When I was young, my mom was on welfare. She wasn’t unlike other moms on our South Los Angeles block: single, working multiple jobs and doing her best to keep her head above water. She cared deeply for my brother, my sister and me. We knew she did, because in order to make sure we […]
Author: Shanelle Matthews
Shanelle Matthews is a communications strategist for the ACLU of Northern California, cofounder of Black Women Birthing Justice and coeditor of Birthing Justice: Black Women, Pregnancy and Childbirth, a forthcoming anthology. She has contributed to The Root, Crunk Feminist Collective, The Frisky, Feministing and Echoing Ida.