Black motherhood ain’t for the weak. Between the infuriating Black maternal health crisis, the horrible job market and the depressing economy (Have you purchased a tank of gas lately?), the […] The post Rihanna’s Liberating Approach to Motherhood: What She’s Taught Us appeared first on Essence .
By Bridgette Bartlett Royall ·Updated May 8, 2026 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Black motherhood ain’t for the weak.
Between the infuriating
The post Rihanna’s Liberating Approach to Motherhood: What She’s Taught Us appeared first on Essence.
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In Montgomery, Alabama, A Fine & Dandy Affair wasn’t just an event. It was a reminder that community impact happens when wellness, entrepreneurship, culture, and opportunity are treated as connected conversations rather than separate ones.
The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room—a traveling exhibit—opened in a Tribeca gallery from May 8 to 24. Located a few blocks from where Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell, the library saw over 10,000 visitors during its 16-day run.
A feminist pro-democracy agenda must include new lawmaking institutions that can ensure our democracy is more inclusive, more democratic, more representative, and more responsive to the needs of all the people who call America home.
The United States remains one of the only wealthy nations without a national paid leave program—and that failure has profound consequences for women’s economic security, caregiving responsibilities and ability to participate fully in public life.
For generations, Americans have expanded the meaning of "We, the People"—not because our institutions did it on their own, but because ordinary people demanded it. From U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan's powerful reminder that the Constitution did not originally include everyone, to the hard-fought victorie…
For 250 years, America has asked mothers to carry the weight of families, communities and the economy while offering little in return. We celebrate motherhood rhetorically, but our policies tell a different story: unaffordable childcare, inadequate paid leave and a culture that blames women for stru…
For 250 years, women and marginalized communities have fought to expand democracy, yet the institutions of government still were not designed with their full participation in mind. That is why I propose a Department of Democracy: an independent, permanent institution dedicated to protecting voting r…
As we noted in Monday’s newsletter , we are expecting 20 more opinions in argued cases by early July. The court has indicated that one or more will come today, and we will be live blogging beginning at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
When Becky Hayter and Leah Makarevich decided to start their family, they knew they wanted to do reciprocal in vitro fertilization (IVF). The process, which consists of one partner’s eggs being retrieved, fertilized with sperm, and implanted into the other partner’s uterus, allows both partners to h…
Under a single spotlight, a tall figure in a hooded robe strutted onto the stage, their back to the audience. After a suspenseful beat, three words in large bolded lettering lit up the screen behind them: “NATURE IS GAY.
Krystal Clark is counting down to a release date she isn’t sure she’ll live to see. After 15 years inside Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, Michigan’s only women’s prison, Clark is 11 months away from possible parole. But time no longer feels like something moving her closer to release.
“In The Chair” spotlights the incredible hairstylists, nail and makeup artists in our community who are giving us major inspiration. Each week, they discuss their personal beauty and career journeys, what they’ve learned from their clients, and their top glam tips.
Reproductive health care experts described the move as “a Trojan horse” — creating a precedent that could threaten access to fertility treatments like IVF and ban abortion nationwide.
Yesterday, Patrick Ta sat down on the podcast Aspire with Emma Grede for an episode titled “The Accountability Conversation.” In the hour-long episode, the beauty brand founder opened up for the first time about his recent controversy with makeup artist Ngozi Esther Edeme (also known as Painted by E…
In the lead-up to our country’s 250th anniversary, Errin Haines is writing a series of columns to contemplate the complicated expansion of our democracy. Subscribe to The Amendment newsletter . It is not lost on me as a Black woman, as we approach the United States’ 250th birthday, that I am writing…
Four years after Dobbs , a striking reality has emerged: Abortion bans have not eliminated the need for abortion. Instead, new #WeCount data show that abortions have increased nationwide, driven in large part by the rapid expansion of telehealth and abortion pills by mail.
The Trump administration took aggressive new steps on Tuesday to shut down the Department of Education . Through agreements with other federal agencies, the administration announced that it would give the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) oversight of …
When the justices take the bench on Thursday morning to issue opinions, the Supreme Court will have 20 cases left to decide, with just under two weeks to go before the end of June – the point by which the justices normally release all of their decisions and leave for their summer recess.
The Emmy-nominated team behind a new documentary has a few notes about how Hollywood portrays abortion on screen. Hollywood Does Abortion , which made its world premiere on June 7 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, traces how movies and TV series have depicted abortion care over the past 50 y…
Every year, parents — usually mothers — toil months in advance of the summer break to sign kids up for camps, book nannies, fly grandparents out to help or sort out a medley of arrangements and schedules. Planning can start as far as a year in advance.
Rob Farmer for ProPublica Frank Ssekamwa says the United States presented his country with an impossible choice. If it accepted the terms of a new health agreement, Uganda would have to give the U.S. access to the data of millions of his fellow citizens — a decision he worries would make their perso…
Click to expand Image Border Guard Bangladesh personnel stand guard in the Sadipur border area in Benapole, Jessore district, Bangladesh, June 3, 2026. © 2026 Kazi Salahuddin Razu/NurPhoto via AP Photo (London) – Indian authorities are forcibly expelling ethnic Bengali residents, mostly Muslims from…
The reunion fans have wanted for years is finally here. A decade after their last title run together at the All England Club, Serena and Venus Williams are heading back to Wimbledon. The sisters, who have a combined 21 titles between them at the annual tournament, are coming back as a doubles pair t…
It’s Pride Month and Kandi Burruss is coming out as bisexual. Again. The multihyphenate recently launched a new episode of the Speak On It podcast featuring guests Da Brat and wife Jesseca “Judy” Dupart to discuss their relationship and new book.
The U.S. ranks as the 19th most dangerous country for women, 11th in maternal mortality, 30th in closing the gender pay gap, 75th in women’s political representation, and painfully lacks paid family leave and equal access to healthcare. But Ms.
“My skin has always been sensitive,” actress Novi Brown tells ESSENCE. But, it wasn’t until Brown’s esthetician noticed discoloration on her neck that everything changed. “Have you been spraying perfume?” she inquired. “Yes,” Brown responded.
Blog Post Why Pride Matters Now Pride Month honors LGBTQIA2S+ history, resistance, care, and the ongoing fight for liberation and safety. By Mani Vinson, Communications Manager | June 16, 2026 Share https://prh.
As we wait for the details of the Trump administration’s proposed deal with Iran, one thing is already clear: The people benefiting most from U.S. foreign policy are often the people making it. From Jared Kushner’s role in Middle East negotiations, to the Trump family’s rapidly expanding business em…
As the U.S. prepares to mark its 250th birthday on July 4, 2026, questions loom over the celebration: Whose America gets remembered, whose gets erased—and how do we imagine and build a democracy that includes all of us? In the Summer issue of Ms.
The remarks support the belief — backed by zero scientific evidence — that abortion drug remnants and fetal remains are polluting drinking water.
In this analysis, published in the journal Contraception, KFF’s Linda Li, Brittni Frederiksen, and Alina Salganicoff look at intrauterine device (IUD) and contraceptive implant insertion-related costs among privately insured individuals to better understand why patients are experiencing unexpected e…
Authored by KFF’s Alina Salganicoff, Ivette Gomez, and Usha Ranji, this article for The Milbank Quarterly examines how state policies create varying levels of access to reproductive healthcare services.
Megan Willkens sramashwar June 16, 2026 Senior Research Assistant, AIU
As we await the usual late-June flurry of decisions – some of them quite significant – I wanted to reflect on what I believe to be the most extraordinary June in the modern Supreme Court, which took place four years ago in 2022. In decisions between June 21 and June 30, the court overruled Roe v.
Click to expand Image A woman and her daughter in Revere, Massachusetts, US, December 11, 2020. © 2020 Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images On June 4, the United States House of Representatives passed the 2027 agriculture appropriations bill.
A new legal door opened earlier this month in the fight for survivor justice. But it's not in the United States, where survivors and advocates continue to press for transparency and investigations into Jeffrey Epstein's larger network and the modeling industry's potential role in it. It's in France.
A new legal door opened earlier this month in the fight for survivor justice. But it's not in the United States, where survivors and advocates continue to press for transparency and investigations into Jeffrey Epstein's larger network and the modeling industry's potential role in it. It's in France.
State abortion restrictions and bans have done substantial damage to the U.S. economy since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. A new report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research , a national think tank focused on economic equity and eliminating barriers for women, es…
Erika Nyhus thought she was done having children. The mother of two had required medical intervention to become pregnant in the past, and she’d been told that the breast cancer treatment she’d completed would further diminish her fertility.
Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell nearly died after childbirth when her symptoms were repeatedly brushed aside, despite her high-risk medical history. She says her experience reflects the broader maternal health crisis facing Black women in America.
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