No Wedding, No Womb!
Email info@beyondblackwhite.com or hit me up on Facebook if you would like to participate.
CONTACT: Christelyn D. Karazin – 951-203-1313
LOS ANGELES, CA _ (August 2010) – BeyondBlackWhite.com, a black women’s empowerment and relationship website, (www.beyondblackwhite.com) is bringing together top women bloggers and journalists (and a few good men) for the first online movement aimed at bringing attention to the rampant out-of-wedlock births – a key factor that has kept scores of black women and their children in emotional and economic enslavement.
On September 22 – the 148th anniversary of The Emancipation Proclamation – African American writers throughout the United States will flood the blogosphere for a day of online debate information and commentary under the auspices of No Wedding, No Womb! A trademarked slogan, No Wedding, No Womb! is an initiative that seeks to address the problems of – and provide solutions to — the unplanned pregnancies among African American single women. Nearly half of all families in the African American community are headed by black women. In addition, more than 70 percent of live births in the black community are to unmarried women.
New York Times columnist Bob Herbert addressed the issue in an August 20, 2010 article:
That the black community has not been mobilized en masse to turn this crisis around is a screaming shame. Black men, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, have nearly a one-third chance of being incarcerated at some point in their lives. By the time they hit their mid-30s, a solid majority of black men without a high school diploma have spent time in prison. Homicide is the leading cause of death for young black men, with the murderous wounds in most cases inflicted by other young black men. This is a cancer that has been allowed to metastasize for decades.
And it’s time to put an end to it once and for all…
Christelyn D. Karazin will spearhead the online blitz. Karazin, founder of beyondblackwhite.com and co-author of the forthcoming book, Swirling: How to Date, Mate and Relate Mixing Race, Culture and Creed – will post individual commentaries and reports addressing the issue. She will be joined by over 100 top African American bloggers and noted journalists (see list of participants on the next page) who will provide their own new and information posts galvanizing a movement toward strengthening black communities and families.
For media inquires contact:
Christelyn D. Karazin at karazin@sbcglobal.net or 951-203-1313
Feel free to copy and paste this badge. Code is in the navigation bar.
STOP THE BABY MAMA/DADDY MADNESS! NO WEDDING, NO WOMB!
About No Wedding No Womb!
No Wedding No Womb! (NWNW) is a declaration and acknowledgement that the out-of-wedlock situation in the black community has reached a critical mass. It is a call for both men and women to take into account the trauma that motherless or fatherless children experience when procreating is taken so cavalierly. The scars are long-term, and often for life.
The ideal for kids is to have a functional household where both parents are committed to providing financial and emotional support to their kids.
But NWNW doesn’t NECESSARILY equate to marriage, per se, but commitment–a lifelong partnership between mother and father. Both are “married” to the idea that a two-parent household is better than a single, struggling one. Of course there are exceptions, but they do not make the rule.
No Wedding No Womb! also fights against the normalization of baby momma and daddy-ism. Clearly as a whole, this mentality is NOT working for us as a community.
On September 22, 50-100 bloggers, writers, teachers, social workers, authors and journalists (and counting) will decry in tandem–no unison–that enough is enough. Our future depends on adults planning families responsibly.
No Wedding, No Womb! Contributors (list updates daily)
- Gina McCauley, blogger and activist, WhatAboutOurDaughters.com
- Mortan Janks, film maker, WhatBlackMenThink.com
- Karyn Folan, author, Don’t Bring Home a White Boy and blogger DiaryofaBlackAndWhiteFamily.blogspot.com
- Danielle Belton, blogger, TheBlackSnob.com
- Paul Carrick Brunson, Matchmaker, Relationship Coach and Founder, OneDegreeFrom.Me
- Cherryl Aldave, writer, poet, blogger, HeavyMentalist.com
- Cynthia Griffin, Editor, OurWeekly.com
- Aja Jackson, freelance writer, AjaDorseyJackson.com
- Jeneba Jalloh Ghatt, attorney, Blog Talk Radio Host, Right of Black, blogger, JenebaSpeaks.com
- Tim Alexandar, writer/producer/director Diary of a Mad Black Man and blogger of tiredblackman.com
- Sophia Angeli Nelson, blogger, and political/social commentary opinion writer, IAskInc.org
- Shanon D. Murray, radio host and blogger, RightofBlack.com, columnist for TheLoop21.com
- Roslyn Hardy Holcomb, co-author, Stolen and blogger, RoslynHardyHolcomb.com
- Lisa G. Riley, co-author, Stolen and blogger, LisaGRiley.com
- Lamar Tyler, blogger, BlackAndMarriedWithKids.com
- John T. Wills, author, Just A Season and blogger, JohnTWillsChronicles.com
- Cherilyn Smith, blogger, BlackWomenDeserveBetter.com
- Betty Chambers, blogger, BettyChambers.com
- Deborrah Cooper, dating advice columnist, author, BlogTalkRadio host and blogger SurvivingDating.Com
- Regina Townsend, TheBrokenBrownEgg.org
- Citizen Ojo, TheDesultoryLifeandTimes.blogspot.com
- Cicely Johnson, founder, CJR Publishing and host of Blog Out Loud
- Jenee Darden, journalist, CocoaFly.com.
- Kellina Craig-Henderson, psychologist and author, Black Women in Interracial Relationships: In Search of Love and Solace and blogger, KellinaCraigHenderson.com
- Jo Bai, blogger, LifeBehindTheWall.com
- Kimberly Woods, blogger, SoulFullOfThoughts.com
- Renee Tecco, blogger, Sardonic Sistah Says at RenTec.wordpress.com
- Onica Cupido, blogger, EuphoriaLuv.wordpress.com
- Onica Cupido, blogger, MommyFactor.blogspot.com
- Lyn Twyman, founder of Courage Network, CourageNetwork.com
- Zabeth, blogger, InterracialDatingCoach.blogspot.com
- Javonne Stewart, blogger, SocialiteDreams.wordpress.com
- Faith Dow, blogger, ActsOfFaithBlog.com
- LeslieBeth Wish, Ed. D. MSS, social worker and blogger, LoveVictory.com
- Arielle Loren, advocate and blogger, ArielleLoren.com
- Torrey Spears, Truth from a Non-Hyphenated American, TorreySpears.blogspot.com
- Eric Payne, Makes Me Wanna Holler, Man, Dad Husband MakesMeWannaHoller.com
- Frederick J. Goodall, blogger, MochaDad.com
- Veronica Miller, blogger, VeroniiBlog.blogspot.com
- Afua Boahene, blogger, Conversations With My Sisters at SMelodyDiva.wordpress.com
- Keshia Robertson, blogger, ACrushADay.blogspot.com
- Jenni Lewis, special to NoWeddingNoWomb.com
- Velouroyale Luvv, blogger, InterracialIntersection.com
- Lorriane Nowlin, blogger, LorMarie.com
- Tiya Cunningham-Sumter, certified life and relationship coach and blogger, LifeEditing.com
- Nisa I. Muhammad, WeddedBlissInc.com
- Vanessa Jean-Louis, blogger, AfroConservative.com
- Martin Lindsey, blogger, MartyBlogs.com
- Tara Pringle-Jefferson, blogger, TheYoungmommylife.com
- Danny Rodriguez, blogger, Selfra.blogspot.com
- Walter Myers III, blogger, ScientiaMedia.com
- N. Maurice Williams, Blog.Ayce.tv
- Thembi Ford, blogger, WhatWouldThembiDo.com
- Kweli Wright, blogger TheJuiceBoxx.com
- Jennifer Kay, Uncommon Sense, ForRealSon.wordpress.com
- Pioneer Valley Woman, Episcopalienne.blogspot.com
- Jamie Flemming, ForColoredGurls.com
- Tracie Frank, Treyka.wordpress.com
- Kimberly Jessy, magazine publisher, nasahm.com/pinkcarpet/
- Brittany Bacon, blogger, MrsBreeAkaSailorWifey.blogspot.com
- Angela Nichelle Bradley, blogger, AngelaNichelle.blogspot.com
- Brooke Brimm, blogger, LovesGumbo.com, JewelryRockstar.com
- Natashia Burch, blogger, LoveandNappiness.wordpress.com
- Angela Nealy, blogger, AutographExpressions.blogspot.com
- Willie Whitehead, guest blogger for NoWeddingNoWomb.com
- Jennifer Vaughn, delesmuses.blogspot.com
- Black American Brides, BlackAmericanBrides.com
- Tracy L. Scott, YouKnowBetterGirl.blogspot.com
- Adwoa K. Boahene, kdossier.wordpress.com
- Robin Martin, Blog Talk Radio host and blogger, ConservativeBlkWoman.blogspot.com
- Deserie Johnson, poetess, DeepRootzInspirtainment.com
- Vonmiwi Culvera, blogger, AfrolistasAndTheCity.blogspot.com
- Christelyn D. Karazin, NWNW founder, co-author of Swirling: How to Date Mate & Relate, Mixing Race, Culture & Creed, host for Beyond Black & White
- Deborah White, blogger, MyBrownEyedView.com
- Tatum Forbes, blogger, HalfPastDope.com
- Arlene Fenton, political activist
- Joyll Cambridge, blogger, TheHumanistExec.blogspot.com
- Doctor Joyce Morley, Psychotherapist; Relationship Expert; Executive/Relationship/Life Coach, DoctorJoyce.com
- Amani Channel, blogger, MyUrbanReport.com
- LegalMatch.com, LegalMatchLife.typepad.com (to provide information on child support and father’s rights)
Too Long Ignored
By BOB HERBERT
A tragic crisis of enormous magnitude is facing black boys and men in America.
Parental neglect, racial discrimination and an orgy of self-destructive behavior have left an extraordinary portion of the black male population in an ever-deepening pit of social and economic degradation.
The Schott Foundation for Public Education tells us in a new report that the on-time high school graduation rate for black males in 2008 was an abysmal 47 percent, and even worse in several major urban areas — for example, 28 percent in New York City.
The astronomical jobless rates for black men in inner-city neighborhoods are both mind-boggling and heartbreaking. There are many areas where virtually no one has a legitimate job.
More than 70 percent of black children are born to unwed mothers. And I’ve been hearing more and more lately from community leaders in poor areas that moms are absent for one reason or another and the children are being raised by a grandparent or some other relative — or they end up in foster care.
That the black community has not been mobilized en masse to turn this crisis around is a screaming shame. Black men, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, have nearly a one-third chance of being incarcerated at some point in their lives. By the time they hit their mid-30s, a solid majority of black men without a high school diploma have spent time in prison.
Homicide is the leading cause of death for young black men, with the murderous wounds in most cases inflicted by other young black men.
This is a cancer that has been allowed to metastasize for decades. Not only is it not being treated, most people don’t even want to talk about it. In virtually every facet of life in the United States, black people — and especially black boys and men — are coming up short. White families are typically five times as wealthy as black families. More than a third of all black children are growing up in poverty. In Ohio, according to the National Center for Children in Poverty, the percentage is more than half.
There are myriad reasons for this awful state of affairs. As with so many other problems in American society, a lack of gainful employment has been a huge contributor to the problems faced by blacks. Chronic unemployment is hardly a plus-factor for marriage and family stability. And the absence of strong family units with mature parental guidance is at the very root of the chaotic environment that so many black youngsters grow up in.
The abominable incarceration rates among blacks are the result of two overwhelming factors: the persistence of criminal behavior by a significant percentage of the black population, and a criminal justice system that in many respects is racially discriminatory and out of control. Both of these factors need to be engaged head-on, and both will require a staggeringly heavy lift.
Education in the broadest sense is the key to stopping this socioeconomic slide that is taking such a horrific toll in the black community. People have to understand what is happening to them before they can really do much about it. Young blacks who have taken a wrong road, or are at risk of taking a wrong road, have to be shown a feasible legitimate alternative.
The aspect of this crisis that is probably the most important and simultaneously the most difficult to recognize is that the heroic efforts needed to alleviate it will not come from the government or the wider American society. This is a job that will require a campaign on the scale of the civil rights movement, and it will have to be initiated by the black community.
Whether this is fair or not is irrelevant. There is very little sentiment in the wider population for tackling the extensive problems faced by poor and poorly educated black Americans. What is needed is a dramatic mobilization of the black community to demand justice on a wide front — think employment, education and the criminal justice system — while establishing a new set of norms, higher standards, for struggling blacks to live by.
For many, this is a fight for survival. And it is an awesomely difficult fight. But the alternative is to continue the terrible devastation that has befallen so many families and communities: the premature and often violent deaths, the inadequate preparation for an increasingly competitive workplace, the widespread failure to exercise one’s intellectual capacity, the insecurity that becomes ingrained from being so long at the bottom of the heap.
Terrible injustices have been visited on black people in the United States, but there is never a good reason to collaborate in one’s own destruction. Blacks in America have a long and proud history of overcoming hardship and injustice. It’s time to do it again.
MEDIA PLACEMENTS
No wedding, no womb
Sep 02, 2010
Juliana D. Norwood | OW Staff Writer
Don’t be a baby-daddy, be a husband
BeyondBlackWhite.com, a Black women’s empowerment and relationship website, is bringing together top bloggers and journalists for the first online movement aimed at bringing attention to the ever-increasing instances of out-of-wedlock births – which they believe is a key factor in the emotional and economic enslavement that Black women and their children continue to experience.
On September 22 – the 148th anniversary of The Emancipation Proclamation – African American writers throughout the United States are being encouraged to flood the blogosphere for an entire day of online debate, information, and commentary under the auspices of “No Wedding, No Womb” (NWNW) an initiative that seeks to address the problems of-and provide solutions to-the unplanned pregnancies among African American single women. Nearly half of all families in the African American community are headed by Black women. In addition, more than 70 percent of live births in the Black community are to unmarried women.
Founders of BeyondBlackWhite.com Christelyn D. Karazin and Janice Littlejohn will spearhead the online effort joined by more than 100 top African American bloggers and noted journalists who will provide their own new and informational posts stimulating a movement toward strengthening Black communities and families. OurWeekly staff has also added their name to the list and will be blogging on the topic “No Wedding No Womb” at www.ourweekly.com.
“That the Black community has not been mobilized en masse to turn this crisis around is a screaming shame. Black men, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, have nearly a one-third chance of being incarcerated at some point in their lives. By the time they hit their mid-30s, a solid majority of Black men without a high school diploma have spent time in prison. Homicide is the leading cause of death for young Black men, with the murderous wounds in most cases inflicted by other young Black men. This is a cancer that has been allowed to metastasize for decades. It’s time to put an end to it once and for all,” said New York Times columnist Bob Herbert.
The “No Wedding No Womb” initiative hopes to encourage Black men and women to take into account the detrimental effects that growing up in a struggling single-parent-headed household can have on children and to promote functional life-long relationships between parents.
For more information and/or to add you name to the constantly-increasing list of supporting participants visit www.noweddingnowomb.com or info@beyondblackwhite.com.
