#b.s. johnson

[phantomladyoverparis]

You're Human Like the Rest of Them (1967), dir. B.S. Johnson

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

B.S. Johnson - Trawl - Panther - 1968

[mariocki]

Fat Man on a Beach (HTV, 1974)

"I'm going to read some more poems now. Erm. It may be that if you want to go and have a cup of tea, this would be a good time. I know that's what you masses are like. The mention of poetry and off you go."

[theblackestofsuns]

Albert Angelo (1964)

B.S. Johnson

New Directions

[clove-pinks]

Colonel Richard M. Johnson on an ivory miniature by Anna Claypoole Peale, 1818 (MFA Boston). This is the portrait closest to his War of 1812 appearance, although he was a disabled veteran by this time.

I'm on some kind of kick where I am deeply fascinated by the War of 1812 hero and politician Richard Mentor Johnson. Part of me can't believe just how much Colonel Dick is this close to being a real-life Colonel Bloodlust: the cartoonishly evil strawman I made up to mock how awful the US looks in the War of 1812. Of course, as a real person he's a lot more complicated—but he willfully did some very terrible things.

I have Johnson's recent-ish biography The Days of Heroes Are Over, and found a PhD thesis about him that's even more informative. When I was last at Fort Meigs I convinced the gift shop people to order The Vice President's Black Wife. It's going to arrive in January sometime so I promised I would buy a physical copy there. I think it's a great selection, considering that Johnson and his mounted volunteers were at Fort Meigs before the Battle of the Thames, and the book contextualizes the world of the Kentucky-based military leadership who drove the whole northwestern campaign of the war.

[joustyng-clubbe]

A major subplot is that Moist needs to know the details of the existing sewer system (such as it is) to know how to hook up the sewage treatment plant. The trail of breadcrumbs eventually leads to the Unseen University, where the original plans and blueprints are locked deep in the bowels of the Library.

We learn that originally, the denizens of the city just dumped everything in the various creeks and streams that fed into the Ankh. When these got too foul, Tacitus ordered them bricked over and converted into enclosed culverts. This worked for a while, but gradually, the Ankh itself became too saturated.

After one particularly hot summer, when the stench rendered the city nearly uninhabitable. A massive overhaul was ordered, and Bloody Stupid Johnson was tasked with designing the new system. The original proposal had been to simply intersect the culverts with tunnels running parallel to the Ankh in order to divert the sewage downstream of the city, but Johnson saw this as not going nearly far enough. Instead, he designed a system that would literally leave future generations to deal with the problem: instead of going downstream, the sewage would be sent hundreds of years into the future.

Unfortunately, key components were installed backwards, so the sewage got sent into the past instead, causing the problem in the first place. Moist successfully arranges for the new treatment plant to be integrated into the system, cleaning up the Ankh throughout all time. So the people who say that the river has always been squeaky clean turn out to be correct as far as it goes. Except the river hadn't always been squeaky clean last week.

The Paris Olympics insisting that athletes compete in the Seine is so absurd it feels like something Terry Pratchett would want to make fun of. Like can you imagine him writing a Discworld story about a mad Ankh-Moorpark city official deciding to put on some ancient extravagant game, creating havoc in the city by bringing in all these foreigners to compete, and insisting the Ankh river, which is so filthy it's basically solid, is perfectly fine to swim in, because that's what they did in ancient times so that's how they're going to do it now. I feel like it would be a Night's Watch story about the people hired to clean the river and all the friends and horrors they discover along the way.

Good luck to all the athletes swimming in the poop water.

[mydaddywiki]

Mike Rounds

Physique: Husky Build Height: 5' 8" (173 cm)

Marion Michael “Mike” Rounds (born October 24, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Dakota since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 31st governor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011.

Born in Huron, SD, Rounds was raised in Pierre, SD. After graduating from South Dakota State University with a degree in political science (B.S., 1977), he worked in insurance and real estate. He was elected to the South Dakota Senate in 1990, representing the 24th district until 2001. Rounds ran for governor of South Dakota in 2002, defeating Democrat Jim Abbott. He was reelected in 2006, but was term limited from running for a third term in 2010.

In 2014, Rounds was elected to the United States Senate, succeeding retiring Democrat Tim Johnson. He was reelected in 2020 over Democratic nominee Dan Ahlers.

Sen. Rounds, who I affectionally call “Mike Pounds,” has four grown children and 11 grandchildren with wife, Jean Rounds who died at age 65 in 2021 two years after she was diagnosed with cancer. And now that he's single, maybe he'd like to try cock and pound some ass. I am more than willing to help make that dream a reality for him. What? He's a Republican. My chances are good.

[planet4546b]

all mirages cast real shadows.

kentucky route zero, 2013-2020/georgia o'keeffe, twilight canyon, lake powell, utah, 1964, todd webb/the archive of alternate endings, lindsey drager/house of leaves, mark z. danielewski/sunset, matthew cusick/letters from the hole, everything everything/the museum at purgatory, nick bantock/kentucky route zero, 2013-2020/andrei tarkovsky on the set of the sacrifice, unknown/heart: the city beneath, grant howitt and christopher taylor/the forgetting room, nick bantock/urge to mean (anything) ii, leo wijnhoven/in the dream house, carmen maria machado/kentucky route zero, 2013-2020/the beginner's guide, 2015/underdark: plein air paintings from caves, tomas honz/colossal cave adventure, willie crowther and don woods/season: a letter to the future, 2023/software greatman, everything everything/invisible cities, italo calvino/annihilation, jeff van der meer/the beginners guide, 2015/where the water tastes like wine, 2018/the unfortunates, b.s. johnson/house of leaves, mark z. danielewski/the painting that includes all paintings, richard siken/waiting for godot, samuel beckett

[positivexcellence]

Walker 4x04 “Insane B.S. and Bloodshed”

SECRETS & LIES – Walker’s (Jared Padalecki) lies about the Jackal case finally catch up to him, testing his friendship with his old partner, Captain James (Coby Bell). Cassie (Ashley Reyes) works a lead in the Jackal case alongside Detective Luna (guest star Justin Johnson Cortez) and learns a hard lesson. Stella (Violet Brinson) makes a shocking realization. Also starring Keegan Allen, Molly Hagan, Mitch Pileggi, Odette Annable, Kale Culley, and Jeff Pierre. Ben Hernandez Bray directed the episode written by Casey Fisher (#404). Original airdate 4/24/2024. (x)

[laf-outloud]

SECRETS & LIES – Walker’s (Jared Padalecki) lies about the Jackal case finally catch up to him, testing his friendship with his old partner, Captain James (Coby Bell). Cassie (Ashley Reyes) works a lead in the Jackal case alongside Detective Luna (guest star Justin Johnson Cortez) and learns a hard lesson. Stella (Violet Brinson) makes a shocking realization. Also starring Keegan Allen, Molly Hagan, Mitch Pileggi, Odette Annable, Kale Culley, and Jeff Pierre. Ben Hernandez Bray directed the episode written by Casey Fisher (#404). Original airdate 4/24/2024.

Ooh! Interesting title.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Oliver Darcy at CNN:

Vladimir Putin’s information war in U.S. media paid off this weekend with a key victory halfway around the world. [...] As a Republican, Johnson is in a tough spot, politically speaking. While the Republican Party was once vehemently hawkish toward Russia, viewing the post-Soviet country as its chief adversary on the international stage, it has softened considerably in recent years and much of the party actively opposes sending additional dollars to Ukraine to continue fighting Russia. It was little more than a decade ago when Mitt Romney, then the party’s standard-bearer, famously declared Russia to be “our number one geopolitical foe.” In the years since, the party has dramatically changed its tune on Russia. A CNN poll conducted last summer found that a staggering 71% of Republicans do not support additional aid to thwart Putin’s war on Ukraine.

Much of the GOP’s softening toward Russia is owed to a near-total reversal in rhetoric from right-wing media personalities and outlets, prompted in large part by Donald Trump’s ascension to power in GOP politics. While the biggest players in right-wing media once fervently championed the foreign policy doctrines of the neo-conservatives, they now follow in the footsteps of Trump and vehemently reject the views once held by the George W. Bush administration. This transition is perhaps best exemplified by Tucker Carlson. The former Fox News host was once sharply critical of Putin, characterizing him in no uncertain terms as a cruel “dictator.” But in recent years, Carlson has reversed his stance, flooding the right-wing information space — which he once reigned as king over — with pro-Putin rhetoric that effectively amounts to Russian propaganda. Carlson’s stance was put on display in stark fashion recently when he traveled to Moscow to conduct a widely denounced softball chat with Putin and then proceeded to record a series of propaganda videos touting Russia’s supposed greatness.

While figures like Carlson have promoted Russia and Putin, they have simultaneously trashed Ukraine and its leader Volodymyr Zelensky, promoting conspiracy theories that the country interfered in the 2016 election and was hiding biological weapons labs. Carlson, for example, has likened Zelensky to vermin and vigorously spoken out against U.S. support for Ukraine. Right-wing commentators like Carlson have questioned why taxpayer dollars are being spent to help Ukraine defend its borders when the U.S. struggles to secure its own southern border (though a recent bipartisan bill intended to tackle both issues was rejected by hardline Republicans.)

[...] “The GOP’s shift away from support for Ukraine shows how in the Republican Party, everything flows downstream from the obsessions and priorities of right-wing propagandists,” Matt Gertz, a senior fellow at the progressive watchdog Media Matters, told me Tuesday. “Tucker Carlson and his ilk wanted to back Putin’s invasion, their relentless lies won over the party’s base, and ultimately its elected officials have adopted their position.” “We’ve seen this same pattern time and again: Fox News and the like take basic concepts like ‘it’s a good idea to get vaccinated against the coronavirus’ and ‘the January 6 insurrection was bad’ and turn them on their heads — and Republican elites inevitably follow,” Gertz added. “Governing based on what gets ratings for B.S. artists is no way to run a country.”

CNN's Oliver Darcy wrote in the Reliable Sources newsletter that the right-wing media's anti-Ukraine/pro-Putin disinformation campaign has had fatal consequences in the fight against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Republican Party and much of the right-wing commentariat were once resolutely anti-Russia; however, beginning in the 2010s that began with Vladimir Putin's enactment of anti-LGBTQ+ laws and then Russian asset Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and eventual "Presidency", the GOP shifted from anti-Russia to pro-Russia (and consequently anti-Ukraine).

[phantomladyoverparis]

You're Human Like the Rest of Them (1967), dir. B.S. Johnson

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 2.5

Holidays

Adlai Stevenson Day (Illinois)

Aerial Victory Day

Angel Conwell Day (South Carolina)

Antigone Asteroid Day

Belle Starr Day

Chama Cha Mapinduzi Day (Tanzania)

Cheongwoldaeboreum (Folk Festival; North Korea)

Crown Princess Mary Day (Denmark)

Disaster Day

Family Leave Bill Day

Georgia Arts Day (Georgia)

Hank Aaron Day

International Clash Day

Kashmir Solidarity Day (Pakistan)

Lailatul Quadr (Night of Power)

Longest War Day (3rd Punic War ended in 1985 after 2,131 years)

Move Hollywood and Broadway to Lebanon, Pennsylvania Day

National Fart Day (a.k.a. Did You Fart? Day)

National Red Solo Cup (Toby Keith)

National Shower with a Friend Day

National Tinnitus Awareness Day

National Weatherperson's Day (f.k.a. Weatherman's Day)

Othroktide (Elder Scrolls)

Pikachu Day

Robert “Bobbie” Peel Day (UK)

Runeberg Day (Finland)

Trayvon Martin Day

Unity Day (Burundi)

Waitangi Dildo Incident Day (New Zealand)

Wiffle Ball Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Bartender’s Cup

Chocolate Fondue Day

National Rosé Day (Australia; New Zealand)

World Nutella Day

Nature Celebrations

California Western Monarch Day

Fern Day (Lovely; Korean Birth Flowers)

Lichen Day (French Republic)

Primrose Day (Primula acaulis)

Western Monarch Day

World Animal Reiki Day

Independence, Flag & Related Days

Arkazja (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Constitution Day (Mexico)

Liberation Day (From the Alberoni Occupation; San Marino)

1st Wednesday in February

Book Direct Day [1st Wednesday]

Empire State Building Run Up Day [1st Wednesday]

Global School Play Day [1st Wednesday]

Hump Day [Every Wednesday]

National Girls and Women in Sports Day [1st Wednesday]

National Signing Day (College Football) [1st Wednesday]

Wacky Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Website Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Wheat Beer Wednesday [1st Wednesday of Each Month]

Wilderness Wednesday [1st Wednesday of Each Month]

Winter Walk Day (Canada) [1st Wednesday]

World Read Aloud Day [1st Wednesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning February 5 (1st Week of February)

US Snow Sculpting Week (thru 2.9)

Festivals Beginning February 5, 2025

Festival Astropolis (Brest, France) [thru 2.9]

Food Processing Expo (Sacramento, California) [thru 2.6]

Southern Farm Show (Raleigh, North Carolina) [thru 2.7]

Southwest Michigan Horticultural Days (Benton Harbor, Michigan) [thru 2.6]

Lunar Calendar Holidays

Chinese: Month 1 (Wu-Yin), Day 8 (Yi-Si)

Day Pillar: Wood Snake

12-Day Officers/12 Gods: Balance Day (平 Ping) [Inauspicious]

Holidays: None Known

Secular Saints Days

Herman Charles Bosman (Literature)

C. E. Brock (Art)

William S. Burroughs (Literature)

Henfil (Art)

H.R. Giger (Art)

Christopher Guest (Entertainment)

Robert Hofstader (Science)

B.S. Johnson (Literature)

Al Kooper (Music)

Jennifer Jason Leigh (Entertainment)

Laura Linney (Entertainment)

Bob Marley (Music)

Charlotte Rempling (Entertainment)

Carl Spitzweg (Art)

Roger Staubach (Sports)

Cory Wells (Music)

David Wiesner (Art)

Festivals Beginning February 5, 2024

Carnival of Oruro (Oruro, Bolivia) [thru 2.14]

New Mexico Chile Conference (Las Cruces, New Mexico) [thru 2.5]

Order of Venus Mob-Chella Mardia Gras Ball (Mobile, Alabama)

Ridgefield Restaurant Week (Ridgefield, Connecticut) [thru 2.11]

Whale Fiesta (San Pedro, California)

Feast Days

Abraamius, Bishop of Arbela (Christian; Martyr)

Adelaide of Vilich (or Bellich; a.k.a. Alice; Christian; Saint)

Agatha of Sicily (Christian; Saint)

Anne Hutchinson (Episcopal Church USA)

Avitus of Vienne (Christian; Saint)

Benedict Arnold Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint) 

Bertulf (a.k.a. Bertulph; Bertoul of Renty; Christian; Saint)

Day of the Serpent (Pagan)

Doodle Day (Pastafarian)

The Fornacalia (Goddess of Furnaces) [until 17th]

The Goat (Muppetism)

Indractus and Dominica (Christian; Martyrs)

Ingenuinus (Jenewein; Christian; Saint)

Jeanne de Valois (Christian; Martyr)

Lantern Festival (China) [15th Day of Chinese New Year]

Martyrs of Japan (Christian; 25 Martyrs, 1597)

Martyrs of Pontus (Christian; Martyrs)

Nones of February (Ancient Rome)

Philip of Jesus (Christian; Saint)

Pirate Garb Day (Pastafarian)

Ragged Young Man, Shaggy Filly & Freckle-Legged Girl Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Roger Williams (Baptist & Episcopal Church USA)

Sacred Maiden Ia Day (Everyday Wicca)

Scopas (Positivist; Saint)

Triodion begins (Eastern Orthodox Christian) [70 Days before Easter]

Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Anglican Church in Japan)

Vasant Panchami (Hinduism)

Vodalus (a.k.a. Voel; Christian; Saint)

Weatherperson’s Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Wyrd’s Day (Celtic Goddess of Fortune Telling)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

The Furies Bring Calamity Day (Ancient Greece)

Lucky Day (Philippines) [9 of 71]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

The ABC of Hand Tools (Disney Cartoon; 1946)

The Adventures of Hardrock Dome #2 (Paramount-Bray Pictographs Cartoon; 1919)

Alice in Wonderland in Paris (Animated Film; 1966)

Back Alley Oproar (Blue Ribbon Hit Parade Cartoon; 1955)

Bear Country (Disney Documentary Short; 1953)

Be Mice to Cats (Noveltoons Cartoons; 1960)

Big Cheese Boris or I’d Rather Be Rat (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 96; 1961)

Blue Monday (Captain & the Kids MGM Cartoon; 1938)

The Book Shop (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1937)

Boris Makes His Move or The Miceman Cometh (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 95; 1961)

Chew-Chew Baby (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1945)

The County Fair (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1934)

Crazy Heart (Film; 2010)

Daisy-Head Mayzie (Hanna-Barbera Animated TV Special; 1995)

Doctor Bluebird (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1936)

Donald’s Diary (Donald Duck Disney Cartoon; 1953)

An Education (Film; 2010)

Epitaph for a Spy: A Spy Thriller, by Eric Ambler (Novel; 1938)

Featuring the Saint, by Leslie Charteris (Short Stories; 1931) [Saint #5]

Felix the Cat in the Oily Bird (Felix the Cat Cartoon; 1928)

Flower in the Hat or The Rose Bowler (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 201; 1963)

The General (Film; 1927)

Glad Rags to Riches (Film; 1933)

Hail, Caesar! (Film; 2016)

Hansel and Gretel (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1933)

Heart of Gold, by Neil Young (Song; 1972)

He Dood It Again (Super Mouse Cartoon; 1943)

Instant Replay, by The Monks (Album; 1969)

Lego Masters (UK TV Series; 2022)

Loaded Weapon (Film; 1993)

Love My Life Away, by Gene Pitney (Song; 1961)

Modern Times (Silent Film; 1936)

Mother and Child Reunion, by Paul Simon (Album; 1972)

Mr. Fuller Pep: He Does Some Quick Moving (Powers Cartoon; 1917)

Mucho Loco (WB MM Cartoon; 1966)

No Deposit, No Return (Film; 1976)

Otello, by Giuseppe Verdi (Opera; 1887)

Patton (Film; 1970)

Peter Pan (Animated Disney Film; 1953)

Pipe Dreams (Happy Harmonies MGM Cartoon; 1938)

Porky at the Crocadero (WB LT Cartoon; 1938)

Presto Change-O (Blue Ribbon Hit Parade Cartoon; 1949)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Film; 2016)

Private 1st Class Norakuro (Norakuro Cartoon; 1935)

Puddy the Pup in the Bookshop (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1937)

Robin Hood, Jr. (Willie Whopper MGM Cartoon; 1934)

RoboCop (Orion Stop Motion Cartoon; 1988)

The Robot (Fleischer Talkartoon Cartoon; 1932)

Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (WB Animated Film; 2019)

She’s Having a Baby (Film; 1988)

The Sidewalks of New York (Fleischer Screen Song Cartoon; 1929)

A Single Man (Film; 2010)

A Snitch in Time or The Finking Man’s Thilter (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 202; 1963)

Southern Exposure (Krazy Kat Cartoon; 1934)

The Spector (Oregon Newspaper; 1846) [1st in Oregon]

String Quartet No. 1 in D Minor, by Arnold Schoenberg (String Quartet; 1907)

Sunday in New York (Film; 1964)

Tau Zero, by Poul Anderson (Novel; 1970)

Tito’s Guitar (Columbia Favorites Cartoon; 1953)

Topsy Turkey (Phantasies Cartoon; 1948)

Travelaugh (Pathé Review; 1921)

Tuxedo Junction, recorded by Glenn Miller (Song; 1940)

Two Happy Amigos (Disney Animated TV Special; 1960)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Film; 1988)

Up, by Cardi B (Song; 2021)

Ups ’n’ Downs (WB LT Cartoon; 1931)

The Wandering Earth (Film; 2019)

What Is Life? with Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches, by Erwin Schrödinger (Philosophy Book; 1944)

Why Adam Walked the Floor (Tony Sarg’s Almanac Cartoon; 1922)

Zoo-Illogical Studies (Keen Cartoon; 1917)

Today’s Name Days

Agatha, Albuin (Austria)

Agata, Dobrila, Goran, Jagoda (Croatia)

Dobromila (Czech Republic)

Agathe (Denmark)

Aet, Agaate, Aita, Ita, Iti (Estonia)

Asser (Finland)

Agathe (France)

Agathe, Albuin (Germany)

Agathe, Agathi (Greece)

Ágota, Ingrid (Hungary)

Agata (Italy)

Agate, Agra, Ardis, Selga, Silga (Latvia)

Agota, Birutė, Gaudvinas, Ilona (Lithuania)

Agate, Ågot (Norway)

Adelajda, Aga, Agata, Albin, Izydor, Jakub, Jan, Justynian, Paweł, Piotr, Strzeżysława (Poland)

Agata (Romania)

Agáta (Slovakia)

Ágata, Águeda, Felipe (Spain)

Agata, Agda (Sweden)

Agatha (Ukraine)

Agatha, Chanel, Chanelle, Chantel, Phoenix, Shantel (USA)

Today’s National Name Days

National Leo Day

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 36 of 2025; 329 days remaining in the year

ISO Week: Day 3 of Week 6 of 2025

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 16 of 28]

Chinese: Month 1 (Wu-Yin), Day 8 (Yi-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Snake 4723 (until February 17, 2026) [Ding-Chou]

Coptic: 28 Tubah 1741

Druid Tree Calendar: Poplar (Feb 4-8) [Day 2 of 5]

Hebrew: 7 Shevat 5785

Islamic: 6 Sha’ban 1446

Julian: 23 January 2025

Moon: 50%: 1st Quarter

Positivist: 8 Homer (2nd Month) [Scopas)

Runic Half Month: Elhaz (Elk) [Day 15 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 47 of 90)

SUn Calendar: 6 Gray; Sixthday [6 of 30]

Week: 1st Week of February

Zodiac:

Tropical (Typical) Zodiac: Aquarius (Day 17 of 30)

Sidereal Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 22 of 29)

Schmidt Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 11 of 27)

IAU Boundaries (Current) Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 17 of 28)

IAU Boundaries (1977) Zodiac: Capricornus (Day 18 of 28)

[mariocki]

Thirty Minute Theatre: Not Counting the Savages (BBC, 1972)

"I didn't look round, of course, but when I went round to tidy the other side of the grave, I... became aware of a man standing up against the wire fence. At first I thought that he'd caught his handkerchief or something white on it, and then I realised what it was."

"What?"

"He was exposing himself. Exposing himself to me."

"Well, you've seen one before."

"But I was... I was terribly upset. You can't know how distressed I was! I still am."

"Why? You're an old woman. Why should you be upset? It was play-acting. You're an old woman."

[walkergirlsposts]

I honestly wonder how people like the weirdo stalking your blog even functions in real life. If they have a job and a life, then why are they here? Imagine if their coworkers found out their favorite pastime is defending the marriage of some actor who isn’t even a household name and his even less famous wife. Embarrassing. They’re no JLO and Ben. Most would be like a Johnson Ankles and who?

Haha right? I've never once gone to a Jared hating blog and send ask after ask after ask. I just call out the b.s. on my blog. Like, the people you're defending with your life aren't even world famous! They're C listers and one isn't even on any list! D to be generous! I can see if they were Blake Lively, but it's a C Lister and his loser wife you are defending. Defend someone with class, at least.

[reasoningdaily]

GREENWOOD Dist.–With data from the state’s own health department showing Black mothers are nearly twice as likely to die from childbirth as White mothers, a grassroots coalition is stepping up to fill in the gap in solutions.

A Tulsa-based coalition of Black reproductive health advocates, dubbed “The Persevere Cohort,” is hosting an event to update the community on their efforts over the last year and their plan for what comes next on Saturday, May 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at OSU-Tulsa inside the B.S. Roberts room.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, despite Republican Gov. Stitt repeatedly voicing efforts to make Oklahoma a top 10 state, Oklahoma consistently ranks in the bottom 10 of U.S. states for some of the worst rates of pregnancy-related deaths. The Governor’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Oklahoma’s annual report, “Oklahoma Maternal Health, Morbidity and Mortality,” shows that Black women account for 40.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 25.4 for White women, 24.9 for Native American women, and just 4.4 for Hispanic women. The overall maternal mortality rate for Oklahoma women was 23.5, according to the report. Rates for Native Hawaiian and Asian/Pacific Islander women were not available.

In recent years, local organizations such as Tulsa Birth Equity Initiative have also stepped up to address the crisis. The organization has trained 71 community duolas and supported 119 births since 2019.

Oklahoma maternal mortality in bottom 10 as abortion access banned

Advocates for reproductive choice have warned that banning access to abortion would disproportionately impact Black women. Even so, Oklahoma has become one of strictest anti-abortion states after Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law a bill that bans abortion at fertilization. According to the CDC, Oklahoma is 40th in the nation for overall maternal mortality rates.

National rates of maternal mortality are already three times higher for Black women and have been climbing each year, a fact The Persevere Cohort is determined to address at the local level.

On Saturday, the cohort will discuss the next phase of its plans to advance Black reproductive health through an initiative called “Reproduce U.”

“Beginning summer 2023 Reproduce U. will bring together community members, industry professionals, systems leaders and elected officials to have critical conversations about black reproductive health outcomes and to form research teams that will craft attainable policy solutions,” the cohort announced on Monday.

Reproduce U. will focus on Increasing Humanity in Healthcare and Creating Equity in the Economics of Healthcare over a 10-month span, the group announced.

The May 6th Initiative and The Persevere Cohort are supported by OSU-Tulsa Center For Public Life and Standpipe Hill Strategies in partnership with Hillcrest Medical Center, St.Francis Hospital Tulsa and Ascension St. John Medical Center through funding from The Robert Woods Johnson Foundation.