"​Don't ever, ever, tell me the ancestors ain't real. Don't allow anyone to lead you to believe that our ancestors died without giving a fight. Their spirits are alive and well, and fighting through me."

These are the words Brittany "Tru" Kellman. After our conversation, she told me about a challenge that was being fought at the time. The details of the situation are shown below in the VICTORY post that was posted by Jamaa Birth Village the very next day. YES!!!

Tru is a warrior in the truest sense of the word. And throughout her life she has shown the tenacity and strength required to see victory over oppressive forces. Like so many other Black women reclaiming birthwork and healing practices, the ancestors continue the fight for our liberation through women like her.

Topics discussed:

• "Black Woman's Guide to Homebirth..."
• Moving toward homebirth
• "Saving myself..."
• Becoming the provider the community needs
  
• Having a VBAC2
• Controversy about being the "1st Black CPM in Missouri"
• Allyship vs White Savior Complex
• "The Birthing of a Midwife..." groups
• Keeping Black women from getting lost and stuck in birth culture
• How Black women's DNA can be healed through birthwork
• Being a "protector"
• Understanding "I GOT YOU" in birthwork
• Walking in the footsteps of our Grand Midwives
• Being unconstrained in birth culture
• Assisting in birthwork in Ghana
• Nurturing and safeguarding "The Call"

​Tru extends these words of gratitude:

"Thank you to my ancestors who didn't allow our traditions and ceremonies to perish but instead allowed this power to be carried through our DNA and reawakened with force! Thank you to my sons Kylan, Kashawn & Kaleo for giving birth to a new me and allowing me to realize my calling. Thank you to my wife for caring for me and our family so well while I became a Midwife. Without her, this path would've been near impossible. Thank you to Mama Ummsaalamah for beginning this work and inspiring me to trust my calling. Thanks to my community back home for believing in me and my amazing Jamaa board and staff who held things down along the way. A huge thanks to my amazing preceptors Allison & Corina for pushing me through the finish line. "

Connect to Brittany "Tru" Kellman and the work she is doing:
​
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/btkconsultingfirm/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BTKConsultingFirm/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TruKellman
Website: https://www.btkconsultingfirm.com/
Email: tru@BTKConsultingfirm.com
Phone: 314-619-3704

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamaabirthvillage/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamaabirthvillage/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamaabirth
Website: https://www.jamaabirthvillage.org/
Email: tru@jamaabirthvillage.org
Phone: 314-643-7703

Website: https://www.thecosmicgrove.com/

PURCHASE: 
A Black Woman's Guide to Home Birth by Brittany "Tru" Kellman: For Women and Families of Color & The Birth Workers That Serve Them.

Candace Smith is the wife of a marine, the mother of four children, and a birthworker who just experienced the homebirth she desired with a Black midwife. I was impressed by her experience because she managed the arrangements for her homebirth even while dealing with her husband receiving orders to move to a new state where she felt less comfortable with her options for homebirth.

Candace is truly special to me and, from our first encounter, personally left an impression on me and the work that I do. (We talk about that a bit in our conversation.) Right now, she is focusing on being a mother to her beautiful children and not actively involved in birthwork. Still, I appreciate her willingness to share portions of her homebirth story and process as a new mom to her new baby. I believe that she offers a lot of food for thought about the ways that Black women can connect with each other to improve our birth experiences.

Topics discussed:

• Natural family support systems
• Becoming what you wish you had
• Family caring for new moms
• The need to create a support system
• Planning a homebirth and moving as a military mom
• Laboring at home vs the hospital
• Asking questions and makng sure you understand
• Looking after the postpartum mom
• Midwifery care at home
• Arranging to take homebirth baby to the pediatrician for the first time
• Finding the best doctor for baby
• Focusing on the care of the new mother
• ​Staying in the house
• Doing "nothing" as a new mother
• Having a "baby moon"
• "A new mother after every birth"
• Knowing your role with a new mother
• Finding your people and culture during postpartum
• Setting up your "dream team" for homebirth
• Being mindful of what you need
• Guarding your mental health as a new mom
• Letting people know what you need
• Gleaning from the elders and our birthing traditions

Connect with Candace:

Facebook: Candace Smith Doula
Instagram: @Can_Doula
​FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/chameleondoulaco/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chameleondoulaco/

By education, Isis Rose is an anthropologist. By passion, she is a birthworker and an advocate whose focus is to highlight the homebirths of Black families. Along with speaking on behalf of homebirth families in state legislative settings and joining in the fight to legalize to non-medical midwives in the state of Illinois, she partners with Chae Pounds to share the homebirth stories of Black families through the Homecoming Podcast. ​

My conversation with Isis was insightful and caused me to think about certain aspects of birth culture in different ways than I had before. I appreciate the way she thinks about the way Black women's birth experiences intersect with majority culture. Additionally, I am excited about the prospect of her becoming another Black midwife in Illinois.

Isis offers gratitude to these individuals: Chae Pounds; Nicole Deggins; Dana-Ain Davis; Christa Craven; Kathryn Clancy; Krystal Smalls; Artemisa (Indigenous Remedies); Divine Nichols; Chae Pounds

Topics discussed:

• From anthropology to birthwork
• How Black liberation impacted Black reproductive health
• The Contemporary Black Justice Movement
• The complexities of birthwork for Black women
• Majority culture as the highlighted experience
• The importance of knowing your histories (personal, family, social, etc.)
• Understanding Black women's emergence into majority birth culture
• Black people's relationships with doctors
• Managing authority figures in birthing spaces
• How "radical" movements affect majority culture
• Getting back to the basics of births
• Inequitable and inaccessible healthcare
• The healing work of birth
• Ushering in healing to our children
• Being fearful of birthing in the hospital
• How fear compromises the birthing body
• Having a labor support person 
• Midwifery... medical or non-medical

Are you curious about homebirth as a Black woman? Are you wondering where the other Black families are who have made the decision to birth at home? Would you like to hear some of their stories? Make sure to check out Homecoming Podcast. You can find the link below.

Find out more about the work Isis Rose is doing and listen to the Homecoming Podcast:

Website: https://homecomingpodcast.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/still_i_rose/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homecomingpodcast/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homecomingpodcast/

​