Black Breastfeeding Week 2017
Black Breastfeeding Week was founded in 2013 by sistahs who felt the need and began to organize. Read more http://theleakyboob.com/2013/08/black-breastfeeding-week-interview-with-cofounder-anayah-sangodele-ayoka/
I heard about BBW a few years ago. Last year was the first time that I attended a BBW event. Early this year, I didn't hear any mention of events in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I began to reach out to others in the birth industry and asked for collaboration. I did get others to speak, vend, volunteer and support the BBW events, but I ended up hosting alone and being the only sponsor. So again, all of the weight fell on me.
While this was the longest series of events that I've ever done in a short period of time, I did not feel the usual stress. Yes, there were sleepless nights, wondering about how everything was going to turn out, but I did not get the usual "emotional breakdown" that I experience right before an event. Too many talkers and not enough walkers. People cancelling at the last minute. Spending extra money that was not budgeted. Standing on my feet to prepare food and products for long hours. Juggling family and business eventually takes a toll on me, so I may end up crying in frustration and think to cancel everything because of the burden. My self - will and unseen help gets me through it all. I say, "I am not doing another event" and then I do another event.
Although the events took a lot of work. I felt a burst of energy everyday and received a really big donation from the BMBFA that surprised me. Other Doulas offered their free services as gifts for the pregnant mamas. A few breastfeeding advocates donated products for the attendees. Birth professionals offered their time to speak. It was truly a wonderful and positive series of events that took place in Dallas and Arlington, TX.
There were 60+ BBW events that occurred all over the country. The momentum is growing greatly. All of the BBW attention broke the internet, going viral and others were mad. I read a woman's post that said, "I wish they would have had Latina Breastfeeding Week, when I was breastfeeding." Many white women expressed how pissed off they were about BBW. Saying things like: "it divides us", "it's racist", "there is no white breastfeeding week, Asian breastfeeding week, transgender breastfeeding week...", and so many other stupid comments. One lady even used words like colored, while stating that she was not racist in her rant. She even compared Black Lives Matter to Black Breastfeeding Week and there is absolutely no comparison. BLM is not about strengthening the black family and BBW is. BLM is not founded by black women, BBW is. BLM is not about saving black babies and mothers, BBW is about just that.
In the recent past, we were forced to give our super powers away to white infants via wet - nursing through the hellacost (not holocaust). Ours went without or got whatever was leftover. Eventually, we as a majority stopped breastfeeding. The mother child bond was broken and our children went astray. Formula and donating breast milk is pushed on black mothers and not other races. Our infant/maternal mortality rate is alarming in the U.S. and breastfeeding alone can help eliminate those numbers.
Racism is aggressively showing it's ugly face. Whenever we come to together for a positive cause independently, other races always seem to have a problem with it. Vampires don't reap any benefits, when they don't get blood and since we are still seen as property, it's a slap in the face. How dare the original wombmen do something to save themselves and leave us out. How dare them try to save their own babies and mamas. How dare them unify. How dare them make black breastfeeding popular again.
People have become followers and shout out to one of the most negative reality tv shows, Love and Hip Hop. They brought natural birthing and breastfeeding back in style, by showing actual home births on t.v. and you can catch some of the mothers breastfeeding on social media.
There is so much to say on BBW, but I have a million and one things to attend to, so I will pause on my written thoughts.
Be on the lookout for the next BBW 2018 events in DFW and across the country. I will collaborate with others in the birth industry and we will make it bigger and better. I appreciLUV everyone who shared the BBW DFW event and the others who attended. Special thanks to the co - founders Anayah Sangodele-Ayoka and Kimberly Seals, for creating this much needed movement.
I heard about BBW a few years ago. Last year was the first time that I attended a BBW event. Early this year, I didn't hear any mention of events in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I began to reach out to others in the birth industry and asked for collaboration. I did get others to speak, vend, volunteer and support the BBW events, but I ended up hosting alone and being the only sponsor. So again, all of the weight fell on me.
While this was the longest series of events that I've ever done in a short period of time, I did not feel the usual stress. Yes, there were sleepless nights, wondering about how everything was going to turn out, but I did not get the usual "emotional breakdown" that I experience right before an event. Too many talkers and not enough walkers. People cancelling at the last minute. Spending extra money that was not budgeted. Standing on my feet to prepare food and products for long hours. Juggling family and business eventually takes a toll on me, so I may end up crying in frustration and think to cancel everything because of the burden. My self - will and unseen help gets me through it all. I say, "I am not doing another event" and then I do another event.
Although the events took a lot of work. I felt a burst of energy everyday and received a really big donation from the BMBFA that surprised me. Other Doulas offered their free services as gifts for the pregnant mamas. A few breastfeeding advocates donated products for the attendees. Birth professionals offered their time to speak. It was truly a wonderful and positive series of events that took place in Dallas and Arlington, TX.
There were 60+ BBW events that occurred all over the country. The momentum is growing greatly. All of the BBW attention broke the internet, going viral and others were mad. I read a woman's post that said, "I wish they would have had Latina Breastfeeding Week, when I was breastfeeding." Many white women expressed how pissed off they were about BBW. Saying things like: "it divides us", "it's racist", "there is no white breastfeeding week, Asian breastfeeding week, transgender breastfeeding week...", and so many other stupid comments. One lady even used words like colored, while stating that she was not racist in her rant. She even compared Black Lives Matter to Black Breastfeeding Week and there is absolutely no comparison. BLM is not about strengthening the black family and BBW is. BLM is not founded by black women, BBW is. BLM is not about saving black babies and mothers, BBW is about just that.
In the recent past, we were forced to give our super powers away to white infants via wet - nursing through the hellacost (not holocaust). Ours went without or got whatever was leftover. Eventually, we as a majority stopped breastfeeding. The mother child bond was broken and our children went astray. Formula and donating breast milk is pushed on black mothers and not other races. Our infant/maternal mortality rate is alarming in the U.S. and breastfeeding alone can help eliminate those numbers.
Racism is aggressively showing it's ugly face. Whenever we come to together for a positive cause independently, other races always seem to have a problem with it. Vampires don't reap any benefits, when they don't get blood and since we are still seen as property, it's a slap in the face. How dare the original wombmen do something to save themselves and leave us out. How dare them try to save their own babies and mamas. How dare them unify. How dare them make black breastfeeding popular again.
People have become followers and shout out to one of the most negative reality tv shows, Love and Hip Hop. They brought natural birthing and breastfeeding back in style, by showing actual home births on t.v. and you can catch some of the mothers breastfeeding on social media.
There is so much to say on BBW, but I have a million and one things to attend to, so I will pause on my written thoughts.
Be on the lookout for the next BBW 2018 events in DFW and across the country. I will collaborate with others in the birth industry and we will make it bigger and better. I appreciLUV everyone who shared the BBW DFW event and the others who attended. Special thanks to the co - founders Anayah Sangodele-Ayoka and Kimberly Seals, for creating this much needed movement.
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