Commentary: Now more than ever, let’s celebrate the Essence of Black women | Commentary

The annual Essence Festival of Culture returns to New Orleans next weekend, bringing with it hundreds of thousands of tourists for a three-day celebration of Black culture and achievement, particularly that of Black women.

There is much to celebrate. From business and finance to music and art, Black women have helped shape American — and international — life and culture since the earliest days of our nation.

Here in New Orleans, evidence of their impact on our lives and culture abounds. Black women like Oretha Castle Haley, Leah Chase, Dorothy Mae Taylor and Mia X have defined the city’s culture, fought for civil rights and served as role models for all of us.

Yet, Black women remain one of the worst-treated segments of American society. They rank among America’s most highly educated cohorts but make an appalling 37% less than white non-Hispanic men. Black women are more likely to be targeted by police, less likely to get business loans and regularly subjected to stereotypes that make life unfairly difficult.

As conservatives wage a relentless campaign against justice, equality and human decency, Black women once again are on the front lines of a battle they neither asked for nor deserve to shoulder. The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision last year has and will continue to adversely impact Black pregnant people in particular. Nearly half of the country’s Black women live in states like Louisiana where Dobbs rendered abortion illegal.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are more than four times as likely to need abortion services than white women. They’re also more likely to live in so-called “contraception deserts” where birth control and sex education services are scarce or non-existent. Further, Louisiana has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the country, and it’s especially dangerous for Black mothers: four Black mothers die for every white mother in this state, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Restricting Black women’s access to abortion has already put them under greater economic and emotional stress. Many must travel out of state for reproductive care — or take at-risk pregnancies to term.

Over the last two years, Louisiana lawmakers have enacted measures that restrict abortion rights and subsidize propaganda mills that target poor Black women with misinformation about abortion.

They’ve also proposed laws that ban teaching African American contributions to the country’s history — and our nation’s history of legalized discrimination against Black Americans.

On voting rights — for which Black women helped lead the fight — our lawmakers have repeatedly sought to adopt redistricting plans that effectively deny Black voters the opportunity to elect congressional and state representatives of their choosing. Thankfully (and surprisingly), the U.S. Supreme Court this year ruled against an Alabama redistricting plan, and in time, that decision could require Louisiana to redraw its own electoral maps — but the result remains uncertain for now.

Despite this constant barrage, Black women continue to press forward for themselves and their families, and as a result all Americans are better for it. Their daily acts of defiance in the face of a constant barrage of legal and other challenges continue to inspire. For that, and everything else they do, let us all celebrate the Essence of Black women.