Keisha Esprit
CEO and Author
Eleganza Fashion Marketing & Consulting Inc.

Pregnancy is defined by the period lasting from conception to birth. Indeed, it is one of the most special and important experiences in a woman’s life and in many cases a father’s life as well.  Pregnancy most often leads to child birth, something which most women look forward to in their fertile years. I have found that many misconceptions exist about pregnancy and child birth in today’s society which often puts fear into a woman’s mind and serves to make the experience less fulfilling than it should be.

One of the most important possessions that a human being has is their body. The body must be healthy in order to maintain and function at its highest level. It is believed that the health of an expecting mother can have a major impact on the birthing process as well. This is why doctors spend time teaching expecting mothers about healthy habits that should be maintained during pregnancy. The decisions that a mother makes about what they do with their body and what they put into it can ultimately be passed onto their child.

Within recent time there has also been much debate around the method of childbirth with particular focus on natural birthing vs. caesarean sections (also called C-sections). Undoubtedly, medical science has made C-sections much more efficient and safe. However, I do myself question whether the uptick in the number of C-sections carried out within recent years is driven by the need to ensure the safety of a baby (which many doctors claim) or the fact that C-sections are more lucrative for medical institutions and doctors.

Many may call me old-fashioned in some of my thinking around childbirth, but I have noticed many things that make me think about where childbirth might be heading next…

Namely:

(1)    Why is it that doctors and medical facilities make it a priority to ask women what pain reliever or method they would like to alleviate the pain?

(2)    Are we given enough information about the side-effects of these pain relievers?

(3)    Why are so many young women going under the knife? Why is there such an alarming increase in C-sections and the use of epidurals?

Remember that your body is a temple and it is important that you respect and treat that temple right. Take the time to consider the privilege that God gave to women and the gift of childbirth.  Without us and it there is no future. Let us be ever vigilant as we allow medical science to strip us of the things that we were designed to do.

Bryanta Maxwell
Legal Researcher
Richland County Government

We all know student debt is a problem. The 43 million Americans who have student loan debt know it, their family and friends know it, and the millions more who feel the weight of $1.3 trillion in student loan debt on the economy know it. What most people don’t know is that this debt disproportionately impacts communities of color, and middle-class African-American and Latino families in particular.

These maps show that African-Americans and Latinos suffer from higher rates of student loan delinquency than whites, regardless of income level. Further, it is middle-class communities of color, not low-income, who are impacted the most.

Our system of debt-financed education isn’t working. The diverse millennial generation has struggled to keep pace with the rest of the country’s economic recovery. And just last year, some S.C. lawmakers proposed shutting down S.C. State University, the only state-owned historically black college.

Riddled by persistent underfunding, S.C. State was involved in a federal lawsuit that claimed the state discriminated against the school by withholding funding and allowing nearby universities to run identical academic programs.

How are these students meant to feel when some consider their education undeserving of state funding? How are historically black colleges and universities supposed to operate in asystem set up to fail them? And how are S.C. State students expected to pay off their student loans in full without a college degree?

As a graduate of S.C. State, I find these questions tough to swallow.

The odds of a student of color completing college versus a white student remain stark. Young people of color are less likely to attend selective institutions, where the benefits of a college degree are the greatest. And in the labor market, African-Americans and Latinos not only suffer from higher unemployment rates and lower wages, but are also are less likely to receive a job offer in the first place.

While the federal government sits on the sidelines, state and local leaders have begun to fill the void.

Enrolling borrowers in loan forgiveness and income-driven repayment programs is imperative, and relatively simple.

The City Council in Cincinnati and the County Board in Dane County, Wisc., have created programs to encourage enrollment, and more governments should follow suit.

Ending credit checks on employment and harsh penalties for borrowers in default would undo counterproductive policies preventing Americans from paying off their debts. This would especially benefit borrowers of color.

Finally, making free or debt-free higher education options the new norm is vital for leveling the playing field. States such as Tennessee and Oregon and cities such as Chicago and Milwaukee have all passed free community college programs.

We are at the intersection of deep-rooted racial disparities and a ballooning student debt crisis. The fact that, among African-American and Latino communities, it is the middle-class that is the most impacted by the student debt crisis suggests that structural racism, not simply poverty, is driving these gaps.

Any solution that is serious about tackling student debt — whether from the federal, state or local level — must recognize the disproportionate impact of this debt on communities of color.