Did you know that it’s National Widow’s Day? Did you know that many widows still are not aware of this day?
Yes, there is a special day for us. It’s also a day for those non-widows so that they may understand that by recognizing a widow can make a huge difference in their day. Did you also know that this day was created by the non-profit organization, Widow Wednesday in 2012? Thank you, Widow Wednesday, for caring, your creativity, and the cause! You’re making a difference in so many lives of widows.
BWWE would also like to send a special shout-out to those ladies in other countries as well. Yes, you will be celebrating International Widow’s Day next month but we still think about you, too!
As you celebrate today in your own right, please check our these facts about widowhood for the Black woman widow.
-In 2006, 25% of black widowed women were entitled to benefits as a wife or widow of a worker. Among white women, 38% were entitled to benefits as a wife or widow of a worker. (Black Women: The Unfinished Agenda)
-The financial strain of long-term widowhood can be more pronounced for women of ethnic and racial minority status who may be less closely tied to the formal economy of wages and pensions. (Wearing the Garment of Widowhood: Variations in Time Since Spousal Loss Among CommunityDwelling Older Adults)
-In 2014, 31% of older African-Americans were widowed. African-American women are known by many as one of the strongest groups of women in the world, mentally. (A Statistical Profile of Black Older Americans Aged 65+.
-The survival of African-American women often depends upon their ability to grow wise from experience (Collins, 2000)
-Relationships after the death of a spouse have been studied to understand how widows seek and gain social support during a time they are at risk for high levels of loneliness. (Van Baarsen, van Duijn, Smit, Snijders, & Knipscheer, 2002)
-Studies have reported that despite the connection many widows continue to have with their deceased spouses, having other companionship may be effective in helping symptoms of loneliness and in gaining new meaning in life. (Stevens, 2002)
-800,000 people are widowed each year in the United States. (US Census Bureau)
-Ronald Barrett, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, has been studying African-Americans and grief for 20 years and finds that, as a group, we “tend to underutilize health resources” to support our physical and mental health after a traumatic loss. Good Grief, EssenceMagazine.com
-Black women are much less likely than other women to be eligible for Social Security Spouse or Widow Benefits. Estimated Percentage of Women Ineligible for Social Security Spouse or Widow Benefits because of Marital History among 50-59 Year-Olds is 34% (Black Women in the United States, 2014 - The Washington Post)
-Statistically, women are far more likely to be widowed and far less likely to remarry than men. (The Guardian)
-Blacks were more likely than the total population to be separated, widowed, or divorced. Five percent of Blacks were separated, 7 percent were widowed, and 11 percent were divorced. (We the People: Blacks in the United States. Census 2000 Special Report)
-According to a 2008 University of Memphis study, African Americans in Bereavement, 46 percent of the Black people surveyed said they spent less than two hours talking about their loss. Only 3.8 percent of Blacks surveyed said they had sought professional help.
-Black women confront many of the same issues as white women, as black men, and as working people in general, but these issues are compounded by the intersection of race and gender. In addition, black women suffer from not only the burden of their own employment obstacles but also from the lack of economic security among black men, and this third burden, which, as economist and college president Julianne Malveaux recently observed, is "why African American women cannot separate interests of race and issues of gender in analysis of political candidates, economic realities, or social and cultural realities." Black women may share policy agendas with Black men and with white women, but it is important that the specific impacts of policies on black women not be ignored as we pursue common goals. (Black Women: The Unfinished Agenda. Wearing the Garment of Widowhood: Variations in Time Since Spousal Loss Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults)
To our subscribers and supporters, thank you for your continued trust in us. We hope that you’re staying safe, healthy, and wise and we wish you well during these trying times.
The BWWE family ❤️
*Source:
https://www.blackwomenwidowsempowered.com/why-we-exist
Comments