She of Many Breasts—Blessed

Abstract

For centuries, Black women have had multiple roles within the systems in which they participate. At home, their assigned roles include breadwinner, wife, mother, grandmother, caregiver, cook, homework helper, and healer. At work, they are staff, administrators, organizers, nurturers, educators, and warriors. In communities, they are objectified, targeted, ridiculed, and judged. She of Many Breasts—Blessed aptly connotes the complexities of being a Black woman in this society—carrying the burdens of the aforementioned roles, yet doing so with grace, humor, dignity, class, style, and unspeakable joy! The three authors of this chapter argue that while we grow weary of nursing the world, we understand on some level that to do so is a blessing. There is much we have to offer through this act, but to do it well, we must sustain, create space, indulge in, and lean into the gift of Black joy. We use the metaphor of the breast as a tool of nurturing and healing community. As social workers and educators, the authors intentionally reframe their work from the vantage of point of breastmilk as a life-giving force in the Black community.