Morgane Richardson

is a professional feminist, lecturer, freelance blogger, digital media strategist and birth doula who addresses race, gender, and sexuality in today’s society... without dwelling on theorists and terminology.

[morganerichardson]

The Loud Silence When Trans Women of Color Are Killed

Eyricka Morgan was a black transgender woman. She was an activist. She was fatally stabbed. She was my friend.

Eyricka Morgan was a black transgender woman. She was an activist. She was fatally stabbed. She was my friend.

[morganerichardson]

Video: #BlackTwitter After #Ferguson

On the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death, three prominent activists read their tweets from the past year and reflect on the challenges and legacy of the Black Lives Matter movement.

On the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death, three prominent activists read their tweets from the past year and reflect on the challenges and legacy of the Black Lives Matter movement.

[morganerichardson]

This week in #BlackLivesMatter

Black Lives Matter, Photo by Phil Roeder

It’s been a big week for the #BlackLivesMatter (#BLM) movement. Activists and protestors have taken to the streets to protest Jeb Bush's policies, activists Marissa Johnson and Mara Jacqueline Willaford received negative criticism from Democrats for taking over the stage at a Bernie Sanders rally in Seattle and Hillary Clinton spoke with #BLM leaders in Keene, New Hampshire. At the same time, we honored the life of Michael Brown in Ferguson, mourned that of 18 year-old black Tyrone Harris Jr., and remembered the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. In the midst of it all, there have been some incredibly powerful discussions happening around race and social justice in America. In case you missed it, here is an overview of some of the best blogs and articles this week: 

Black Lives Matter Arrives on Hillary Clinton’s Doorstep By: Jamil Smith, Senior Editor, New Republic 

You’re White and Marched With Dr. King: So What?  By: Imani Gandy, Senior Legal Analyst, RH Reality Check

Why Democrats are Struggling With Black Lives Matter By: Alex Altman, Time Magazine 

The Rebirth of Black Rage. From Kanye to Obama, and back again. By: Mychal Denzel Smith, Contributing Writer, The Nation  On Ferguson and the Enduring Resilience of Black People By: Kara Brown, Staff Writer, Jezebel    Black Lives Matter Activists Disrupt Jeb Bush Rally  By: Jack Martinez, Newsweek   The Interrupters By: Waleed Shahid, Colorlines 

[morganerichardson]

They Have Names: Honoring the victims of the Charleston shooting

Surreace Cox, of North Charleston, S.C., holds a sign during a prayer vigil down the street from the Emanuel AME Church early Thursday, June 18, 2015. (Photo credit: David Goldman/AP) 

Mr. Dylann Storm Roof, 21, has been named as the suspect in the mass shooting on Wednesday at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, N.C. The shooting left nine dead. Mr. Roof was arrested on Thursday.  

According to a witness, the shooter entered the church asking for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of Emanuel AME and a state senator, who was among those killed. He sat down next to Pinckney during bible study for one hour. He then opened fire, saying to a surviving witness, “I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.”   

A classmate of Mr. Roof said that he “…made a lot of racist jokes, but you don’t take them seriously like that. You don’t really think of it like that.”  Roof’s roommate, Dalton Tyler, shared that he had been interested in “segregation and other stuff seven months to a year ago.” According to Tyler, Roof wanted to start a civil war and was planning something like this for six months.   How far have we really come? Is it enough to simply say, we need to have a conversation about race?  To me, it’s quite obvious that we live in a country were systemic racism is still thriving. We need to not only discuss white supremacy, patriarchy and the attacks on black bodies but, do something about it. Jessie Daniels, my former boss/colleague (and mentor in many ways), writes,  

People keep saying that we need to “have a conversation about race” in this country, but what we need to have is a conversation about white supremacy. To be sure, the mass murder at the Emanuel A.M.E. church is an act of white supremacist terrorism. The white man who did this is a terrorist with a political agenda to kill black people. When one segment of the population can easily — and legally — buy and carry deadly weapons and almost never seen as suspect while another segment of the population is always a target of violence, even in a place of worship, that is white supremacy. Yet, for the most part, we have no way to talk about this kind of systemic racism in US culture. When most (white) people hear the term “white supremacy” they think of the people in robes and hoods, not the white men pictured above.” 

But in this moment I, like many in my community, am at a loss for words. My heart hangs heavy as I am yet again saddened by the realities that we must face. There is an undeniable fear that creeps into me every time another soul is lost because of their race, gender, sexuality, etc. Latoya Peterson, an activist/blogger/mother whom I respect deeply, wrote, “If there isn’t anything to say, it’s because our words are weighed down in our throats, muted by a multi-generational grief that appears to know no end.” I couldn’t agree more.  

There is much work to be done. I promise to have these important discussions. But right now, I hope that we take a moment to name, honor and remember the legacy of the victims of the Charleston Church Shooting. Let’s make a promise to always think of them before we remember the person who took them away too soon. They are:    Sharonda Coleman-Singleton Reverend Clementa Pinckney Cynthia Hurd Tywanza Sanders Ethel Lee Lance Daniel L. Simmons Susie Jackson

[obamawhitehouse]

President Obama on the tragic shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

Good afternoon, everybody. This morning, I spoke with, and Vice President Biden spoke with, Mayor Joe Riley and other leaders of Charleston to express our deep sorrow over the senseless murders that took place last night.

Michelle and I know several members of Emanuel AME Church. We knew their pastor, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, who, along with eight others, gathered in prayer and fellowship and was murdered last night. And to say our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families, and their community doesn’t say enough to convey the heartache and the sadness and the anger that we feel.

Any death of this sort is a tragedy. Any shooting involving multiple victims is a tragedy. There is something particularly heartbreaking about the death happening in a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace, in a place of worship.

Mother Emanuel is, in fact, more than a church. This is a place of worship that was founded by African Americans seeking liberty. This is a church that was burned to the ground because its worshipers worked to end slavery. When there were laws banning all-black church gatherings, they conducted services in secret. When there was a nonviolent movement to bring our country closer in line with our highest ideals, some of our brightest leaders spoke and led marches from this church’s steps. This is a sacred place in the history of Charleston and in the history of America.

The FBI is now on the scene with local police, and more of the Bureau’s best are on the way to join them. The Attorney General has announced plans for the FBI to open a hate crime investigation. We understand that the suspect is in custody. And I’ll let the best of law enforcement do its work to make sure that justice is served.

Until the investigation is complete, I’m necessarily constrained in terms of talking about the details of the case. But I don’t need to be constrained about the emotions that tragedies like this raise. I’ve had to make statements like this too many times. Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times. We don’t have all the facts, but we do know that, once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun. Now is the time for mourning and for healing.

Keep reading

[jessicavalenti]

I know a woman in her 30s: she’s married, she has a toddler, and she desperately wants a second child – but a dangerous medical condition means that having another baby would be life-threatening. Despite being careful, she got pregnant. She had an abortion because she wasn’t willing to risk her life and leave her child motherless, but she still feels a deep sadness. I know another woman, in her 20s, who had a shitty boyfriend (but no kids) when her birth control failed and she found herself with a pregnancy she knew she didn’t want – a pregnancy she wasn’t ready for. She was upset about the situation, but had no doubts about what she wanted to do and, after the abortion, no regrets. She rarely thinks about the pregnancy or the abortion anymore. If you’re like a lot of people, you probably have much more sympathy for the first woman than the second. Though the majority of people in America and Northern Ireland and so many other places believe abortion should be legal, too many of us still think about reproductive rights as if there’s a hierarchy of good and bad abortions – the kind that women “deserve”, and the kind women should be ashamed of. But those two women? They’re both me.

It’s OK to tell your abortion story, my contribution to #1in3speaks  (via jessicavalenti)

As a doula, I love supporting women as they recognize their immense physical and emotional power during the months, days and hours it takes for them to birth their children into this world. But the thing that makes birth work beautiful, is the part where I get to empower families so that they may be in charge of their own bodies and decisions. And sometimes holding space and empowering others means supporting women and families in the process of an abortion, whether or it by choice or out of necessity. 

[rebeccacohenart]

[morganerichardson]

On Adrian Peterson, Child Abuse And Culture As A Crime

Adrian Peterson (Credit: AP/Tom Lynn)

I had a tremendous amount of freedoms growing up - I could date, have sleep over’s, travel, choose any career path. That didn’t mean that I could do whatever I wanted – my mother placed remarkable pressure on me to succeed, both personally and professionally. As a young black woman, I was taught that I should never depend on anyone else for stability. The unspoken guidelines in my house were that I had to work hard, follow the rules, and show strength in public if I were to move forward.  When I made mistakes along the way, I was disciplined, but not spanked.

I think my mother did a pretty good job of raising a strong-willed child like me without needing a whip for motivation. I am sure I have absolutely no tolerance for violence because of my upbringing. And yet, I understand why Charles Barkley would defend Adrian Peterson during a recent interview, by saying that "every black parents in the South hits their kids.”

We live in a society where the government uses force to ‘discipline’ black and brown bodies and then tells us that we are too aggressive as a community. I imagine black and brown parents who use violence with their children are doing so with the hopes that it will instill morals into their kids that will protect them from structural violence later on.

I am not a parent yet, but I can only imagine how difficult it will be to raise any child of mine in such a culture of white supremacy and patriarchy. There exists much pressure to make sure black kids have a sense of self and are, at the same time, ‘trained’ in a way that will allow them to easily glide into white societal structures as adults.

But, as Brittany Cooper writes:

…Beating, whupping or spanking your children will not protect them from state violence.  It won’t keep them out of prison. Ruling homes and children with an iron fist will not restore the dignity and respect that the outside world fails to confer on adult black people.

In a conversation that I had with a close friend, he said, "Obviously abuse crosses a line, but whites want more respectful, well-mannered, educated minorities but only if they are raising them the way we (whites) do with our kids."

I fully agree. Cultural norms and the way(s) that people chose to raise their children are shaped by our individual and collective histories. We must take into account how those norms are created and culture should be honored and respected. However, culture is a crime when it is used as an excuse to deny individuals their rights. Teaching our children through violence means does not change the structures of our system or empower our children to become better people and succeed in this world. 

[morganerichardson]

This image of a starving child with nothing to eat but a football has tapped into Brazil’s complex relationship with the approaching World Cup.

World Cup 2014: Brazil street artist Paulo Ito taps into country’s anger with mural of starving child eating a football

[morganerichardson]

A friend recently posted a video on his Facebook page of a young girl (age 12), giving a pro-life speech. The video was apparently part of a school contest for public speaking. My friend asked his Facebook followers to share their reactions to this video. Many were, understandably, outraged and felt that this young woman must have been coerced and brainwashed by her parents to make such statements.  While I am 100% for the right to choose what a woman does with her body, I had a different response. 

As birth and abortion doula, I am at a very interesting intersection of the "pro-life" and "pro-choice" movements. I support families through the birth of a child on some days and abortion (sometimes by choice of the family, but more often because of circumstance) on others. No matter which you choose (or are forced to choose), I have seen how difficult both are and can be. The most important lesson that I have learned is to never, ever hold judgement towards a person's choices. By the age of 12, I fully believed that everyone deserved access to resources to make the right choices for themselves. I was dead set in my beliefs, my progressive views, and I probably was that young woman in the video - but voicing another opinion. While the young woman in the video has an agenda that I don't agree with (at all), I do respect that it is her lived experience right now. It may change as she grows older (and experiences more in life) but I don't know if it's fair to write her off as her being "coerced" or "influenced" by her parents and community - Aren't we all in some ways? Would we say the same things if a young woman was on camera fighting for marriage equality, or praising Obama, etc? I probably wouldn't question her age, or understanding of the world. I would agree, share the video and hope it spread like mad! The point is - let's respect her ideas (though we don't have to share them/agree), hope that she is surrounded by a wide variety of people to learn from and can grow up to make her own choices - whatever they may be. That is all I can hope for of anyone.

[morganerichardson]

The Unnecessary Spectacle Around That Photo of Willow Smith

So proud of Feministing.com for writing this piece on Willow Smith’s picture with 20-year old actor, Moises Arias. It is none of our business what Willow does nor is it our duty to dissect (i.e. critique) how the Smith’s choose to parent their child.  I grew up with a group of guys and I am sure we have countless pictures like this one (most likely in unprocessed film rolls because we are lazy) that only symbolize a deep friendship.  Let’s move on to more important matters. Ideally topics that do concern us. 

[morganerichardson]

Separating The Personal From The Doula

Recently, a student from the University of California, Riverside, asked me to be a part of a senior study on doulas. One of the questions that she posed has really stuck with me: 

On your Twitter and blog, it seems that you don’t mix your personal with your business. Have you always separated the two?  

I've thought a lot about this question as my decision to become a full-time doula has coincided with by hiatus from the feminist world I once devoured. 

When I began the transition into full time birth work, I had to decide whether or not I would bring my very strong political beliefs directly into the lives of the families that I would support as a doula.

Prior to becoming a birth doula, I had a digital media firm working for organizations doing social good and I was a very active in the online feminist and queer communities. As a public figure, and due to the nature of my professional work, everything I had done as an adult could be found online  - protests that I was a part of, courses that I taught as an adjunct professor, blogs about my life as a queer woman of color, tidbits about my life with a woman (who is now my wife), etc.

In some ways, I thought it would surely be easier to gain a cliental of progressive-minded families by using my google-able name and personal experiences. On the other hand, I knew my personal business could exclude families who didn’t feel the same way that I did.

For me, being a doula meant and continues to mean, providing unconditional support. I felt that some women who needed (and deserved) a doula could end up feeling less-then if they didn’t share the same feminist convictions that I had and continue to have. Every family, and every woman, defines him or her self differently and has different ways of moving through the world. The last thing I wanted was a mom to feel as though she wasn’t powerful because she was in a heterosexual relationship, and lived the “cookie-cutter” life – a life that it seemed (at least online) I was protesting.  

I ultimately felt that I would be doing a disservice as a doula, a person who is supposed to hold no judgment, if I unintentionally forced my clients into believing in the same things I did. And so, I made the very conscious decision to keep my personal and political life separate from my work as a doula.

As we live in the age of media and access, I am deeply aware that most of the people who hire me have most likely googled my name and found the work that I am doing/have done. In fact, many of them hire me because they share similar beliefs and will bring it up! But every once in a while I work with a more socially/politically 'conservative’ family and I am so grateful that they can trust that I won’t judge who they are and that I can support and love them fully in their journey. 

[morganerichardson]

When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.

Audre Lord, (February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) Happy 80th birthday. 

[morganerichardson]

The Superbowl Ad You Didn't See (But Should Have)

  The National Congress of American Indians put together an amazing ad that wasn't able to run during the Superbowl due to lack of funding. But you should watch and share it anyway. 

You can get involved by contacting the Washington Professional Football Team, the NFL and the Washington Post:

DC Team @redskins Facebook.com/redskins http://www.redskins.com/footer/contac... Roger Goodell & NFL  @NFL  @NFLcommish https://www.facebook.com/NFL  Washington Post DC's hometown paper is still using the R-word in its coverage of the team. @WashingtonPost @PostSports  https://www.facebook.com/washingtonpost 

[morganerichardson]

From Punishment to Public Health Informational Guide

Yet another information guide that I am proud to share through my work with JustPublics@365!

Over the last couple of months, we’ve (at JustPublics@365) highlighted the ways scholars, activists and journalists work to further social justice by shifting the public policy framework from one of “punishment” to “public health,” or P2PH. As we’ve shown, the research is clear that our policy of mass incarceration of the past 30 years damages our society.  Today, we bring it all together.

The P2PH Information Guide is designed to bring together scholarship, activist strategies, and digital media tools to help you create your own social justice campaign.

(Image source)

Our goal with bringing this all together is to create a practical, resource-rich, all-in-one introduction to start a social justice digital campaign, whether you are an activist on the ground,  a journalist writing a story or an academic who may want to connect your research to creating a more just society.

We hope that the Information Guide will help you reach you more people by integrating some of the most widely used social networks into your social justice campaign, your reporting, and your research or your classroom projects. 

Click here to download the PDF.  (e-book coming soon)

If you have any questions in planning your campaign, please feel free to contact us [email protected] or send us a tweet, @JustPublics365.

Originally posted on the JustPublics365 website: http://justpublics365.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2014/02/03/punishment-public-health-guide

[morganerichardson]

Stop-And-Frisk Information Guide: Bringing it All Together

I’m very proud to have envisioned and produced this information guide through my work with JustPublics@365.

The stop-and-frisk information guide (or Module Packet) is designed to bring together scholarship, activist strategies, and digital media tools to help you create your own stop-and-frisk social justice campaign.

Our goal with bring this all together is to create a practical, resource-rich, all-in-one introduction to start a social justice digital campaign, whether you are an activist on the ground,  a journalist writing a story or an academic who may want to connect your research to social change.  If you are teaching a class or training people in your organization, you can also use this Information Guide as a tool for teaching and learning about stop-and-frisk.

This Information Guide is structured around three levels of social justice outcomes:

Make Your Issues Their Interest: Raising Awareness About An Issue with an Audience

Make Your Issue Their Issue: Getting an Audience More Deeply Engaged in An Issue

Make Your Issue Their Action: Moving an Audience Towards a Specific Action

Throughout this Information Guide, we cover basic campaigning how-to’s, some of the best tools for collaboration and outreach, and provide examples from the JustPublics@365 stop-and-frisk series. 

We hope that the Information Guide will help you reach you more people by integrating some of the most widely used social networks into your social justice campaign, your reporting, and your research or your classroom projects.

If you have any questions in planning your campaign, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or send us a tweet, @JustPublics365. 

Click here to download the Stop-And-Frisk Information Guide [pdf]

[morganerichardson]

Why Are You So Intense All The Time?

  A few years ago, an important person in my life asked me, "Why is it always so intense and emotional with you?" Obviously, the very fact that I have been holding onto this question seems to prove his point, but I've recently felt the urge to address it publicly. 

This question is both multi-layered and problematic: For one, it came from someone I care deeply about so, it's personal and has forced me to dig deep into my actions. But beyond that, it's a question that women, especially black women and feminists, are asked all the time.

The narrative of the strong black woman stems from slavery and segregation. It is the notion that women of color have made it despite the odds and thus, should no longer be a source of concern. As Prof. Beauboeuf-Lafontant says in Behind The Mask of The Strong Black Woman, "It was part of the justification for treating a group of people like they weren't human, so you could exploit them without second thought."  

Certainly not all women of color are "angry" or "intense" but if we are, it's because we either have to be, want to be or need to be. And how could one not be angry in the face of racism, sexism, and classism in our society? How could anyone remain perky and upbeat if they are grasping for justice and love in a world of inequalities?  

I wasn't born intense, nor do I think anyone is. It wasn't until I went off to a predominately white college, and felt the pressures of injustice around me, that I became so at various points. But I didn't shy away from my concerns or anger - I voiced them. I organized to create social change, I became an activist and sought out likeminded individuals. And though I appeared to be angry to the outside world, I was also consumed with sadness, confusion and anxiety. Feminist activism, and putting on a tough face, were my ways of moving through the muck and finding a path forward.   

So to the person (and future close friends and family members) who ask me, "Why Are You So Intense and Emotional All The Time?" I say this: I am "intense and emotional" with the people I trust most with my heart. You are my place to show fear at the end of the day, and to let go of the calm yet stern face that so many activists must put on each morning to fight for social change. 

I hope the next person who thinks about asking a woman, a woman of color and/or an activist this, will take a moment to realize that even the the strongest person can find themselves in moments of weakness. Even the person who is independent, and yes, sometimes angry, needs a safe place to be "emotional".