Dr. Aisha Nyandoro, (left), CEO of Springboard to Opportunities, and Melissa Harris Perry, Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University Department of Politics and International Affairs.

“Change the narrative by changing the narrator,” said Dr. Aisha Nyandoro, CEO of Springboard To Opportunities, in a recent virtual live event, “Cash As Care: Healthy Moms, Healthy Families, Healthy Communities” through the Guaranteed Income Community of Practice.

““Change the narrative by changing the narrator,” said @Aisha_nyandoro, CEO of @SpringboardToOp, in a recent virtual live event. #MothersDay #cashassistance #supportmothers”

In time for Mother’s Day, panels including a journalist, author, academic, healthcare providers, advocates, policy maker, organization founders and mothers offered solutions and insights on the health disparities affecting Black, Latinx, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander, Indigenous and other mothers of color.

Introducing the “holistic definition of care” to include mental health, physical health, reproductive health and economic health, Nyandoro offers that, “Self-care is essential, full stop. Care is not something to pursue; we need it and deserve it.”

“Introducing the “holistic definition of care” to include mental health, physical health, reproductive health and economic health, @Aisha_nyandoro offers that, “Self-care is essential, full stop.” #selfcare #healthcare”

According to the newly released study from the Economic Security Project, “Income has a gradient relationship with health, meaning that those with better income have better health at every step of the economic ladder, not just at the extremities. However, racism—both interpersonal and structural—negatively impacts the health of people of color at all income levels. Thus, even though we see stark health inequities between Black, Brown, and Indigenous people relative to whites on the same rung of the economic ladder, people of color with a higher income still tend to have better health than people of color with less income.”

Dr. Zea Malawa, pediatrician, director of Expecting Justice, and a co-founder of the Abundant Birth Project, says it is essential “to do what is needed to close the gaps” and to mitigate “chronic and paralyzing despair” among Black mothers.

“Dr. Zea Malawa, pediatrician, director of @ExpectingJustSF, and a co-founder of the Abundant Birth Project, says it is essential “to do what is needed to close the gaps” and to mitigate “chronic and paralyzing despair” among #Blackmothers.”

Based in San Francisco where she says a single parent of one child needs an income of $100,000 just to make it, while the median income for Black families is $30,000 per year, the debit card program that offers $1,000 a month to pregnant women to use as they need is critical and “gives many the opportunity to create a new future.” Malawa adds, “This is the opportunity to give them what they need, not attitudes and paternalism.”

Nyandoro recently writes in Shondaland, “Researchers predict a targeted guaranteed income to those who need it most would not hurt the economy, it would grow it by trillions. Why? When people who don’t have enough money get some cash, they spend it on their basic needs, thereby stimulating the economy. When the wealthy are given money in the form of tax giveaways, they hoard it.”

Offering cash assistance to mothers and families around the country can realign families, communities and the country closer to social justice and parity so it needs the attention of advocates, policy makers and leaders invested in fairness for women of color.

“Offering cash assistance to #mothers and families around the country can realign families, communities and the country closer to #socialjustice and parity so it needs the attention of advocates, policy makers and leaders invested in fairness for #woc. ”

Business leaders, entrepreneurs, social justice activists, academics and legislative leaders can work to address the historic, systemic and contemporary systems that disbar Black women and all women of color from not only equity, but avenues to prosperity. This is a problem that affects everyone and women in leadership need to consider this a priority.

A 2021 report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities writes, ”Centering the needs of Black mothers and children would improve the well-being and economic security of all families with children. A redesigned Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash assistance program has a role to play to support families when they fall on hard times. Recognizing the ways in which racist views of Black women have influenced the basic design of the current TANF program is the first step to redesigning TANF with antiracist policies.”

Melissa Harris Perry, professor and Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University Department of Politics and International Affairs, offered that at this time in history with the United States Supreme Court possibly overturning Roe V. Wade, the “creative capacity” to solve these issues means “leaning into (our) places of power.”

Patanjali de la Rocha, founder of Birth Beyond Bars, says that as a multiracial Indigenous mother, she sees the numbers of those in need in her community are “considered too insignificant to address,” resulting in “data genocide.”

“@DePatanjali, founder of @MotherhoodBynd, tells @MHarrisPerry that as a multiracial Indigenous mother, the numbers of those in need in her community are “considered too insignificant to address,” resulting in “data genocide.” #endprisonbirth”

The initiative she began, The Nest, that offers cash and assistance to mothers, offers the idea that, “You are enough and deserve to have safety, rest and connection to your child.”

Daniela DeJesus Gutierrez, a mother and participant in the Bridge Project, says the cash assistance was a necessity, in addition to her work income. “How are we supposed to raise healthy children in a broken system?” she asks.

Harris Perry says her own grandmother, Rosa, was a domestic worker and was overlooked. “Everything that is my life was made possible by this woman, Rosa, who was the maid.” She adds, that like her own grandmother, “The goal is to be a good ancestor for the next generation.”

Perry says she formed this question after learning about this impulse/insight from Nick Estes, assistant professor at the University of New Mexico, during a recent conversation on The Takeaway about Water Protectors ahead of Earth Day..

“The goal is to be a good ancestor for the next generation,” says @MHarrisPerry on the need to address and solve health and economic inequities for mothers of color. #MothersDay”

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, says, “Our economy functions antithetical to the American dream. A strong economy should work for all people. Public policy must bring Black women from the margins to the mainstream.”

“@RepBonnie (D-NJ), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, says, “Our economy functions antithetical to the American dream...Public policy must bring Black women from the margins to the mainstream.” #supportBlackwomen”

Coleman introduced the Guaranteed Income Pilot program Act of 2020, and it “provides for a three-year federal guaranteed income pilot program. The bill ensures that the cash transfers made to program participants are excluded from eligibility determination for federal and federally assisted state or local assistance programs,” according to the fact sheet from the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program.

As stated in the recent report, “An Economy For All: Building A Black Women Best Legislative Agenda,” We are ready to venture into uncharted territory in order to secure a brighter future for every Black woman in this country and ultimately a brighter future for us all.

Nayandoro adds that to solves these problems, “We are all collectively sowing these seeds and using our radical imagination.”