Pat Taub
A Profound Report on How Racism Impacts Black Mothers and Infants
I was very moved by last Sunday’s New York Times magazine cover story with the haunting title, “Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis.” The article documents how Black women’s serious medical conditions during pregnancy and after are typically dismissed. It also notes that Black infants’ low birth weights affect all economic classes. The author attributes this to the stress of living under racism.
A healthy Black baby with a birth weight of over 6 lbs while the average Black newborn weighs only around 5 lbs.
White Privilege
This week a friend and I drove to the University of New England’s Biddeford campus for a conversation on racism; it was offered by the new “Make Shift Coffee Houses,” which are sprouting up all over the country to address pressing social issues. A largely white crowd (after all this is Maine) gathered around small tables to share how race has affected our lives. A few white participants said they resented being called out for their racism when they didn’t feel the label fit. I silently disagreed believing that no matter how honorable my intentions as a white woman, my white privilege and unconscious racism exist and have to be unpacked and examined.
The Biddeford Make Shift Coffee House on Racism
Earth Day
Sunday is Earth Day. I will mark it by attending an Earth Day luncheon and discussion at my church. I keep reading about the dangers to the environment through the careless overuse of plastic and its disposal in the oceans. This feels like an action I can get behind.
An all too familiar scene: plastic washed up on a beach.
Come On Spring ! Maine is Tired of Waiting for You!
While the temps are slowly climbing, it’s still windy and wintery. I’m trying to coax nature with my bouquets of daffodils, like this one. Flowers always make my soul sing.
A Sad Occasion
Saturday I will drive to mid coast Maine for the memorial service of Connie Chandler Ward, one of the founders of the Greenfire Retreat Center in Tenants Harbor. I was involved with Greenfire from 2003 until its closing in 2008. Connie never failed to challenge my spiritual thinking and to offer guidance that has enhanced my spiritual development. I’m still a work in progress. It feels like I will be struggling with my spiritual identity as long as I live. However, this is not unwelcome; it’s a rich struggle.
Connie Chandler Ward (1932-2018) at her 80th Birthday Party
