Community

Midwife Samsarah Morgan Helps Black Women Have Better Births

Published

8 years ago

February 1, 2017

Giving birth takes courage, says Samsarah Morgan, a midwife for 37 years and the founder of the Oakland Better Birth Foundation. “But in this country women are terrified of the birth process. They are frightened to death of what their bodies were made to do.”

Coupled with racism, the impact of this fear is measurable among Black women, where low birth weight and high infant mortality persist despite advances in mainstream medicine.

And Black women in the U.S. are five times more likely than white women to die in childbirth, says Morgan, a mother of five and grandmother of three.

“Doctors talk among themselves about black women as being high-risk,” she says. That high-risk label, even when it is deserved, often puts Black women on the fast track for a highly medicated birth with lasting impact on mother and child.

The pain-relieving epidural drugs impact the child as well as the mother because opiate pain-relievers suppress respiration. “The last thing this (newborn) baby needs to do is learn to breathe,” Morgan says, and that added stress impacts the child’s ability to thrive.

Morgan identifies one post-partum issue for C-Section mothers especially, is being robbed of the victory of giving birth. “They feel that they have failed,” Morgan says and the same can be said of women who don’t, for a variety of reasons, breast-feed their babies.

Samsarah Morgan with students and Better Birth Foundation board members at the Breastfeeding Festival in 2016.

But a little education can go a long way, Morgan says. And the education provided from a midwife, or Doula, provides alternatives. Beginning Feb. 14, she is holding a seven-week series of classes not just for mothers but their partners, grandmothers, fathers, aunts and others because she needs family support in making these decisions.

“They will learn about pregnancy, nutrition, the baby’s development, and what the moms need in each stage of development physically, psychologically and emotionally.”

Morgan’s post-partum work focuses on breastfeeding. It helps the mother’s womb contract to its natural size and reduces the likelihood of breast cancer later in life. For the baby, breast milk is the perfect food resulting in stronger immune systems, even higher IQs.

And the bonding between mother and child is also important.

Despite everyone’s best efforts, tragedy may strike and a child dies. Morgan teaches about that, too. “Women don’t know that they should grieve,” Morgan says, “and friends and family need to know that the woman may always grieve that loss.”

Morgan also makes it clear that she is not “anti-doctor or anti-hospital,” but even mainstream physicians acknowledge that doulas’ work has resulted in fewer C-sections and drug-related interventions.

Now certified by the International Center for Traditional Childbearing, Morgan got her start in the late 1970s informally advising the female partners of male colleagues in the corporation where she worked.

Now holding a Doctorate of Divinity from the now-defunct American Institute of Interfaith Studies as well as licenses in life coaching and hypnotherapy, Morgan brings all of these to bear in her work, which she regards as a ministry.

Familiar with birth stories from around the world, Morgan mentions one where it is during labor that the mother “goes to the island of souls to get her baby.” Natural labor gives her a sense of her abilities to take care of this new soul, Morgan says.

Oakland Better Birth Foundation is located at 370 45^th St. in Oakland. Fees for the seven week series range from $100-$200, but no family will be turned away. For more information, please call (510) 595-5534.

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Activism

Who Wants to Be the Next Elected Mayor of Oakland?

The Oakland Post is issuing a CALL to all candidates to present their answers, plans, or solutions in response to our list of questions.

Published

19 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Oakland Post

An aerial view of the downtown Oakland skyline on a clear sunny day. The federal building and other iconic buildings fill the skyline. Photo: iStock.

By Paul Cobb

Many of you probably recall the oft-repeated expression when describing leadership that “many are called but few are chosen.” We will be inundated during January with many claims of qualifications by those who want to lead Oakland.

As of Jan. 1, 2025, we have heard the names of 14 potential candidates who might become Oakland’s next Mayor.

The Oakland Post is issuing a CALL to all candidates to present their answers, plans, or solutions in response to our list of questions.

Any candidate who wishes to receive a free announcement, publicity or space in the paper must submit solutions.

The first questions we propose are 1) What is your budget balancing plan?
What is your position on requiring all city employees to work full-time in their designated offices rather than remotely from their homes?
What is your plan to provide open-access opportunities to all police officers for overtime pay?
Since many businesses, especially downtown, have closed, what is your plan to attract and increase revenues?

Please send your submissions of 300 words or less to each question to Social@postnewsgroup.com or visit www.postnewsgroup.com

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Oakland NAACP President Stands on the Frontlines for Equity

With education as a cornerstone, Adams emphasized the importance of youth having access to quality kindergarten through 12th-grade education along with college or vocational programming beyond high school. “I feel that it’s so important for our children to get a good education in K-12th grade, along with the colleges of their choice, especially with the HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).”

Published

20 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Oakland Post

NAACP Oakland President Cynthia Adams. Photo Courtesy of Cynthia Adams.

By Carla Thomas

For Cynthia Adams, president of the Oakland chapter of the NAACP, fighting for the rights of Black people comes naturally. With southern roots in Arkansas, Adams experienced firsthand the injustice and unfairness of racism.

“Growing up in the Jim Crow South, I experienced the unfair treatment of people of color and how faith can inspire communities to bring about positive and long-lasting change,” said Adams. Adams says a combination of her family and faith has kept her strong in the face of adversity and inspired her life’s work of advocacy.

Adams chose education as a career path — and a means to achieve equity and overcome racism. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and later received an advanced degree from California State East Bay.

Adams’ experience as an Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) recorder, a counselor, a researcher, and a college recruiter has allowed her to be laser-focused on youth. She also served as the chairperson for the Oakland NAACP youth.

“The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. We want to ensure our citizens have equal rights and opportunities without discrimination based on race.”

As a partner with the State of California’s Stop the Hate campaign, Adams says the initiative is a step in the right direction. “It’s great that our governor and state created the Stop the Hate campaign and provides resources for victims of racism and other hate crimes,” said Adams. “The racism toward Black people has increased and our children are being targeted,” she continued.

“We, at the Oakland branch, created a declaration on racism that will amplify the needs of our community to combat racism,” continued Adams. “That declaration was adopted nationally.”

Bridging communities and collaborating is also a strategy for moving society toward justice, according to Adams.

“Through the NAACP, we build connections between communities and advocate for the rights of historically marginalized and oppressed individuals,” said Adams. “Collective action is the only way to advance civil rights and promote social equity.”

By taking stands on supporting former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong to supporting the recall of a mayor faced with a scandal that brought negative national press to the city of Oakland, Adams has always demanded more for her people, and better for Oakland, the city she calls home.

She expressed pride in the national organization’s announcement of a $200 million fund designed to empower Black funders nationwide. “We all know the health of a community begins with economics,” said Adams.

Adams says that strengthening Black businesses automatically sustains a community. “We’ve also got to educate our community on opportunities and teach our children critical thinking so that they can provide the next generation of solutions for society,” said Adams.

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‘In 2024, We Had a Decrease in Shootings and Killings,’ Says Oakland Mayor Nikki Bas and Ceasefire Leaders

“The Ceasefire Strategy is once again being properly implemented and fully executed by all its partners as a data-driven gun violence reduction strategy. It is reducing gun violence in the City of Oakland with remarkable results and tangible improvements. The leadership of Rev. Damita Davis- Howard, Ceasefire director, Dr. Joshi of the Department of Violence Prevention, and the Ceasefire Strategy partners must be commended for this incredible work in ensuring public safety,” said Pastor Michael Wallace, Oakland Public Safety and Services Oversight Commission member.

Published

21 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Oakland Post

Some faith and community leaders who attended the year-end Ceasefire press conference are (left to right): Rev. Damita Davis-Howard, Oakland Mayor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Rev. Michael Wallace, and Brooklyn Williams. Photo by Kevin Hicks.

From Oakland City News Sources

Oakland’s Ceasefire partners, including representatives from the City of Oakland Department of Violence Prevention (DVP), Faith in Action East Bay, and other community leaders held a press conference Monday to discuss year-end reductions in gun violence and share community support for the Ceasefire Strategy.

“Our communities have never wavered from our support of the Ceasefire Strategy. We knew in the beginning that Ceasefire saves the lives of Oakland’s most vulnerable,” said Alba Hernandez, Faith in Action East Bay.

According to the DVP, Oakland will finish 2024 as the safest year since the start of the COVID pandemic. As of Dec. 23, there has been a 35% decrease in murders accompanied by a 33% reduction in nonfatal shootings compared to 2023.

As Oakland’s primary violence reduction strategy, Ceasefire seeks to identify individuals at very high risk of being involved in gun violence. Those high-risk individuals who are arrestable are prioritized for law enforcement action. Others at the highest-risk are informed of their risk and offered intensive community-based services such as life coaching, workforce development, and mental health care.

Ceasefire operates through close coordination and collaboration between the Mayor’s Office, DVP, the Ceasefire director, Oakland Police Department, and the Alameda County Probation Department, with the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) and California Partnership for Safe Communities (CPSC) providing training and technical assistance.

“I am extremely grateful for the successful resurrection of the Ceasefire Strategy and for the historic declines in shootings and homicides that followed in just one year. I am proud to have worked with [former] Mayor Sheng Thao to reinvest in Ceasefire, and I commend the leadership of Brooklyn Williams in the Mayor’s Office, who has assembled a committed team that is saving lives every day,” said Mayor Nikki Fortunato Bas.

Said Pastor Hopkins, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, “I have been a pastor in Oakland for 36 years, and for each of those years the number of homicides has been a crisis in our community. Ceasefire is an answer to prayer because it serves to save lives by stopping the shooting and serving as a lifeline to healing,”

“The Department of Violence Prevention is grateful for the on-going support of Faith in Action East Bay and committed community leaders,” said Dr. Holly Joshi, chief of the DVP.

“Their vision to bring the Ceasefire strategy to Oakland over a decade ago, advocacy for its initial implementation, and determination to see it successfully re-rooted are commendable. With Ceasefire fully up and running, DVP life coaches and violence interrupters are in communities every day working with high-risk individuals, mediating conflicts, and preventing retaliatory violence. Through hard work, focus, and partnership, we have made significant progress this year in reducing gun violence,” said Joshi.

“The Ceasefire Strategy is once again being properly implemented and fully executed by all its partners as a data-driven gun violence reduction strategy. It is reducing gun violence in the City of Oakland with remarkable results and tangible improvements. The leadership of Rev. Damita Davis-Howard, Ceasefire director, Dr. Joshi of the Department of Violence Prevention, and the Ceasefire Strategy partners must be commended for this incredible work in ensuring public safety,” said Pastor Michael Wallace, Oakland Public Safety and Services Oversight Commission member.

“The Oakland Ceasefire Strategy is one of the most comprehensive, intelligence-led violence reduction initiatives I have had the privilege to be a part of and fully support,” said Oakland Police Department Chief Floyd Mitchell.

“The 2024 violent crime reduction data realized by the City of Oakland underscores the effectiveness of our unwavering focus, strategic emphasis, and strong collaborative partnerships within the Ceasefire framework,” Mitchell continued. “Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Oakland Police Department, and the invaluable contributions of our community, county, state, and federal partners, Oakland has achieved a 34% decrease in homicides, a 33% decline in firearm-related assaults, and a 25% reduction in robberies.”

“Oakland is once again a national leader in gun violence reduction,” said David Muhammad, executive director of NICJR. “Through the hard work of community violence intervention workers in partnership with city staff, police officers, Alameda County Probation, and others, many lives were saved in Oakland this year.”