The Greene County Democrat

Tag: Summer Lee

  • Newswire: How can we solve the Black maternal health crisis if we can’t say ‘Black’?

    Newswire: How can we solve the Black maternal health crisis if we can’t say ‘Black’?

    U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) speaks during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the U.S. Capitol Building on March 04, 2026, in Washington, DC. Photo by: Anna Moneymaker

    by Kay Wicker

    That question went from rhetorical to real on Friday, April 17, when Rep. Summer Lee asked it outright during a committee hearing with the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    “Your agency told programs to remove a list of nearly 200 words and phrases from their funding applications, including the word ‘Black.’ Do you have an idea of how we could solve the Black maternal mortality crisis if we can’t say ‘Black’?” she asked as she grilled him intensely on the matter.

    During the exchange, which came at the close of another annual Black Maternal Health Week, the Democratic congresswoman laid out the stakes. She explained that Black women are at least three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women and that most of those deaths are preventable, while also sounding the alarm about proposed cuts to key maternal health programs and how the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts is impacting Black maternal health.

    Kennedy attempted to push back, but when pressed on disparities, he largely pivoted to general maternal health, citing overall improvements and claiming the administration had done more than its predecessors. He downplayed his past claims about Tylenol during pregnancy, saying he “doubted” avoiding it would significantly affect Black maternal deaths.

    In addition to facing mortality rates three to four times higher than any other demographic, Black women in the United States also face disproportionately high rates of complications like preeclampsia and emergency C-sections. Those disparities are all the result of longstanding gaps in access to care, medical bias, and systemic inequities—and in recent years, the landscape has only grown more precarious.

    The fallout from Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, which saw an end to Roe v. Wade and protections for abortions in this country, has complicated pregnancy care nationwide, while the rollback of DEI initiatives has put funding for targeted programs at risk. Doulas, often cited as critical support for improving outcomes, are also navigating increasingly restrictive policies.

    Since the Pennsylvania representative’s remarks began circulating online, many responses, including those from non-Black content creators, have highlighted that addressing the needs of those most at risk improves outcomes across the board. The idea that targeted solutions exclude others misunderstands how public health works.

    If a table is wobbly, you can adjust everything around it, but it won’t be steady until you fix the leg that’s most off balance.

    During the hearing, Lee ultimately said, “We can improve healthcare for everybody at the same time as helping the people who are most likely to die.”

  • Newswire : Clyburn, Pressley, Scanlon, colleagues urge Biden to use clemency power to address Mass Incarceration before leaving office

     

    Congresspersons Clyburn, Pressley and Scanlon address a press conference in Washington D. C.

    By NNPA Newswire

    WASHINGTON, DC – On November 21, 2024, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration. The lawmakers hosted a press conference earlier today to discuss the letter.

    “Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform.”

    Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country. The extreme use of incarceration has resulted in one in two adults having had an incarcerated family member. People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities. The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminish trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.

    In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the President’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning people convicted of simple marijuana possession and LGBTQ+ former servicemembers and urged the President to use his clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers. The lawmakers also outlined the fiscal toll of the growing mass incarceration crisis.

    “You have the support of millions of people across the country who have felt the harms of mass incarceration: young children longing to hug their grandparents, people who have taken responsibility for their mistakes, and those who simply were never given a fair chance,” the lawmakers wrote. “These are the people seeking help that only you can provide through the use of your presidential clemency power.”

    Joining Representatives Clyburn, Pressley, and Scanlon in sending the letter are Representatives Joyce Beatty, Sanford Bishop, Shontel Brown, Cori Bush, André Carson, Troy Carter, Yvette Clarke, Jasmine Crockett, Valerie Foushee, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Henry Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan, Gregory Meeks, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Marilyn Strickland, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

    The lawmakers’ letter is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Popular Democracy; Last Prisoner Project; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Death Penalty Action; The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls; The Faith Leaders of Color Coalition; Second Chance Justice of MCAN; JustLeadershipUSA; FAMM; The Episcopal Church; The Bambi Fund; Free Billie Allen Campaign; People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom; Prophetic Resistance Boston; and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.