Today is Juneteenth, the federal holiday recognizing this date in 1865 when slaves in Texas were told they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Some migrated to Indiana and stayed until their death and were buried in segregated cemeteries. One site was recently uncovered at a proposed location for a new 20,000-seat sports stadium in Indianapolis. The discovery has paused the project for now.

Eunice Trotter, director of the Black Heritage Preservation Program for the nonprofit Indiana Landmarks, said the cemetery is one of many.

"All over Indiana, there are Black cemeteries that are attached, typically to AME churches," Trotter explained. "The African American population was buried in the city's first cemetery, which opened in 1821 in the area between Kentucky Avenue and White River. And of course, there was segregation then, like there is even still today."

The stadium proposal includes connecting the east and west bank to White River, with the future Henry Street Bridge across the lower southern area of the cemetery. City officials own almost two of 24 acres at the site. Trotter estimates at least 650 burials are there. The price tag for excavation and memorialization is $12 million.

As accusations grow of increased efforts to erase Black history in America, there are fears more segregated cemeteries nationwide are being eyed for future projects. Trotter noted these locations present the least resistance.

"They are in areas where the land is typically devalued, disinvestment, and abandonment," Trotter pointed out. "They become easy targets for development. Even here in Indiana, farmers who plant crops over cemeteries, when they are tending to their farm, they uncover headstones."

In 2020, Congress signed the African American Burial Grounds Network Act into law. The measure establishes a National Park Service program to provide grants and technical assistance to local partners to research, identify, survey and preserve Black cemeteries.

Known as one of the oldest African American communities in the state, Royal, Fla. was founded in 1865 by freed slaves who received land through the "40 Acres and a Mule" promise.

Today, residents and descendants are fighting to protect their community from development threats, particularly an extension of the Florida Turnpike that could devastate their homes and churches.

Beverly Steele is a lifelong resident and founder of Young Performing Artists Incorporated, a nonprofit spearheading the initiative to protect Royal.

"All routes were proposed to come right through Royal, and it would have not just interrupted the community. It would have really destroyed the community. This center would have been out there. Two churches closed here. They would have been out, and most of the home in the community would have been out," she explained.

Royal's residents are pursuing historic preservation to protect against these threats, including nominating Royal as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, administered by the National Park Service. The Florida State Historic Preservation Officer has submitted Royal's nomination twice, but the National Park Service returned it both times due to insufficient justification of Royal's historic boundaries and other issues noted by Young Performing Artists.

Preserving Royal's history and land is just as important to the younger generation, who has learned about the importance of land ownership.

"We always had a place that we called our own. I knew nothing about renting 'cause the land was always ours, the homes were ours," she continued. "So, it gave me a sense of pride, because I can say I am a landowner."

Suncara Jackson, a descendant of Royal's founders, is working to engage younger community members through social media and grassroots efforts.

As the community rallies to preserve its history and fend off encroaching development with the help of such groups as the Southern Poverty Law Center, Steele remains committed to Royal's future and says it's not just a Florida issue; it's a national issue since Black people were freed in this country.

"Since 1865, since the end of the Civil War until today, we are true living examples of what that life was like and is like and would have been like for most. That's what we are," she said.


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Rates of breastfeeding in the U.S. have more than doubled since the mid-2000s but advocates pointed out racial inequities during Black Breastfeeding Week.

Initiating breastfeeding after birth has short- and long-term health benefits for babies and their mothers but rates of initiation vary widely by race, with rates for Black infants trailing others.

Janiya Mitnaul Williams, director of the lactation training program at North Carolina A&T State University, trains lactation consultants and has a term for when a new Black mother has someone in the room with shared lived experience: "The mirror-mirror effect."

"It's like one less thing that they have to explain when a person who looks like them steps into the room to help them with breastfeeding their baby," Williams pointed out.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breastfeeding was initiated for nearly 85% of white infants born in North Carolina in 2019, compared to only about 70% of Black infants; rates similar to national data.

Another barrier is what qualifies someone as a "medical professional." A doula, for example, provides support and advocacy for birthing parents, often early-on in pregnancy.

Brandi Collins-Calhoun, movement engagement manager for the National Committee for Responsible Philanthropy, said a lack of strict medical training means doulas and their peers are undervalued in traditional medical settings.

"While midwives are just getting their foot in the door, doulas are right behind them," Collins-Calhoun observed. "Lactation consultants are behind doulas."

Doulas and midwives have played important roles in communities of color for generations but Collins-Calhoun said they have been largely pushed aside by the medical industry.

Providing affordable training and mentorship are ways to help revive the practices.

Jamilla Walker, a certified nurse-midwife at Cone Health Hospital, said she hopes to see acceptance not just of these roles in the birthing space but also broader forms of community support.

"Birthing people deserve to have their people around them," Walker emphasized.

A bill headed to the State Senate floor this week would require California to start tracking discrimination in health care.

Assembly Bill 3161 asks the state Department of Public Health to collect self-reported patient demographics from complaints at hospitals and long-term care facilities.

Shaleta Smith, a patient from Corona, said she feels bias played a role in her treatment when she faced a life-threatening hemorrhage after childbirth at an Orange County hospital in 2007.

"The emergency room doctor basically told the nurse, 'We need her out of here. I want to discharge her.' She looked at me and she said, 'I'm scared for you.' And I said 'I'm scared for myself,'" Smith recounted. "Luckily, I was able to stay. And if I would have gone home, I would have bled to death. I wouldn't be here today."

The bill would also require hospital patient safety plans to specify methods to address racism and discrimination in health care, including procedures for staff to anonymously report instances of racial bias.

Raena Granberry, director of maternal and reproductive health for the California Black Women's Health Project, said she has heard of cases where patients felt staff ignored them or discounted their level of pain.

"Hearing a father come in and say, 'We've asked the doctors for seven hours to intervene,' and she laid there for seven hours and bled to death," Granberry recalled. "It is a pain that ripples through the community. It's crippling to our collective well-being to continue to experience these types of things."

Hospitals maintain they offer the same high level of care for all patients, regardless of race.

Onyemma Obiekea, policy director for the Black Women for Wellness Action Project, said the data, when broken down by race, will tell a different story.

"It's really important as well for patient safety plans to actually consider the role that some of our biases play in the quality of care that patients receive," Obiekea urged. "Particularly when they are people of color."


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