Maya Gwynn
With KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn with Black Perspectives IE, a show where we learn about the amazing things members of the Black community are doing in the Inland Empire. My guest today is Kanita Bourne, Manager of Social and Community Services at IEHP. She's here to talk about an important upcoming event taking place this Saturday, August 16, called Celebration of Black Motherhood, organized by IEHP in the African Primary Health Care Foundation. Thank you so much for being here.
Kanita Bourne
Thank you, Maya, Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Maya Gwynn
I'm excited too, even though this is kind of a tough topic to talk about, but it's something that hits very close to home for me. Statistics show that black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than white women, which has hit three different generations in my family alone. From your perspectives, what are the root causes of this disparity?
Kanita Bourne
I mean, honestly, the root causes are systemic racism, and people hate to say it, because when you talk about systemic racism, it makes you feel as if we're saying that the providers are racist, and that's not what the conversation is. The conversation is about the system. The system is not built for black people, black women, to thrive, right? So when you have a system that was made for you to fail, then what are you going to do? You're going to fail. We historically have not been believed, thought to be stronger than any other race. So when you feel like somebody is walking into a place and they are super human, you treat them as super human. And when someone is super human, you dismiss their concerns, you dismiss their challenges that they're telling you they have. That's disheartening. Absolutely. You know, I like to talk about this issue because people really think it's only about black women. And it's not only about black women, it's an American issue. America in general is a terrible place to give birth. Our numbers are worse than any other developed country, with black women or black birthers having the worst possible outcomes. And then when we talk about implicit bias - implicit bias is a hard one because of the first word implicit like, it's not something that's at the forefront of your mind. So you're doing what you were taught in school, what you know to be right, but what you were taught and what you know to be right were based on someone else's experience. They're not based on black women. They're not based on black people. So, you're operating at a deficit.
Maya Gwynn
So many times, people also talk about this being a class issue, but also Serena Williams, with her first pregnancy, she talked about how she wasn't believed with her pain. She's a multi-millionaire, one of the most famous black women in the world, and it still touched her as well.
Kanita Bourne
She had to go above and beyond to prove that she was having, I believe it was a pulmonary embolism. Why would anyone have to do that? Once you're black and in this country, you are subjected to have poor birth outcomes.
Maya Gwynn
Which is why I'm so happy you guys are putting this event on, and this event aims to create community and connection for black mothers. What do you hope attendees gain from participating in this event?
Kanita Bourne
I hope that participants feel seen. We just talked about, you know, the dark side of birthing while black. We want these black birthers and these new black moms to come into this place and feel joy. We want this to be a joyous occasion. And for a lot of black birthers, they cannot focus on the joy because they are so terrified, of course, right? So I want them to feel seen. I want them to walk away with resources. We want them to know that there are people out there that are fighting for their positive experience, right, and to walk away with a sense of sisterhood.
Maya Gwynn
How do you feel like your background in therapy or social work intersect with addressing these maternal health disparities?
Kanita Bourne
In social work, we focus on the person, the whole person, and the person and environment. And this is exactly what the disparity of birthing while Black is, is focusing on the person as a black birther, and is focusing on the environment that keeps these black birthers from having positive outcomes, right? And then social work is not only on an individual level. It's an individual micro mezzo macro level as well. So there are policies that are in place that perpetuate these negative outcomes. So as a social worker, you know, advocating for policies that can help all birthers in America have better health outcomes. All of that is social work, all of that is looking at the systems that keep us stuck and finding ways to move out of that stuckness so that everybody can thrive and not just be in survival mode.
Maya Gwynn
This event includes education on local resources. What are some resources that you believe every expecting black mom should know about that are local?
Kanita Bourne
So first of all, there is a Sankofa Birthworkers Collective of the Inland Empire. Can be anybody from a doula to a perinatal therapist to a pelvic floor therapist, which I didn't know was a thing, you know. So that is a great resource for anybody who's giving birth in the IE. There's also Black Infant Health, and Black Infant Health is a public program. So again, anybody who is Black and pregnant, they give a series of classes that help people navigate through this experience. So they're absolutely fantastic. And then there is the Neighbor Clinic. Neighbor Clinic is one of my favorites. They are located, I want to say, in Fontana, and I believe now Rialto. They are a clinic that specifically focuses on having black providers for black birthing people.
Maya Gwynn
Wow, those are very accessible, too. Lastly, how can partners, families, friends, be more intentional about supporting Black birthers?
Kanita Bourne
I would say the first one and the easiest, simplest one is, believe them. Don't chalk it up to hormones. Don't chalk it up to you know, people have been doing this for years and you'll be okay. Why are you dismissing what it is that I'm telling you? So I would say absolutely believe them and find community. Find your people. That's one thing I think in this country, we've moved very far away from community. How do you support people who are giving birth? Are they going to need to come back home and start cooking afterwards? Can you do a meal train? Can you have somebody come over and fold laundry? Get your person a doula. If they don't know what a doula is and you are a partner or a friend, ask them, have you thought about getting a doula that they can support you before birth and or during and even after birth, so that you can have time to rest, relax and recuperate.
Maya Gwynn
That's great advice. We're gonna move to our rapid-fire portion. If your work had a theme song, what would it be?
Kanita Bourne
“Optimistic” by Sounds of Blackness.
Maya Gwynn
I love that song. If you had to teach a master class or give a TED talk on a random skill, silly to serious, what would it be?
Kanita Bourne
If I had to give a TED talk on a random skill - how to speak without saying a word. When your mom or your aunt or your whoever gives you that eye… and you have a whole conversation without-
Maya Gwynn
I don't know if I want people to know that. Let's keep that between us.
Kanita Bourne
Can't give out all the secrets for free.
Maya Gwynn
What is your favorite IE restaurant, or just like a landmark that reminds you of the IE?
Kanita Bourne
We were chatting a little bit earlier about my Caribbean descent, and I would say it would have to be Island Breeze in Colton. Okay, getting oxtail and feeling like I am with my family when I'm not with my family, it's just nice. So Island Breeze in Colton is one of my tops.
Maya Gwynn
And how can someone find out more about this event?
Kanita Bourne
The Celebration of Black motherhood is open to everyone. You do not have to be an IEHP member to be able to participate. We have a registration link on our Instagram. Okay, so that's IEHP_healthcare. So they can find us there. You can find IEHP also on LinkedIn, Facebook as well, and just type in: help me get some Celebration of Black Motherhood, and somebody will help you.
Maya Gwynn
Thank you so much for being here, Kanita. This was an amazing conversation.
Kanita Bourne
Thank you.
Maya Gwynn
Kenita Bourne is Manager of Social and Community Services at IEHP. Find this segment and others at KVCRnews.org/bpie. Support for this segment comes from the Black Equity Fund at IECF, advancing racial equity and supporting long term investments in black led organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Join us again next week for Black Perspectives IE. For KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn, thank you.
