While progress to address poor birth outcomes among Black Oklahomans has been slow, women are taking action themselves.
Dressed in neat scrubs, Akima Adams, 23, stood small and slight before the judge.
A report published by the Los Angeles County Public Health Department shows economic hardship and an inability to support one’s family because monthly earnings do not cover monthly expenses may contribute to the disproportionate rates of domestic violence toward African-American women.
Eight years after journalist Lori Robinson was raped by two men, she published a guidebook for African American survivors of sexual assault and abuse. Since the attack, she has moved on to enjoy a happy, fulfilling life. But on that night 20 years ago, she didn’t know how, or if, she would recover.
About 80 percent of rapes happen between people of the same race. For black women survivors whose assailants are also black, cultural codes can make it difficult to speak out.
Simone Oliver had always been called, as they say in the religious community. She was active in the Baptist church throughout her youth, playing piano for the youth choir and even ghostwriting sermons for several pastors as a teen.
For African Americans, cultural considerations can significantly shape the way survivors and their communities handle rape.
