Impossible things are happening everyday
VOL 29 - THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! Today and always, we recognize all women who play a critical role in science and technology. We notedd the Black scientists who have recently caught our eyes, including Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, the co-lead of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and the country's first deputy director for science and society, Alondra Nelson. In the spirit of the day and this month, we want to know who you are honoring. We want to feature them! Nominate them today for our Black Women History series.
It's an even more exciting time of year with less than 24 hours until we can all watch the best rendition of Cinderella. In the meantime, check out what we've notedd for you below — everything from this week's news to our honorable mentions. #StayNotedd
Learn how these four Black women-led recruitment firms are helping to place Black women in jobs.
Check out the Black Dollar Index, a consumer advocacy index holding corporations accountable by measuring corporate support and dedication towards Black America.
Apparently, there are some good and not-so-good places for Black women to live. Personal finance technology company MoneyGeek recently published a report on the best and U.S. cities for Black women— based on factors such as local wage gaps, safety, and homeownership.
The Houston Hottie became Mielle Organics's first-ever global ambassador.
Bringing the character of "Marie" to reality, learn how Zendaya played the system to get "Malcolm & Marie" crew bonus pay.
The Introduction of the Black Maternal Health Omnibus Package
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 60 percent of America's pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. However, the statistics for Black women are even more alarming and dire. Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications and twice as likely to lose an infant to premature death.
Earlier this week, Democratic lawmakers Reps. Lauren Underwood and Alma Adams, who co-chair the House's Black Maternal Health Caucus, and Sen. Cory Booker introduced an omnibus bill to combat the significant health inequities that Black mothers face across the country.
This package has been an ongoing effort since last year, which unfortunately didn't gain any traction in Congress. You may recall reading an introduction of a similar package in a previous Notedd issue.
The package would fund community organizations and state and local governments to improve maternal health outcomes. Additionally, the bills introduce training programs on the bias, racism, and discrimination in maternity care settings and efforts to grow the perinatal workforce.
As a result of the health disparities that Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and Asian Americans face due to the higher rates of exposure to the COVID-19 virus, the three new bills in the package target the country's concerning maternal mortality rate and the promotion of the maternal vaccination.
Dr. Nina Banks is Placing Value on Black Women’s Overlooked Work
Not only are we doing paid work for our communities and unpaid work in our households. We are also doing a third layer of community work — we’re exhausted. Recognizing this collective activism as work reveals the extra burden Black and brown women are under.
In a New York Times article, Associate Professor of Economics at Bucknell University Dr. Nina Banks argues that another form of work has been historically overlooked and uncounted: community activism by Black and other marginalized women.
Recent reports are showing that women and girls contribute to trillions of dollars in unpaid work every year. 2.9 trillion in the United States alone, to be exact.
In addition to the unpaid household work, which many argue is an essential task in most economies, Dr. Nina Banks traces cooperatives and other associations as unpaid work. These associations provided services governments neglected, dating back to the 20th century.
In an article published in the December issue of The Review of Black Political Economy, she argues that the grass-roots organizations behind the community work improved the environment, housing, and access to food. If someone was paid to do it, it would have been counted as a contribution to the economy.
Additionally, Dr. Banks' work sheds light on Black women who have felt undervalued at work despite being sought out more than ever in the past year. Many in this Guardian article were asked to spearhead DEI efforts at work with increasing demands for more of their participation but did not get credit for their work.
Raising our hands for this one 🙋🏾♀️ because this is precisely how we've felt over the last year, but let us know what your thoughts are by dropping a comment below.
Are you having trouble finding a Black-owned online gift shop? Look no further, Bifites is here! Bifties is a Black-owned e-commerce platform where you can send a gift to someone special or even yourself, while conveniently supporting Black-owned businesses. Bifties offers a variety of products across beauty, jewelry, stationery, and food. When you purchase an item, Bifties will donate 5% of their proceeds to charitable causes.
Join us in supporting Black Girls Do STEM! Founder Cynthia Chapple launched Black Girls Do STEM to provide middle school-aged black girls the opportunity to learn, create, and build confidence in their abilities to become STEM professionals.
Black Girls Do STEM is a day program for middle school-aged black girls (grades 6-8) to explore various STEM careers across multiple industries. You can #BeADoer like us and donate today to this fantastic cause!
We're loving this daily virtual museum tour, curated by founders Camille Bethune-Brown and Shanaé Burch. 28 Days of Black History is an exhibition centered around the voices of Black LGBTQ leaders and Black leaders with disabilities often diminished in our nation's history.
Each evening (around 8pm EST), they send you an email highlighting one part of their collection. Each email includes:
The highlighted work
Historical significance
Notes from their curator
Reflection/discussion questions
Action items to carry that work forward today
If daily emails are too much, no worries. You can easily switch your account to receive the weekly recap, delivered each Sunday.
Stay Informed, Stay Connected, Stay Notedd ✌🏾
1. Please share your thoughts on what you enjoyed and how we can improve here at Notedd.
2. Share with your friends who want to stay in the know and join the #NoteddTribe community.
3. Content ideas? Launching a product or service? Major accomplishments to share with the group? Reach out to us and we'll add it to our next issue.
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