watson

What social movement has inspired you?

The youth of our world who are standing up and allowing their voices to be heard on critical issues.  I am so inspired and filled with hope witnessing the good work of the next generation.

Erin Zubal is an Ursuline Sister of Cleveland. She currently serves as Guidance Counselor at Cleveland Central Catholic High School in Cleveland, Ohio.

#WhereAreTheChildren and Family Separation at the U.S. – Mexico Border

#WhereAreTheChildren and Family Separation at the U.S. – Mexico Border

Sana Rizvi 
June 1, 2018

This past weekend, the internet became flooded with tweets asking #WherearetheChildren after a New York Times article reported that the Trump Administration had lost track of nearly 1,500 unaccompanied migrant children.

Let’s be clear: this is a very real question. As people of faith, the well-being of children, particularly of migrant children fleeing danger in their home countries to seek refuge in the United States, is paramount.

But — it is only the tip of the iceberg.

Immigration advocates are asking people to look beyond #WherearetheChildren. As Vox reporter Sarah Kliff explains:

“Immigration advocates… aren’t spending a lot of time worried about #WhereAreTheChildren. Instead, they say the real crisis is the Trump administration’s new policy of separating undocumented families apprehended at the US border — a policy that may have gotten conflated with the “missing” children story that went viral this weekend.”

What’s the difference? The “1,500 missing children” refers to unaccompanied minors, who arrived in the United States mostly during the Obama Administration, and through the Office of Refugee Resettlement under the Department of Health and Human Services, were placed in the care of family and foster care agencies.

#WherearetheChildren is a movement to find the 1,500 minors who mostly came across the border alone and were placed into the guardianship of foster homes or their own families (even if the family members are undocumented). HHS keeps track of these minors by calling the homes they were placed in and following up with them for their deportation court hearings. Immigration advocates are not asking #Wherearethechildren because these are not 1,500 minors who have been separated from their families. These are 1,500 families that did not pick up the phone when the government called asking for the whereabouts of undocumented children.

Now, the Trump Administration, has a new policy that an administration official referred to as a “zero tolerance policy,” which separates families seeking asylum when they reach the U.S. border.

Vox’s Dara Lind writes:

“The Trump administration’s solution [to logistical challenges related to detaining families as unit], now codified in policy, is to stop treating them as families: to detain the parents as adults and place the children in the custody of Health and Human Services as ‘unaccompanied minors.’”

This insidious policy separates families coming across the border together to seek asylum. Parents are turned over to ICE for criminal prosecution and their children are re-designated  as “unaccompanied minors,” even though they were forcibly separated from their parent/guardian.

As a result, the separated children can be sent anywhere in the U.S. regardless of the status or location of their parents, even if the parent or parents have been deported. In some cases, this makes family reunification nearly impossible. We must also ask #WhereAreTheChildren, for these young people being forcibly separated from their parents by U.S. agents.

There is no doubt that there are threats to unaccompanied minors, and  the Department of Health and Human Services must be very careful about where it is placing minors. #WherearetheChildren needs to be about the 1,500 children, and it must be a call to action to stop separating children from their parents . We need to fight against policies created to separate children from their families and recognize that the safest place for immigrant children is with their families and their communities.

Below are some resources on separated families:

“This is what’s really happening to kids at the border” (The Washington Post)

“The real immigration crisis isn’t “missing” children. It’s family separations” (Vox)

“Family Separation at the Border” (KIND and Women’s Refugee Commission’s two page backgrounder on what happens to separated children.)

2020 Census Gets Almost $2 Billion Increase from House Appropriators

2020 Census Gets Almost $2 Billion Increase from House Appropriators

Tralonne Shorter
May 30, 2018

On Thursday, May 17, 2018 the House Appropriations Committee approved $4.8 billion in overall funding for the Census Bureau, as part of the fiscal year (FY) 2019 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) spending bill.   The appropriation is a $1.985 billion increase above the FY 2018 enacted level; almost $1 billion above the President’s FY 2019 budget request.  The funds would primarily support 2020 Census activities such as technology improvements, address canvassing, End-to-End tests, and the opening of 248 Census field offices.

Regrettably, the bill contains several unacceptable provisions.  One major upset for advocates was a decision by the Committee to reject an amendment to remove the citizenship question.  NETWORK submitted written testimony and organized faith leader sign on letters in opposition to the citizenship question. We were also disappointed that the Committee included a big increase for illegal immigration enforcement.   In particular, the Committee approved a $126 million increase above FY 2018 for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), a division within the Department of Justice that adjudicates immigration removal proceedings.  This increase would annualize 100 new immigration judge teams the Committee approved in the FY 2018 Omnibus and would provide funds for 100 additional immigration judge teams in FY 2019. This total increase of 200 new immigration judge teams over a two-year period would drastically reduce the immigration case backlog while resulting in more families being torn apart.

A floor vote on final passage in the House has not been scheduled, but we anticipate it will occur before the August recess.  The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to consider its own FY 2019 CJS spending bill sometime in June.  NETWORK will continue to push for full funding and oppose the addition of a citizenship question.

President Trump’s Plan to Take Back Funding from the Children’s Health Insurance Program

President Trump’s Plan to Take Back Funding from the Children’s Health Insurance Program

Kaitlin Brown
May 29, 2018

Just as supporters of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) thought they could relax after the popular health insurance program was renewed for ten years with bipartisan support, Congress is again threatening to cut funding. This past winter, months after federal CHIP funding expired, families waited nervously as funds began to run low and states started to send out notices to families, warning them of the possible end of the program. At the eleventh hour, funding for the program was approved, and families across the country let out a collective sigh of relief.

Now, however, there is a new threat to CHIP. Last week, the Trump administration sent a request to Congress to begin a rescissions process. This is something that hasn’t been done since President Clinton, and is a bit complicated. At the President’s request, Congress has 45 days to take back money they previously allocated. They need to pass this by a majority vote, but they also have the option to not take back any of the money.

President Trump’s rescission request asked Congress to take back $7 billion from the CHIP program, along with money from some other social safety net programs, including housing. Some of the money (around $5 billion) is money that had been given to the states but was not spent. In programs like CHIP, more money is given to the states than what is expected to be needed, in case of increased expenses and these extra funds are usually re-appropriated to other health and human services programs if they are not used.

The other $2 billion is money that is set aside in what is called a contingency fund. This is money that can be used in the case of an emergency, like a natural disaster, or Congress failing to fund the program in a timely manner. Last winter, this was the fund that was used to help ensure kids in the program continued to have coverage while Congress stalled on funding the program.

White House officials argue that the money is unlikely to be used, and wouldn’t take healthcare away from kids. However, without the contingency fund last year, millions of children would have lost healthcare coverage. And while some of the money has not been used, it has traditionally been absorbed back into other healthcare programs that need it.

Instead, this funding President Trump requested to have taken away from CHIP will be used to drive down the deficit caused by last fall’s $1.3 trillion tax cut. After giving tax breaks to millionaires, Congress has faced pressure on the huge deficit it created and decided to try and decrease the deficit by taking money from CHIP. While the rescission package isn’t guaranteed to take healthcare away from children, the damage this will do is enough to make families nervous. After last winter’s unfortunate CHIP battle, families deserve peace of mind about their children’s health insurance, not further cuts to undo the damage caused by tax cuts for millionaires.

The First Step Act Doesn’t Go Far Enough

The First Step Act Doesn’t Go Far Enough

Joan Neal
May 25, 2018

The House just passed the First Step Act, a bill purporting to be a significant step forward in prison reform.  Despite the claims of the bill’s supporters that it will make the prison system fairer and more effective, this bill will not alleviate the overcrowded, discriminatory nature of our federal prison system.  In fact, while it contains some modest reforms such as prohibiting shackles on pregnant women during child birth; adding some educational, job training and personal development programs; and providing limited opportunities to earn ‘time credits’ toward early release, the bill fails to include provisions to overhaul and fundamentally transform the nation’s justice system.  Research shows that we need both sentencing and prison reform to achieve meaningful change in our criminal justice system.  The First Step Act, focusing only on the back end – more geared towards limiting prison time after someone is incarcerated — is inadequate to achieve that goal.

Backed by the White House (Jared Kushner and President Trump), the bill has the support of various individuals and factions of conservatives, including the Koch Brothers, Grover Norquist, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, most House Republicans (especially members of the House Freedom Caucus), Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), who previously co-sponsored the bi-partisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, and some moderate Democrats.  Even with all of that support, the First Step Act fails to address some of the big problems in the current criminal justice system: racial disparities, chronic prison overcrowding, a focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation, and the exorbitant costs of incarceration, borne by the government, tax payers, prisoners and their families.

Moreover, some of its provisions could actually have the opposite effect of its intent by putting in place policies that are more discriminatory toward inmates of color and women.  For instance, it calls for the development of a “risk assessment system,” to be implemented and overseen by the current Attorney General, who has a history of opposing sentencing reform, supporting punitive rather than rehabilitative policies and practices, and targeting immigrants and immigration related offenses.  This bill may well do more harm than good.

Supporters of the bill argue that we must make a choice:  either we pass prison reform or sentencing reform.  There is no possibility to do both.  It’s false to say there is only one choice.  For several years, a comprehensive, bi-partisan bill – the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act – has been gathering support in both houses.  Clearly, passing comprehensive criminal justice reform is possible.  We do not have to choose one or the other.

Meaningful criminal justice reform requires both front and back end changes.  Congress should, therefore, abandon the First Step Act and take up the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act instead.

Ramadan: Hungry for Spiritual Growth

Ramadan: Hungry for Spiritual Growth

Mehreen Karim
May 24, 2018

WHO: My elementary school teachers couldn’t fathom why a 9 year old kid would be ecstatic to wake up at unkind hours of the morning, only to begin a day long fast from food and water. Fourteen years later, my adult peers grapple with the same doubts when hearing that Muslims voluntarily fast and actually reap boundless pleasures and joys from Ramadan. As one of the foundational practices of Islam, all Muslims in good health (excluding children and those that are pregnant, nursing, ill, or menstruating), are required to participate in fasting during Ramadan. That’s at least a billion Muslims.

WHAT: Ramadan is one of the holy months in the Islamic lunar calendar. Muslims fast from dawn till dusk every day of this month. By abstaining from food, water, and sinful behavior, Muslims devote their entire days to purging bad habits and implementing better ones. From a young age, I fell in love with Ramadan for its heart-changing virtues. I was, in fact, the 9-year-old that loved to rally her siblings at 5 AM to sleep-eat breakfast foods and chug glasses of water. And at every sunset, I was comforted by the sight of family coming together for the sole purpose of breaking fast and praying together—no questions asked—for thirty days.

WHEN: Ramadan marks the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar. Historically, God revealed the first verses of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during the month of Ramadan.

WHERE: Muslims are fasting in every country around the world. You can find us breaking fast at home, a restaurant, or at any local mosque. Every night of Ramadan, communities come together at local mosques to provide a free dinner to all who wish to join. If you ever want to experience the foods, customs, and hospitality of Muslims during this blessed month, drop by a mosque near you at sunset!

WHY: Thirty days of restraining from food, and yes, even water, comes off as an unreasonable and often dreadful experience to the average onlooker. However, the physically challenging practices of Ramadan rarely compare in difficulty to the equally crucial practices of self-improvement and spiritual growth. Holding off on a staff lunch is a cakewalk (pun intended) in comparison to holding off from lying, backbiting, jealousy, greed, and every other toxic sentiment you may come by in a regular day. The mental challenge of fasting from one’s bad habits and inner demons is perhaps the most taxing, and therefore, the most cleansing form of self-restraint Ramadan enables. When understanding the “why” of Ramadan, one must correct a common misconception: to restrain oneself is not to deprive oneself.  Reward lies in restraint.

When fasting, we are dusting off our relationship with God— polishing it with the utmost attention to detail. We reflect on the crevices in our faith, noting that each crevice is proof that there is only ever more room to grow towards our Creator.  The greatest unsung truth about Ramadan is this– Muslims dedicate 30 days of the year to forging heights in our spirituality, expanding the bounds of our mental health, and living out our love for God in honest self-revelation.

East Lansing Catholic Network Connects and Learns in Flint

East Lansing Catholic Network Connects and Learns in Flint

Janice Hudson
May 23, 2018

Recently, several members of the East Lansing Catholics Network visited Flint via St. Mary’s Parish for an education & awareness experience. Under the veteran direction of Mary Dowsett (Director of “Faith in Flint” for the Catholic Community of Flint), Patrick Brennan (one of our seminarians), Michael Hasso (campus minister for Flint), our own Deacon Ziggy, and Josh and Sarah Hamilton, we walked the streets and neighborhoods of the parish to meet and share with residents, and pray with/for them if they accepted the offer. This was the outgrowth of one of our Soup & Substance programs this past Lent, when Mary Dowsett, Deacon Ziggy, and Deacon Jim shared about our diocesan initiative in Flint. It was a great faith experience for all of us!

I was one of the members of the East Lansing Catholic Network who went to Flint, Michigan to participate in Faith in Flint, a Diocesan initiative to organize people of faith to walk the streets, knock on doors, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned (many, prisoners in their own home), sit with others at soup kitchens, and reach out and simply connect with people in Flint.

As volunteers, we first gathered in prayer to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance, then we broke into small groups before heading out to walk the neighborhood with staff and other experienced volunteers. We walked in groups of 2 or 3, as Jesus did. We wanted to meet the neighbors, to let them know someone cares about them, and begin to establish a positive relationship with them. It was truly an amazing experience, both seeing the neighborhood (many burned out and abandoned houses, as well as perfectly groomed homes) and meeting the people. Those who opened their doors to us also opened their hearts.

Each person’s story was very different; some were very optimistic about their lives and the efforts to improve the neighborhood, while others were very pessimistic and spoke of leaving the area. Some had stable lives, several were dealing with multiple health issues, while others had experienced tragedy, including a son’s murder. Nearly everyone we spoke with blessed us by allowing us to pray with them and sharing smiles. Nearly all invited us back as we left. Because of our leader’s loving attitude and desire to greet anyone and everyone we passed, we also experienced very positive interactions and discussions with those passing by on bikes or on foot!

What an honor it was to follow our spirit-filled leader and be the Lord’s feet, mouth, and hands that day in Flint.

 Janice Hudson is a member of the East Lansing Catholic Network, one of NETWORK’s Advocates Teams.

Living In Two Worlds

Living In Two Worlds

Rev. Jason Carson Wilson
May 21, 2018

Living in two worlds. That’s the reality, which Her Royal Highness, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and this writer share. While the Duchess’ mother is Black and father is White, my mother is White and father is Black. Adapting to our surroundings has been key to our survival.

Some Royal Wedding watchers, during media coverage Saturday, marveled at how the Duchess “embraced” Black culture and could be a “social chameleon.” Being a social chameleon is more commonly known as “code switching” within communities of color.

People of color made it an art form. In a nation–well, world–steeped in White supremacy, navigating their individual journeys in certain ways can make things easier. It becomes particularly tricky, if one code switches, but is fully invested in their identity.

That’s true for this writer and it wouldn’t be surprising, if it’s been true for the Duchess. Watching the Duchess and His Royal Highness Harry, Duke of Sussex marry filled me with joy because Diana, Princess of Wales’ son deserved a day of immense happiness. Seeing the Duchess suspend code switching also filled me with unspeakable joy.

She and her mother were unashamedly Black and beautiful. There was the fabulous Black gospel choir and, then, there was that sermon by the Episcopal Church USA’s first Black leader, Bishop Michael Curry. The Duchess basked in the Blackness as much as she did in her husband’s love.

That’s the power of Blackness and love–they’re life-giving. While Curry focused on the power of love, it’s quite possible he’d agree with the latter. As a Black preacher and theologian myself, sermons earning acclaim and criticism aren’t foreign to me. Curry’s words have earned both.

“When love is the way — unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive, when love is the way. Then no child would go to bed hungry in this world ever again. When love is the way. We will let justice roll down like a mighty stream and righteousness like an ever flowing brook. When love is the way poverty will become history. When love is the way the earth will become a sanctuary. When love is the way we will lay down our swords and shields down by the riverside to study war no more. When love is the way there’s plenty good room, plenty good room for all of God’s children,” Curry said.

The struggle to process critics’ logic is real–for a split-second. Had people laid down their swords and shields down by the riverside, there’d be no British Empire that’s now evolved into a Commonwealth. Slavery also helped build and sustain American and British empires. While American and British children go hungry, ruling classes in both nations miss no meals.

Some critics can’t handle the truth. Of course, those critics opted to label the sermon inappropriate, over-the-top and accuse Curry of grandstanding. A clergy sister-friend, the late Rev. Deirdre Jackson Jones, taught this preacher a great lesson about sermon critiques. Never take negative comments about delivery and content to heart.

This writer only knows about the alleged sensibilities and thoughts of the Duke and Duchess through media reports–what’s in their hearts is unknown to me. However, their actions seem to reflect an acknowledgement of privilege and inequality. Curry’s message, it seems to me, reflects my assumption about Their Royal Highness’ worldview.

It’s a world where the descendant of slaves became the member of the British Royal Family. The marriage won’t end White supremacy and the Duchess will endure continuous microaggressions and racism. But, it’s a union based on real love and joint commitment to fighting for justice for all.

That’s why this writer celebrates the union. Peace be with the Duke and Duchess.

Rev. Jason Carson Wilson is a United Church of Christ minister and policy advocate committed to JusticeForAll. Wilson is the founding executive director of the Bayard Rustin Liberation Initiative, a domestic and international policy advocacy organization doing its work through LGBTQIA and people of color lenses with an emphasis on interfaith engagement. He graduated from Chicago Theological Seminary in May 2016.

Faces of our Spirit-Filled Network: Fran Quigley

Faces of our Spirit-Filled Network: Fran Quigley

Fran Quigley
May 17, 2018

How did you first learn about NETWORK?

Via the inspiring, exciting bus trips, like so many other folks did!

What inspired you to get involved and join NETWORK?

The wonderful leadership by Sister Simone and other Catholic sisters has made such an impact in promoting people over profits. That is an agenda that I see as the core of Catholic Social Teaching and a desperately-needed message in today’s society. It is a privilege to be in support of that remarkable work.

What issue area are you most passionate about?

Access to health care, especially access to essential medicines. I am part of a small group of folks who created People of Faith for Access to Medicines to promote medicines for all as a moral imperative and human right. NETWORK is both a big inspiration to us and a wonderful, generous partner in our advocacy.

How are you engaging your community on important social justice issues?

I am blessed to be a part of a robust Indiana team that includes volunteer NETWORK activists from across the state. We have met with our Members of Congress and their staffs, published op-ed columns, circulated petitions, and raised our voices in demonstrations. We have been taking all of these actions in support of NETWORK’s “Mend the Gaps” agenda in life-essential services, justice for our immigrant brothers and sisters, and economic justice for all.

How has your advocacy for social justice shaped your view of the world?

I find hope in faith communities’ shared devotion to ensure that we meet all of our brothers and sisters’ basic necessities of food, shelter, healthcare, safety, and an adequate income. That is a core message of the Torah, the New Testament, the Koran, and every other sacred text. So I believe that people of faith can transcend political parties and socio-economic class and ethnicity to support an agenda that respects the rights of all of our brothers and sisters to live safe, fulfilling lives.

Who is your role model?

Sister Simone, of course! In all seriousness, her tireless dedication to pursuing justice is an example for us all, especially when combined with her wonderful ability to explain the human impact of sometimes complex policy issues.  And it doesn’t hurt that she is a lawyer role model for us lawyers, too!

Is there any quote that motivates or nourishes you that you would like to share?

“By crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, the poor, of the destitute . . . We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever-widening circle will reach around the world.” –Dorothy Day

What social movement has inspired you?

The HIV/AIDS treatment movement of the 1990’s and 2000’s. Some of the world’s poorest and sickest and marginalized persons took on the most powerful industry in the world (the pharmaceutical industry) and the most powerful nation in the world (the U.S.) when even their global health allies thought it an impossible challenge. And they won, securing treatment for millions of HIV-positive persons who would have died otherwise.

What was your biggest accomplishment as an activist in the past year?

I actually think that, for all of us, our biggest accomplishment is the simple act of going out there and pushing for justice all year, and then doing so the year after that, and so on. Persistence is the mother of justice. If we don’t let ourselves get distracted by the short-term losses or victories, we will win in the end. That is the lesson of the abolition of slavery movement, the women’s suffrage movement, the labor movement, and the civil rights movement.

What are you looking forward to working on in 2018?

Access to health care for all!

Mama Knew Love

Mama Knew Love

Jeremiah Pennebaker
May 12, 2018

It’s a cool Easter Sunday in Louisville, Kentucky and family and friends have filled up this tiny house wearing everything from church clothes to sweatpants. It may be a cool 68 outside, but it is no less than 85 degrees in the house from the combination of body heat and the oven stuffed with fried chicken, baked beans, and my personal favorite: my granny’s mac and cheese. Granny calls me from upstairs to come and give her a kiss. She proceeds to do this every 30 minutes, and each time I hustle up the stairs and give her a hug and a kiss, she brags about me to the other grownfolks. It is a great day with great food and great fellowship.

A few weeks later on April 12th, 2011, my father’s 40th birthday, my granny died. It was all pretty blurry, but from what I remember she was over worked and had a stress related seizure. Granny was working several jobs and had recently taken in some of my younger cousins as a foster parent. She was taking care of her mother, my Nana, and still was saving up and storing things in layaway for me and my siblings. I knew this because she was already asking me what I wanted for Christmas during the Easter cookout. My Granny was doing a lot and when she died it shifted everything for my family.  It especially impacted my father to lose his mother in such a tragic fashion. He always remarks that she was the bedrock of the family and it shows as going back to Louisville has never been the same.

Fast-forward to 2018 and it’s a week from Mother’s Day, and I’m trying to figure out what gift I can get my mother, the new bedrock of the family. What gift can I give to the woman that of course deserves everything? What gift can I give the woman who got pregnant with me her senior year in college and decided to put her wants on pause to make sure that I had what I need? What do I get the woman who spent every dime she had to make sure that Xavier wasn’t pushing me out of the door after my freshman year? If I had enough money, I’d buy her a house and tell her to quit her job like all the newly drafted athletes do. But all I can afford to give her is a nice Facebook post, and maybe a coupon for a spa day. I’m sure I’m not the only one in this predicament with Mother’s Day less than a week away as I write this essay. But I’m also sure that no matter what I get my mother, or whatever anyone else gets their mother, that they will love it unconditionally like they do every year. What I wish I could give my mother above all though, is simply some rest.

The shockwaves of my granny’s death continue to reverberate within my life, and I constantly worry about both my parents as many do, but specifically my mother because of all of the things that she is holding up. I can’t fathom all of the things that she is carrying on her shoulders, and I wish in some way that I could give her some rest so that she doesn’t burn herself out and I lose my mother too soon as well.

In my experience, Black women have been the foundation of many families regardless of the presence of fathers and father figures. This quasi-matriarchal type of culture is the result of the systemic separation and destruction of Black families through slavery and the justice system alike. While the longstanding impacts and results of these things are under constant debate, what I’m focused on is the impact this has on the psyche and the mental well-being of the Black woman.

It is widely know that stress can have many adverse effects on the body and overall health outcomes. Stress greatly increases the chances of heart disease and stroke, and can lead to heart palpitations, and depression in extreme cases. Being a woman in and of itself brings about stress. According to the World Health Organization, “Depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms and high rates of comorbidity are significantly related to interconnected and co-occurrent risk factors such as gender based roles, stressors and negative life experiences and events.” The stress of sexism, social pressures, and misogynist culture have dire effects on the mental health of women by simply existing within this patriarchal world. To continue to pile on race-based stress can kill Black and brown people almost as effectively as the criminal justice system. Situations involving racial microaggressions and/or violence can leave many with PTSD-like symptoms. Even the anticipation of a potential racial interaction can have physical reactions: “Just the anticipation of experiencing racial discrimination can be enough to cause a significant spike in stress responses. A study showed that Latina students who interacted with a person with presumably racist ideas showed an increased ‘fight or flight’ response with higher blood pressure and faster heart rates.” On top of the physical ramifications of this country’s capitalist, sexist, and racist culture and institutions, there are many more consequences for the mental wellbeing of its citizens.

May is largely about Mother’s Day, and rightfully so, but it is also mental health awareness month. Stress impacts people in poverty, women, and people of color, so imagine the impacts of those at the intersections. I can’t imagine the weight carried by people like my mother and my grandmother who hold onto all of these identities and history. I recognize my mommy as one of the strongest people I know, but for how long must she be strong? Why is it that she’s been put in a position that she needs to be this strong? Hopefully one day soon I too can tell my mother she won’t ever have to worry again. Because I don’t always need my mother to be strong, but I need her to be here.