BY ODELL WINFIELD I always loved being a librarian. I’m a collector of information and stories. Until now I have only been a word keeper. But tonight I’m going to be a word “speaker” and share my story. As a kid, I believe my life doesn’t have its own meaning…

BY SHAI BROWN My mother was my hero. She was the prettiest woman in the world, 5' 11 with caramel skin, short hair, amazing style, and swag. She had a body to die for. You’d never know she gave birth six times. At one point in her life she was…

BY TWINKLE BURKE and EZRA HUBBARD TWINKLE I’m not a teacher or a nurse, but I often play one on TV. See — producers and writers like to cast women of color as nurturers — teachers and nurses being the most popular forms in the acting world. …

BY BETTY MACDONALD As an 18-year-old girl in the early fifties, I possess very little knowledge of my body or reproduction. It will be twenty years before The Supreme Court passes Roe v Wade into law, making abortion legal. Not only is abortion illegal, so is contraception in many states…

BY CALLIE JAYNE I grew up in a white neighborhood. And I mean white, only .6% Black. Growing up around all white people messes my mind up. I have a sense of self-hate that’s hard to overcome. There’s massive pressure to be what the white world expects of me, fit…

BY DIANA FREID It’s 1967, I am 19 years-old, and I am pregnant. I don’t understand how this can be. I think it’s impossible to get pregnant the first time you sleep with someone. I cannot have a baby. My boyfriend asks around and gets a name and a number…

BY MOURKA MEYENDOROFF I was 19-years-old in the fall of 1966 when my friend Barbara and I drove my two-tone 1956 Chevrolet to Baltimore, Maryland, where I was to have an illegal abortion. One afternoon, a few weeks prior, I had returned from school, pulled into my driveway, parked, and…

BY RITA WORTHINGTON At 24 years old, I don’t believe I’m a good mother. I don’t do drugs or neglect my children, but I’m unmarried, on welfare, and struggle to bond with my four children. I got pregnant when I was 15, had my daughter at 16, and 3 other…

BY TAMIKA DUNKLEY Throughout my scholastic career, I’m praised for being a “Wonderful straight-A student.” I’m the student body president and the leader in multiple choirs and bands. I spent six to seven days at church. I attend every bible study, worship service, and benefit. From a young age, I’m…