From June 19th to June 30th, 100% of my digital revenue will be donated to the National Birth Equity Collaborative, whose mission is to create "solutions that optimize Black maternal and infant health through training, policy advocacy, research, and community-centered collaboration." I'll also be trying to match those donations dollar by dollar (up to a collective total of $500).

I just wanted to share a little about why I've chosen to support NBEC at this time. Black women in the United States suffer disproportionately from poor maternal and infant health outcomes; they are dying 3-4 times more from childbirth- and pregnancy-related complications than white women, regardless of their socioeconomic class or education. That's A LOT and begs the question WHY? In her article, "Race Isn’t a Risk Factor in Maternal Health. Racism Is.", Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, the founder of NBEC writes, "Whether the U.S. proponents of Blackness itself as risk use “Black,” “African American,” or “African descent,” their language boils down to one idea: There is something innately wrong with Black people, and that something brings heightened chances of disease and death." When I read that, I realized that in nursing school and in my continuing education courses, I saw it over and over again - the words "African American" under "Non-Modifiable Risk Factors" for various antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum complications - and started to understand how this language has made it easier for us as healthcare providers, if we are not committed to thinking critically, to overlook and even dismiss the external and modifiable factors such as racism, sexism, and system failures behind such outcomes. My hope is that as people continue to stand up for black lives, we will also be able to improve the health outcomes of black women and infants, especially now that problems in healthcare have been augmented by COVID-19, and that our next generation will see a narrower gap in maternal mortality.

NBEC: birthequity.org

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'Like a Wave' was written back in 2015 as a musical and lyrical expression of my own struggle with panic attacks during a certain period of my life. It is, in part, just that - a personal expression of experience and a song I thought would be shelved for a while. But when the opportunity arose to submit a song to independent film, 'The Extraordinary Ordinary' directed by Natalie Rodriguez, after reading the synopsis and watching the director's cut of that film, I knew that this song would be perfect. 'Like a Wave' will be featured 'The Extraordinary Ordinary', which releases May 1, 2020 and seeks to challenge the stigmas associated with mental health, trauma, and recovery. My hope is that 'Like a Wave' would also help bring greater understanding to and encourage those who struggle similarly.