Black Midwives Existed Before Doctors and are Still Delivering Us Today ft. Racha

Traditional Midwives were criminalized, exploited and erased, their 1000 year old practices mined to create the field of obstetrics and this marginalization of Black and Indigenous midwives continues today. Learn more about the origins of the Black maternal health crisis in this country and movements to resist it--one birth at a time. Alternate episode titles: -We gone be known as the niggas that be crying on here podcast -A Black Queer Midwife Saved Our Life -Racha owns the only Black owned and operated birthing center in the entire state of Virginia--why is that? Join us for another episode of Black People Telling Black History with Los Angeles' own, the incomparable Racha Tahani Lawler Queen, our midwife turned family. Support Racha's work and continue to invest in the birthing cottage: Venmo: @Black_Midwife Racha Tahani Lawler Queen is a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), Licensed Midwife (LM), Registered & Certified Sangoma (South African Traditional Healer Herbalist), fourth generation midwife, farmer, and textile artist. A practicing traditional midwife of 20+ years, supporting families in hospitals, birth centers, and in homebirth. Lawler Queen has supported over 1,600 families in their out-of-hospital birthing, and for over a decade prioritized Black & Brown midwifery students as a clinical preceptor and academic preceptor. She is the co-founder of the nonprofit Black Farm Studio House with her spouse dana washington-queen that amplifies artists, Black, Brown, Indigenous farmers, and provides subsidies to aid reproductive wellness of LGBTQIA2 folks across the African diaspora. On August 1st 2023, she opened Gather Grounded Midwifery's - Birth Cottage in Midlothian, VA. A reimagined birth cottage (center), modeled after how her great great-grandmother's midwifery cared for Black & Indigenous families in Elmo and Forney, Texas. Social Media: Instagram: @gathergroundedmidwifery @Blackfarmstudiohouse Tik Tok: @gathergroundedmidwifery For more information on the birthing cottage in Virginia, visit: www.gathergroundedmidwifery.com Intro Diddley: Patience Sings (IG: @patience.sings) Consider becoming a patron to support this podcast: www.patreon.com/ihartericka