Shades of Divinity

Growing up surrounded by Black women who shared their stories and challenges in navigating their reproductive healthcare, I knew that birth work was for me. I watched as countless communities in Washington, DC were stripped of their obstetric care centers, creating barriers for patients to reach holistic and emergency care in their own neighborhoods. With so many major gaps in inequities, I identified midwifery as a way to help heal those gaps. After graduating from Howard University with my Bachelors of Science in Nursing, I worked as a labor and delivery nurse in underserved communities until I began to pursue my DNP in midwifery at the University of Washington. In the future, I hope to continue to serve people of color and underserved communities by embodying diversity and cultural humility in my practice. Ultimately, I hope to establish a BIPOC community-based midwifery clinic that provides holistic reproductive and gynecological healthcare to underserved populations, with care continuity between clinic, birth center and hospital. I plan for this to be a training ground for other midwives of color who come after me, and to continue to support Black women and birthing people of color in their own communities. I am grateful to receive this scholarship as I continue to pursue my goals.