CLEVELAND — As we approach Juneteenth, there’s an ongoing movement in Cleveland to promote freedom, healing and cultural celebration while also addressing Black maternal health.
“What we’re looking at right now is a crisis, and this crisis is also a reflection of some systemic change that needs to happen,” said Errin Weaver, the Strategic Visioning Partner for All Our Babies: Birthing in the Afrofuture.
Advocating for Black mothers and birthing people is the goal behind a vision Weaver said she’s bringing to life through All Our Babies: Birthing in the Afrofuture, an Afrofuturism initiative to uplift Black families through education, community and empowerment.
“There is an issue that’s going on here that we need to look closer at,” said Weaver.
In Cleveland, Weaver said Black maternal health is an alarming issue for her and women like Jameelah Rahman, one of the project’s lead artists.
“I want to have a child one day, and I have the fear of all of the fears that my ancestors have had, and I don’t think that that should be put on me,” said Rahman.
To help those like Rahman overcome these fears and health disparities, Weaver is creating a healing space for those looking to be seen, heard and celebrated by using her passion and experience as a birth worker to support Black mothers and birthing people.
“When we were coming up in our culture and our heritage, the entire community, the youth all the way to the elders took a part in participating in birth,” said Weaver.
Now, Weaver and the project’s Creative Lead, Tondi Wiley, said they want to reclaim the history of birth, motherhood and reproductive justice by using art, storytelling and healing to build community through their creative therapeutic workshops.
“I feel like moving. I feel like creating. I feel like resisting. I feel like doing exactly what I’m doing in this work on this project,” said Wiley.
Since News 5 told you about the project’s launch in March, All Our Babies is now headed into its fourth public arts series, "Yesterday, We Dreamed of Tomorrow," all thanks to ongoing support from the Transformative Arts Fund, supported by the City of Cleveland and Cleveland City Council.
RELATED: City of Cleveland announces All Our Babies' new 'Yesterday, We Dreamed of Tomorrow' initiative
There are even community partners like Aharaon Ben Keymah, who are stepping up by opening the doors of his community healing space, Prolific Oxygen Dome, which aligns with the mission of All Our Babies.
“With them coming in and doing this, it’s definitely proactive in the sense of showing people in our community that we’re not waiting for someone to bring the solution but we’re creating it ourselves,” said Ben-Keyman, Founder of Prolific Achievers Academy and Prolific Oxygen Dome.
Organizers are asking the community to share their birth stories to be a part of the journey with them.
To send yours, click here.
Meantime, the fourth activation series will be held on Saturday, June 28, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Prolific Achievers Academy in Cleveland.
