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‘Childless cat ladies’ have long contributed to the welfare of American children − and the nation
Jane Addams and contemporaries like Katharine Bement Davis exemplified alternative motherhood, advocating for public welfare and women’s rights, challenging narrow definitions of motherhood.
Anya Jabour, University of Montana
Parenting, single people and the U.S. birth rate have assumed a greater place in the 2024 presidential campaign than any race in recent memory.
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance was widely rebuked for criticisms he lodged in 2021 against “childless cat ladies,” saying they have no “physical commitment” to the country’s future.
In August 2024, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, also a Republican, piled on, saying Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has no children to “keep her humble,” even though she’s stepmother to two children who call her “Mamala.”
As a historian of women, families and children in the U.S., I see these biological definitions of motherhood as too narrowly conceived. The past can serve as a reminder that other forms of mothering are important, too.
My research offers a broader perspective on women’s experiences of mothering and a deeper understanding of how women without biological children contribute to the nation and its future.
‘Mothers of all children’
One such woman was Katharine Bement Davis, the subject of my current research.
Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1860, Davis was a member of a generation of “new women” who pursued higher education, built professional careers and fought for political rights.
Other women of this generation included Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams, public health nurse Lillian Wald, prison reformer Miriam Van Waters, child welfare advocate Julia Lathrop, social work pioneer Sophonisba Breckinridge and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt – to name just a few.
Of this group, only Roosevelt had children of her own. But all of them saw themselves as “mothers of all children,” as one historian has described juvenile justice advocates. Accepting responsibility for the nation’s welfare, they used their identity as public mothers to shape American politics.
In a 1927 letter to her college classmates, Davis whimsically reflected on her life choices:
“First, I am still an old maid; therefore, I cannot write interesting things about my husband and children, (and) how I have treated him and how I have raised them. First and last, however, I have had a good deal to do in the way of looking after other people’s husbands and children.”
Indeed, Davis’ life illustrated the many meanings of motherhood.
Like many ostensibly childless women, Davis was a doting aunt. With her unmarried sisters, Helen and Charlotte, she helped care for her only niece, Frances, whose mother died when she was just a toddler. In the mid-1920s, Frances lived with all three aunts while attending school in New York City.
Black feminist scholars call this sort of arrangement, long practiced in African American communities, “othermothering.”
Davis and other white women of her generation also engaged in the practice of caring for children, whether through formal adoption or informal caregiving. For instance, Breckinridge helped raise her nieces and nephews, while Van Waters legally adopted a daughter.
‘Maternalism the coming great force in government’
Throughout her life, Davis used what she called “the methods of motherhood” to promote public welfare.
After teaching school in western New York , establishing a playground in a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia and supervising young offenders in upstate New York, Davis became New York City’s first female commissioner of correction in 1914.
Only months into her term, male inmates at Blackwell’s Island Penitentiary staged a major riot. Davis quelled the rebellion and established her own authority by addressing the refractory prisoners like wayward children. “You fellows must behave,” she pronounced. “I’ll have it no other way.”
After successfully using “motherly methods” to regain control of “the bad boys of Blackwell’s Island,” Davis proclaimed that “maternalism” was “the coming great force in government.”
Echoing her colleagues in the suffrage movement, Davis used the language of maternalism to promote women’s voting rights. Like other feminist pacifists, she believed that women were “the mother half of humanity.” Finally, like many women activists in the U.S. and Europe, she believed that all women – whether they had children of their own or not – were responsible for all children’s welfare.
Insisting that “wise motherhood” was essential to better government, Davis argued that women needed the vote – and that the nation needed women voters. Maternalist activists also promoted juvenile justice, parks and playgrounds, health care programs and financial assistance for needy families and children, laying the groundwork for the modern welfare state.
Giving women the right to choose
While she promoted public welfare and demanded political rights, Davis also advocated for what she and her contemporaries called “voluntary motherhood” – the idea that women should be able to control their reproductive lives.
Davis supported efforts to overturn the Comstock Act of 1873, which defined contraception and abortion as obscene and made distributing birth control information or devices through the U.S. postal service a federal crime.
States followed federal precedent by adopting “mini-Comstock Laws” criminalizing birth control. By the 1920s, however, some states permitted physicians to prescribe contraceptives – such as diaphragms and spermicides – to protect the health of their female patients.
When she surveyed 1,000 married women for a study of female sexuality in the 1920s, Davis found that most of her study subjects used contraceptives. In addition, nearly 1 in 10 reported having had at least one abortion, even though the procedure was illegal in every state.
And when Davis asked the women about their views on contraception – or as the survey put it, “the use of means to render parenthood voluntary instead of accidental” – she found that about three-quarters of them approved of it.
When the childless take charge
So-called childless women like Davis have shown that they have a stake in children’s welfare, women’s welfare and the nation’s welfare.
Over the past century, maternalists and feminists often have worked together to achieve their aims. Indeed, sometimes they were the same people.
But today, it seems that Republican politicians are attempting to drive a wedge between mothers and others. As a recent New York Times article put it, “the politics of motherhood” have become a “campaign-trail cudgel.”
However, as Davis understood, many issues that affect mothers are important to all women. Moreover, Davis believed that everyone – not just biological mothers – shares the responsibility for the health and welfare of future generations. Finally, she insisted that women should control their own destinies.
So, was Davis a childless cat lady?
Well, a grainy photo of her cuddling a kitten suggests that she did love cats.
As for her childless status, when you consider the full range of her work on behalf of the nation’s children, the answer becomes a bit more complicated.
Anya Jabour, Regents Professor of History, University of Montana
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The Bridge is a section of the STM Daily News Blog meant for diversity, offering real news stories about bona fide community efforts to perpetuate a greater good. The purpose of The Bridge is to connect the divides that separate us, fostering understanding and empathy among different groups. By highlighting positive initiatives and inspirational actions, The Bridge aims to create a sense of unity and shared purpose. This section brings to light stories of individuals and organizations working tirelessly to promote inclusivity, equality, and mutual respect. Through these narratives, readers are encouraged to appreciate the richness of diverse perspectives and to participate actively in building stronger, more cohesive communities.
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Dozens of cyclists and pedestrians are killed each year in Philly − an injury epidemiologist explains how to better protect bike lanes, slow drivers down and reduce collisions
D. Alex Quistberg, Drexel University
Over 60 pedestrians and cyclists have been killed each year in Philadelphia in recent years.
Compared with other big cities, Philadelphia’s death rate for both pedestrians and cyclists is higher than New York and Chicago but lower than Los Angeles and Houston.
Across the U.S., more pedestrians and bicyclists are killed or seriously injured today than any time over the past 40 years. Over 7,500 pedestrians and over 1,100 bicyclists died in traffic collisions in 2022, the most recent year with available data, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
As an injury epidemiologist in Philadelphia who studies pedestrian and bicyclist injuries in the U.S. and Latin America, I want to share several evidence-based ways that Philadelphia can make walking, biking and getting around the city safer for everyone.
Protect bike lanes
Protected bike lanes have physical barriers that prevent drivers from entering the bike lane to park or pass other drivers.
They are particularly useful on high-volume cycling corridors and offer cyclists much more protection than lanes that are merely painted but have no physical barriers or lanes with flexible posts that can be driven over.
Flexible posts, for example, were unable to block the collision that killed Barbara Friedes, chief pediatric resident at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, in Center City in July 2024 when a drunk driver sped through the bike lane where Friedes was bicycling.
Research suggests protected bike lanes can improve safety for pedestrians and drivers too. This is likely because they tend to cause drivers to slow down.
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and other local bike safety advocacy groups have called for the city to replace unprotected lanes with protected lanes and also add protected bike lanes to more roadways that currently don’t have any.
In October 2024, the city announced it will install concrete barriers to protect the bike lanes on Spruce and Pine streets in Center City, including where Friedes was killed. That same month, the City Council unanimously passed a “Get Out the Bike Lane” bill that increases the fines for drivers who stop or park in a bike lane.
Slow drivers down
Traffic-calming measures are engineering and road design strategies that slow vehicles down, make pedestrians more visible to motorists and provide safer crossing areas.
They include speed humps, curb extensions and protected intersections, as well as 20 mph speed zones.
Automated speed enforcement, which involves cameras that capture the license plates of drivers who are speeding, has led to major reductions in speeding and serious collisions on Roosevelt Boulevard. The street, which runs through North and northeast Philadelphia, has been named one of most dangerous roads in the country in various analyses by news and transportation organizations. Due to this success, the city plans to expand automated speed enforcement to Broad Street in 2025 and potentially other locations in the future.
Traffic-calming measures can benefit all road users by reducing traffic congestion so drivers and public transit riders face fewer delays. They can also boost nearby businesses by increasing foot traffic and making business corridors more pleasant for shoppers.
Encourage fewer cars on the road
Philadelphia can adopt more policies that promote walking or biking over driving. These include open streets or ciclovías, where streets are closed down to motor vehicle traffic and opened to cyclists and pedestrians. Philadelphia occasionally does this on stretches of 18th Street and Walnut Street in Center City.
Increasing parking fees can also reduce traffic congestion. Parking fees generally do not reflect the true cost of driving in cities, which includes maintaining parking spaces and infrastructure. The low cost of parking is essentially a subsidy to drivers. While there are fears that reduced parking hurts business owners, substantial evidence indicates businesses benefit from increased foot and bicycle traffic.
The city could also reduce the number of parking spaces and implement congestion pricing, which involves charging fees to drive in certain areas of a city to reduce traffic congestion.
This may be a challenge, considering the recent experience of New York City, which spent decades preparing for congestion pricing only to have it blocked by the governor, though it seems it now has a chance of being implemented. How much success New York has with congestion pricing will likely determine the feasibility in Philadelphia and other U.S. cities.
Improve public transportation
Expanding public transportation and lowering or eliminating fares can also help protect pedestrians and cyclists by reducing car use. I believe these measures could help ensure the other policies mentioned above are effective.
However, Philadelphia’s public transportation is currently in a critical state. Facing funding shortfalls due to years of declining ridership, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has proposed service cuts and significant fare increases beginning Jan. 1, 2025. Gov. Josh Shapiro has spared the system from these cuts for now by flexing federal highway funds, but long-term solutions are needed to ensure the survival and revival of public transportation in Philadelphia.
Addressing gun violence, drug use and other crimes may also make public transportation in Philadelphia safer and more attractive. While violent crimes on Philadelphia’s public transportation have dropped dramatically in 2024, four people have lost their lives on SEPTA vehicles so far this year.
Collect better data
Considering the increase in road traffic deaths in Philly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, substantial efforts are needed to reach the city’s Vision Zero goal of reducing road traffic deaths to zero by 2030.
In my view, this includes better data on transportation use and which interventions and policies are working and which are not.
Road safety surveillance could be improved in Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania by linking crash records to other data, such as hospital and clinical data of crash victims, as well as insurance costs to better understand the burden of road traffic injuries on the city and the state.
Data is also key to ensuring public policies are implemented equitably. The Vision Zero plan includes a focus on lower-income neighborhoods and those with higher proportions of racial and ethnic minorities. Those areas have three times as many serious injuries and deaths as other neighborhoods, and road traffic injury and deaths rates are 30% higher among people of color compared with white residents.
D. Alex Quistberg, Associate Research Professor, Urban Health Collaborative, Drexel University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The Bridge is a section of the STM Daily News Blog meant for diversity, offering real news stories about bona fide community efforts to perpetuate a greater good. The purpose of The Bridge is to connect the divides that separate us, fostering understanding and empathy among different groups. By highlighting positive initiatives and inspirational actions, The Bridge aims to create a sense of unity and shared purpose. This section brings to light stories of individuals and organizations working tirelessly to promote inclusivity, equality, and mutual respect. Through these narratives, readers are encouraged to appreciate the richness of diverse perspectives and to participate actively in building stronger, more cohesive communities.
https://stmdailynews.com/the-bridge
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We interviewed 30 Black public school teachers in Philadelphia to understand why so many are leaving the profession
Lynnette Mawhinney, Rutgers University – Newark and Leana Cabral, Columbia University
Tracey, a high school teacher in the Philadelphia School District, remembers the hurtful comments she heard from parents when she started her career over a decade ago as a young Black teacher in what was then a predominantly white area of southwest Philly.
“I can recall white parents making comments saying, ‘Oh, this young Black teacher who doesn’t have children herself – how is she supposed to teach my child?” she said. “And I’m like, what does my race and the fact that I don’t have children have to do with me educating your child?”
Tracey’s frustrations mirror those of other Black teachers in Philadelphia.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the teaching profession faced what has been referred to as the Great Teacher Resignation. A national survey found that 64% of teachers were less satisfied with teaching after the pandemic compared with prior to the pandemic, and 74% would not recommend teaching as a career.
In Philadelphia, a great resignation of Black teachers started well before the pandemic and continues today. The decrease in numbers of Black teachers in the district continues despite research that demonstrates Black teachers’ positive impact on Black students’ experiences in school and academic outcomes, as well as their positive impact on all students.
We are a professor of urban education and a Ph.D. in sociology and education who research Black teacher attrition and other issues involving Black teachers and Black students.
In 2021, we were part of a small research team that interviewed 30 Black teachers who either currently or formerly worked in the School District of Philadelphia. Tracey and other names used in this article are pseudonyms to protect the anonymity of our interview participants. This study was done in partnership with Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit education research group focused on racial and social justice. Our findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Black Studies.
We wanted to understand, from the teachers’ perspectives, why so many Black teachers are leaving the district and what the district can do to support and retain them.
Black teachers have ‘grown weary’
In 2000, there were 4,059 Black teachers in the district. That number had dwindled to 2,866 by 2022.
It’s not an issue that is unique to Philadelphia. An education researcher at Penn State University found that between 2022 and 2023, the attrition rate for Black teachers across Pennsylvania was well over double that of white teachers.
“Black public school educators in Philadelphia have grown weary, for good reason,” wrote education scholar and author Camika Royal in her 2022 book “Not Paved for Us: Black Educators and Public School Reform in Philadelphia.”
Our interviews suggest a key reason for this weariness has to do with experiences of racism within the larger school district that affect Black teachers across the system, but manifest differently depending on their schools’ locations.
Segregated, underfunded schools
The Black teachers we interviewed who taught in neighborhoods with a majority of Black residents said they faced systemic racism through lack of resources, including books and classroom materials, for their students.
Philadelphia is one of the most racially divided cities in the U.S.. Among the nation’s 30 largest cities, it ranks second after Chicago in terms of residential segregation, according to researchers at Brown University. Schools reflect these neighborhood racial divides.
“I request things all the time and don’t get them,” said Nina, a middle school teacher in a majority Black neighborhood, “Well, there wasn’t enough books for all the kids. So, what I’m supposed to do? Now I have to go online, find my own resources and things like that.”
Racial microaggressions
Black teachers who taught in majority white sections of the city, meanwhile, spoke of their frustration with being the targets of chronic racial microaggressions.
Examples of these microaggressions included hearing white parents complain about a Black teacher being assigned to teach their child, and working with white colleagues whom they felt ignored or actively avoided speaking to or acknowledging them.
“I’m walking down the hall and I say ‘Hello,’” one mid-career teacher reflected. “If it’s just me and a white colleague and we’re passing each other in the hallway … then they don’t say anything to me. But the person behind me who was white, they’ll say something to them before (the other person) even say(s), ‘Good morning.’”
Racial microaggressions toward Black teachers is certainly not a new phenomenon. Nor is it limited to Philadelphia.
A recent nationwide survey also found that racial microaggressions are a major reason Black teachers across the U.S. are leaving teaching at high rates.
Support and validation
Despite the many systemic issues and experiences of racism that Black teachers reported to us, most of the participants in our study – 25 out of 30 – were current teachers in the district.
In other words, they had, so far, stayed in the profession.
These teachers reported they kept teaching because they were committed to students, particularly students of color.
“I stay because our (Black students), they need to see (Black teachers) in the classroom,” said Mila, a veteran teacher for whom teaching was her third career.
Many of the teachers also found support and motivation through affinity groups that provide them opportunities to meaningfully connect to other Black teachers. These groups are established by fellow teachers in the district but are organized independently of the district.
“What allowed me to stay was finding networks,” said Simon, another veteran teacher in the district. “And then the network kind of made me find my niche, find my voice, find who I was, validate me.”
Keeping Black teachers in the classroom
Education scholar Bettina Love argues that school districts and school officials should “stop trying to recruit Black teachers until you can retain the ones you have.”
Some meaningful efforts are underway. The Center for Black Educator Development, founded in Philadelphia, works to recruit and retain Black teachers both in Philadelphia and across the country. Other nationwide organizations, such as the Black Teacher Project based in Oakland, offer fellowship and space for supportive affinity groups.
School districts or administrators can offer Black teachers physical spaces, financial resources and dedicated time to meet with other Black teachers to discuss racism – including ways to resist it – along with self-care. This can help prevent an exodus of the Black teachers who have remained in the profession.
Lynnette Mawhinney, Professor of Urban Education and Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Academic Initiatives, Rutgers University – Newark and Leana Cabral, Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology and Education, Columbia University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Diana Gregory Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from AmeriCorps on Behalf of President Biden
Honoring Diana Gregory
In a moment that truly embodies the essence of service and community care, Diana Gregory, the visionary founder of Diana Gregory Outreach Services, has been honored with the esteemed Lifetime Achievement Award from AmeriCorps. This award, presented on behalf of President Joe Biden, took place during a heartfelt ceremony at the VA Health Care System in Phoenix, Arizona, organized by the dedicated leadership of The Order of St. George.
Diana’s selection for this distinguished accolade highlights her extraordinary commitment to fostering positive change and improving the lives of those in her community. Over the past decade, she has passionately addressed critical issues like food insecurity and health awareness, focusing on supporting seniors and veterans. Through her organization, Diana Gregory Outreach Services, she has distributed fresh, nutritious produce to thousands, ensuring that those in need have access to healthy food options.
But Diana’s contributions extend far beyond food distribution; she has also implemented vital health education programs that empower individuals and families, helping them to embrace wellness and make informed choices about their health. This holistic approach has created a transformative impact on underserved communities, reinforcing the importance of access to both nutrition and education.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is an honorable recognition reserved for individuals who have dedicated over 4,000 hours of volunteer service. This milestone is a testament to Diana’s proactive engagement and relentless advocacy for those she serves. Her award serves not only as recognition of her achievements but also as an inspiration for others to follow in her footsteps and contribute to their communities.
The Order of St. George, a respected non-profit organization dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance to refugees, veterans, and the Boy Scouts of America, proudly presented the award. Their involvement signifies the collaborative spirit of various organizations working together to uplift and empower individuals in need, underscoring how interconnected our communities truly are.
As we celebrate Diana Gregory’s well-deserved honor, we recognize the countless lives she has touched and the paths she has paved for a brighter, healthier future. Her remarkable efforts highlight the immense power of community service and the difference every individual can make when they dedicate their time and passion to helping others.
To learn more about Diana Gregory Outreach Services and how you can get involved in her inspiring mission, please visit dianagregory.com. Together, let’s continue the legacy of compassion and service that Diana has so beautifully embodied.
Congratulations, Diana Gregory, on this remarkable achievement! Your dedication is a shining example of what it means to be a true leader and advocate for community well-being. Your work inspires us all to be better, do better, and serve better.
To learn more about Diana Gregory, visit https://dianagregory.com/
Related Link (Origina Press Release):
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/177DijAbdG
The Bridge is a section of the STM Daily News Blog meant for diversity, offering real news stories about bona fide community efforts to perpetuate a greater good. The purpose of The Bridge is to connect the divides that separate us, fostering understanding and empathy among different groups. By highlighting positive initiatives and inspirational actions, The Bridge aims to create a sense of unity and shared purpose. This section brings to light stories of individuals and organizations working tirelessly to promote inclusivity, equality, and mutual respect. Through these narratives, readers are encouraged to appreciate the richness of diverse perspectives and to participate actively in building stronger, more cohesive communities.
https://stmdailynews.com/the-bridge
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