The BEE Collective Announces Program of Activities, Speakers, Presenters, and Community Partners for Inaugural Summit

Press Release

The BEE Collective announces its inaugural Just-Us INDABA: Birthing, Education, and Healing Justice Summit, arriving Saturday, November 4, 2023, at the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1422 building located at 1142 Morrison Drive, Downtown Charleston, South Carolina. This all-day event will begin at 9 a.m. with on-site registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. All are welcome, including babies in arms. Elders, those with disabilities, birth workers in Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities, and all birthing people are especially encouraged. Free and ample parking is available. Food and refreshments will be provided. The event is free of charge. Pre-registration is required. For more information, full schedule of activities, and to register, visit justusindaba.com.

The BEE Collective’s Just-Us INDABA: Birthing, Education, and Healing Justice Summit is a transformative gathering and full-day event dedicated to pregnant, birthing, and parenting families, along with their healthcare advocates, reproductive justice champions, and supportive healing arts practitioners. This event is a gifted opportunity to register, engage, and co-create community-driven solutions that safeguard the well-being of pregnant, birthing individuals, and young children in the beloved community.

“Together, we are committed to dismantling the alarming rates of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity among Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities in South Carolina. Let’s listen, learn, and collaborate for a brighter, healthier future,” says BEE Collective’s co-founder, Adrienne Troy-Frazier.

The Just-Us INDABA provides a full day of scheduled events, including speakers and presenters, community activists and advocates:

BEE Collective members, Simone Lee and Crystal Davis, will serve as emcees for the event. Presenters and speakers include Leslie Farrington, M.D. cofounder of the Black Coalition for Safe Motherhood; Jacqueline McLemore, Ph.D. of Lowcountry Phoenix Consulting and Coaching; Lillian Grant-Baptiste, cultural artist, celebrant, and storyteller; Crystallee Crain, Ph.D., founder and director of Prevention at the Intersections; Drisana McDaniel and Hollis France, Ph.D., Transformative Teaching Collective; Alva Anderson, local musician and board president of Charleston Jazz, will lead CircleSongs; Raquel Washington, M.A., Dr. Kim Archung, Ph.D., dance troupe Wona Womalan, and more.

A full schedule is available at justusindaba.com/schedule

“Yemaya,” the art providing the official image for the inaugural Just-Us INDABA: Birthing, Education, and Healing Justice Summit, is from an original quilt designed, created, and shared with permission by Cookie Washington, one of the Lowcountry’s most beloved artists, representing the Gullah-Geechee culture and the African diaspora. Yemaya is the Goddess of Creation, Water, Moon, Motherhood, and Protection and is a major water spirit from the Yoruba religion. She is the mother of all Orishas. Many transliterations of her name exist in various cultures within the African diaspora.

Refreshments will be available throughout the day. Lunch provided by WeFood at no additional charge for all attendees.

This program is made possible with support and partnership from the following: Kolibri Fund, Birth Justice Rapid Response Fund, Lowcountry Unity Fund, Perinatal Task Force, and Charleston Good, Inc. For additional information regarding the Just-Us INDABA: Birthing, Education, and Healing Justice Summit presented by The BEE Collective visit justusindaba.com. For specific inquiries or to schedule an interview, contact Adrienne Troy-Frazier.

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