Black Mothers Are Still Dying

June 13, 2023

Felicitations, beloved Meteor readers,

I’m not exactly what you would call a patriot. As a Nuyorican, I have a fraught relationship with the mainland because of America’s continued colonization of Puerto Rico and her refusal to do literally anything helpful for the island (which, by the way, is suffering from a power grid-destroying heat wave right now).

However, I push my disdain to the back closet of my mind during two important times: Olympics season and World Cup season. As soon as those Team USA kits drop, I am singin’ the chorus to “God Bless the USA” like I’m at a karaoke bar. And how can I not when this is the opening ad for this year’s Women’s Cup:

As devoted readers, I assume you will be watching each and every game because, as I’ve told you time and again, investing in women’s sports also means investing your time!

In today’s newsletter I explain all the ways in which Team Great Britain will fail to overcome their—kidding, kidding. We’ve got a book debate, power lesbians, and the latest ripple effect of abortion bans for you today.

Let’s go(aaaaalllllll),

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

Redacted: Writer Elizabeth Gilbert (of Eat, Pray, Love fame) kicked up an important literary discussion this week when she announced that she was pulling her new novel from publication after an “enormous” negative response from Ukrainian readers. The story, set in 1980s Russia, followed a reclusive fundamentalist family living off the grid in Siberia for 40 years until they’re discovered by a Soviet geologist. More stuff happens after that, but we’ll never know since Gilbert will not be releasing the book and is refunding all pre-orders.

Ukrainian critics, The Guardian reported, charged that Gilbert was romanticizing Russia and Russian people amidst the ongoing war, despite this fictional period piece being set several decades before Russia invaded Ukraine. Is the removal of this book from publication censorship, or is it appropriate given Russia’s current brutality?

However you view the book’s removal, folks are being reminded that there is still, in fact, a war going on, despite it having dropped off the front page of American newspapers. And that is what’s most important: There are real people, not book characters, struggling to find housing, food, and power. To help those people out, consider donating to the World Food Program, Doctors Without Borders, or UNHCR. The publishing industry will survive all on its own.

AND:

On Sunday, basketball legend Sue Bird had her jersey retired in Seattle, where she played for 19 years. It was an emotional, beautiful, three-hour celebration that, for some reason, Macklemore was invited to co-host. But the greatest thing the event gave the world was more photos of Bird and her fiancé Megan Rapinoe being goddesses.

IMAGE VIA INSTAGRAM

Staying with the goddess theme: Did you see Lupita Nyong’o at the Tonys? Her custom silver breastplate was designed by Pakistani designer Misha Japanwala, “whose work is rooted in the rejection and deconstruction of external shame attached to one’s body.” Preach.
Another shooting took place late last night in downtown Denver, where a crowd had gathered to celebrate the Nuggets winning the NBA Championship. The AP reports that the shooting began after an argument devolved between several people. It’s almost like people should not be allowed to meander about with guns in public. If only there were a way to enforce such a thing….
US Olympic gold medal track and field athlete Tori Bowie died last month from what were originally believed to be natural causes. But a newly released autopsy reveals that Bowie’s cause of death was complications from birth—specifically, respiratory issues and eclampsia. The United States continues to be one of the most dangerous wealthy countries on earth to attempt childbirth in. Black women and Native women are two to three times more likely than their white peers to die during or just after pregnancy—and the rates are getting worse, not better.
A woman in Texas whose fetus was developing without a head shared her harrowing story of trying to obtain an abortion with journalist Jessica Valenti. Please consider your mental health before reading—it is an incredibly detailed story.
Women in Iran are under intensifying surveillance as the regime continues to use cameras (instead of just officers) to identify those who are not “correctly” covering their hair.
To no one’s surprise, Donald Trump pled not guilty to 37 felony counts related to the mishandling of classified documents. Accountability? In this economy? Please.
Kelis. If you need help, blink twice.