From June 19th to June 30th, 100% of 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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"Reverie" is Coral's debut single, released April 6, 2018.

Written for the independent film, Ice The Movie, "Reverie" is an inspirational song about the nostalgic return to childhood freedom. Based on Coral's own experience growing up as a competitive figure skater, this song touches on the themes of perseverance and rediscovery. "When I was young, it seemed so easy to fall and get back up again. Somehow, it's become way harder as I've gotten older, in both a physical and metaphorical sense. This song aims to capture the beauty and freedom of childhood innocence and encourages us to rediscover what it means to 'grow' no matter how old we are." #WeGetUp