SIMPLY UNMUTED

On February 5, 2026, I once again had the pleasure of hearing artist and community organizer Michelle Browder at GLIDE in San Francisco, CA. It had been two years since I visited her at the Mothers of Gynecology memorial and museum that she created in Montgomery, Alabama, and her message was still loud and clear.  When people discuss the history of modern gynecology, the conversation often centers on medical breakthroughs and scientific advancements. What is rarely discussed with equal weight is the human cost of that progress - specifically, the suffering endured by three enslaved Black women whose bodies were used to build the foundation of modern reproductive medicine.  The Mothers of Gynecology Memorial and Museum stands just six blocks away from the den of horrors where Anarca, Betsey, and Lucy were subjects of Dr. J. Marian Sims’ experiments.  This physical reminder shows us that progress in medicine has too often been built on the exploitation of Blacks, systemic r...

  As millions across the country celebrated Super Bowl LX, another reality unfolded quietly in homes and communities nationwide. While fans gathered around screens and stadiums, many survivors of domestic violence faced heightened risks, isolation, and harm. Major sporting events can amplify stress, alcohol use, and economic pressures, factors that often contribute to increased rates of intimate partner violence. In San Francisco, Black Women Revolt Against Domestic Violence continues to stand on the front lines, ensuring that survivors, particularly Black women and marginalized communities, have access to safety, advocacy, and healing-centered support. Domestic Violence: A Hidden Crisis Research shows that domestic violence incidents can rise during major sporting events. A peer-reviewed study found that male-on-female violence increases by more than 10% following unexpected NFL losses, especially in states with widespread sports betting. In addition, national data reveals tha...

  I am honored. Truly honored. I am honored to do this work on behalf of domestic violence survivors. I am honored to advocate in my city and my state for people navigating domestic violence - often in silence, often in fear, and too often without the protection they so rightly deserve. Recently, I was informed that I had been selected to be honored on the floor of the California State Assembly as the Woman of the Year for the 19th District. The recognition, presented by Assemblywoman Catherine Stefanie and her staff, stopped me in my tracks. Shocked doesn’t quite capture it. Grateful doesn’t go far enough. What it did do, though, was force me to pause and ask a much deeper question: What does it actually mean to be an advocate? And why do I do this work day after day, year after year, despite the toll it takes? The answer is both simple and complex. I do this work because I am trying to be the advocate my two friends needed before they were killed by their partners. I do this ...

The lives of Missing Black Women Demand More Than Hashtags   By Paméla Michelle Tate (previously published in The Opinion Pages on November 14, 2025) More than a third of the 271,493 girls and women reported missing in 2022 were Black, even though Black women and girls comprise only around 14 percent of the U.S. female population, according to federal data from the  Office of Justice Programs .  The Black & Missing Foundation  notes that nearly 40 percent of missing‐persons cases involve people of color – yet law enforcement protocols, alerts, and media coverage rarely reflect that. As reported by Ujima Center’s report, “ When Black Women and Girls Go Missing ,” of the 268,884 women and girls reported missing in 2020, some 90,333 were Black. Yet even with these numbers, media attention and public urgency lag far behind cases involving white women. When 22-year-old  Gabby Petito  went missing in 2021, the nation stopped to search with her family — cable ...

Medically Necessary, Politically Denied: Roe at 53 and the Ongoing Crisis Facing Women Today, January 22, 2026, marks 53 years since Roe v. Wade. Yet, for those of us who have spent nearly two decades in domestic violence advocacy, this anniversary is not a historical date—it is personal. It lives in the clinic parking lots, in 'I can’t afford to miss work again' whispers, and in the fear that a pregnancy complication could become a legal interrogation for a survivor already fighting for their life. When abortion is framed as merely a 'political issue,' the reality is missed: it is a crisis of healthcare access colliding with systemic racial inequity. The well-being of minority women, and especially Black women, is caught in the direct intersection of this battle. People often imagine abortion as a single scenario, and in real life, it is not. Pregnancy can become life-threatening quite fast: severe preeclampsia, hemorrhage, dangerous infections, or situations where a f...