The Cosmic We with Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant
Center for Action and Contemplation
32 episodes
6 months ago
The Cosmic We goes beyond race and racism to consider relatedness as the organizing principle of the universe, exploring our shared cosmic origins though a cultural lens that fuses science, mysticism, spirituality, and the creative arts. Together with prominent cosmologists, shamans, biblical scholars, poets and activists, Center for Action and Contemplation core teacher Barbara Holmes and co-host Donny Bryant unveil the “we” of us beyond color, continent, country, or kinship to conjure unseen futures in exploration of the mystery of Divine connection.
All content for The Cosmic We with Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant is the property of Center for Action and Contemplation and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
The Cosmic We goes beyond race and racism to consider relatedness as the organizing principle of the universe, exploring our shared cosmic origins though a cultural lens that fuses science, mysticism, spirituality, and the creative arts. Together with prominent cosmologists, shamans, biblical scholars, poets and activists, Center for Action and Contemplation core teacher Barbara Holmes and co-host Donny Bryant unveil the “we” of us beyond color, continent, country, or kinship to conjure unseen futures in exploration of the mystery of Divine connection.
Honoring the Life of Dr. Barbara Holmes and Birthing Justice with Linda Janet Holmes
The Cosmic We with Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant
1 hour 26 minutes
6 months ago
Honoring the Life of Dr. Barbara Holmes and Birthing Justice with Linda Janet Holmes
In this very special episode of The Cosmic We, we're honoring the life of our beloved co-host Dr. Barbara Holmes. Co-host Donny Bryant and producer Corey Wayne recall what it was like working on this show with Dr. B over the last 4 years. Coincidentally, the last unaired episode was with Dr.B's cousin Linda Holmes. We had been working on it across the last year of Dr. Holmes' life. As we look to living her teachings forward through this show, we wanted to share this powerful conversation.
This conversation covers a lot of ground: the history of Black midwifery, systemic racism in healthcare, and the spiritual traditions surrounding birth, the importance of honoring African traditions, and the need to reclaim and transform the medical system to name a few. Linda shares her birthing journey and how it led her to champion birth justice and to connect with midwives in both the US and Africa.
A fun fact, Linda and Dr. B grew up in the same home. They take us into their shared childhood, their family's history, and the powerful connections between midwifery and Black history.
Linda's book Safe in a Midwife's Hands was a finalist for the Stone Book Award for the Museum of African American History.
About Linda: Linda Janet Holmes, writer, biographer, oral historian, curator, and long-time women's health activist, is the author of the groundbreaking book, Safe in a Midwife's Hands: Birthing Traditions from Africa to the American South. Holmes' most recent book focuses on stories emanating from decades of interviewing African descendant midwives in the American South, intertwined with the stories of traditional midwives in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Ghana.
Safe in a Midwife's Hands is rooted in the research and writing for her previous book, Listen To Me Good: The Life Story of An Alabama Midwife, (Ohio State University Press). Co-authored with Margaret Charles Smith, a traditional African descendant midwife, Listen to me Good continues to be a widely read best seller, 27 years after its publication.
Resources:
To learn more about Linda, visit her website here
Her book, Safe in a Midwife's Hands can be found here
The transcript to this episode can be found here.
The Cosmic We with Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant
The Cosmic We goes beyond race and racism to consider relatedness as the organizing principle of the universe, exploring our shared cosmic origins though a cultural lens that fuses science, mysticism, spirituality, and the creative arts. Together with prominent cosmologists, shamans, biblical scholars, poets and activists, Center for Action and Contemplation core teacher Barbara Holmes and co-host Donny Bryant unveil the “we” of us beyond color, continent, country, or kinship to conjure unseen futures in exploration of the mystery of Divine connection.