About
A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez is a multi-hyphenate creative who tries to process the world through writing. Sometimes these efforts are birthed as reported journalistic-style pieces. Other times they manifest as essays that try to use her personal experiences as a window into larger societal trends.
She found her writing voice in the aftermath of birth trauma. Since then she’s expanded her efforts to include public speaking and consulting with companies on the best way to produce content that promotes equity across the identity spectrum. She continues to amplify Black women’s voices in the mainstream dialogue, especially within conversations on health and parenting.
Her mediums change, but her passion for health, especially reproductive matters, remains the same. You can find her work in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and a host of other publications.
Most recently, she has founded the #freeblackmotherhood movement, a way of mothering that asks Black mothers to prioritize self-love and authentic expression in all things while asking them to imagine a world where Black women are free to feel.
FreeBlackMotherhood has four main tenets that center the needs of Black womxn:
- Increase awareness of the cocktail of systems and sentiments that impair their ability to embrace the complex authenticity of our lives as they mother while Black.
- Seek ways to constructively highlight the disparities that they face WHILE sharing images of joy and thriving to counter the belief that Black womxn are a problem to be solved AND rejecting the “Strong Black Woman” myth.
- Share the sacred texts of Black survival, like the books and quotes of our foremothers, in hopes of increasing knowledge and providing encouragement.
- Support the self-determination of all marginalized folks, especially in areas of reproduction.