Women educating women about menopause

Historically (and, let's face it, currently) society hasn't done a great job of valuing and centering women and women's issues. 

This lack of care and attention is compounded when the woman in question is older, Black or of color, LGBTQ+, disabled, trans, or at the intersection of two or more of these identities. 

Omisade Burney-Scott is changing that. Her website, Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause, is a sort of Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret for an older demographic -- intended to be a safe space for Black women to ask questions, get and give answers, and explore identity at any age.

In a society that values youth over age and rewards "anti-aging" over aging naturally, Omisade's site, podcast, and events are opportunities for women to individually and collective take back their power and identity. 

In this podcast, Omisade speaks with Gennev CEO Jill Angelo about women's obligation and honor to teach younger generations about aging and menopause. As Omisade says, it's important "to see the trajectory of someone's lived experience" and understand "there's no shelf-life on evolving." Older women have important information to give, about the experience of menopause, and so much more. It's up to us to find opportunities to pass that information along. 

About Omisade Burney-Scott: 

Omisade Burney-Scott is a 7th generation Black Southern feminist, creative and social justice advocate.

Over the past 25 years, her “work” has been grounded in social justice movement spaces focused on the liberation of marginalized people, beginning with her own community. This commitment to liberation has manifested through advocacy work, philanthropy, community organizing and culture work.

She is the creator/curator of The Black Girls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause, a multimedia project that curates the stories of Black women as well as Black femmes and gender non-binary people who are perimenopausal, menopausal or post-menopausal.

This project is a direct result of Omisade finding herself and her peers living at the intersection of social justice movement work, creative healer identities and aging. She has chosen to use the medium of storytelling to disrupt the erasure of Black women's voices as they age through sharing their first person narratives and lived experiences.

Omisade is a member of the 1999-2001 class of the William C. Friday Fellows for Human Relations, a 2003 Southeastern Council on Foundation’s Hull Fellow and founding member NGAAP, the Next Generation of African American Philanthropy. She has served on various nonprofit boards including stone circles, Fund for Southern Communities, Spirithouse NC, Village of Wisdom, Working Films and The Beautiful Project.

She is a 1989 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and the proud mom of two sons, Che and Taj. She resides in Durham, North Carolina. 

Learn more about Omisade Burney-Scott on her website. If you're looking for more information on menopause and taking care of yourself in midlife and beyond, be sure to visit Gennev.