Brandi Collins-Calhoun

Brandi Collins-Calhoun

Brandi Collins-Calhoun is the director of childbirth at the YWCA Greensboro in North Carolina. She studied history at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and is now pursuing midwifery. Brandi has been committed to birth work for six years in multiple capacities ranging from birth doula, abortion doula, childbirth educator, and pregnancy care management. She is dedicated to centering her work around reproductive and birth justice.

[Photo: Illustration of Tupac Shakur, and his mother, Afeni, on a pink painted background.]

In Tupac’s ‘Dear Mama,’ a Backstory About His Mother’s Activism, Mass Incarceration, and Bail

Brandi Collins-Calhoun

This Mother's Day, I'm listening to the song as a tribute to Afeni Shakur, but also to families separated by mass incarceration.

[Photo: Pen15 character Maya practices kissing on a bed post.]

‘PEN15’ Reminds Us Teen Girls Want to Masturbate Too

Brandi Collins-Calhoun

Hulu's new series is a much-needed perspective about girls' sexuality that has nothing to do with pregnancy and everything to do with pleasure, particularly masturbation.

[PHOTO: Serious looking young Black woman with short, blond hair and hoops, sitting outside with palm trees in the background.]

‘Surviving R. Kelly’ Left Me Sleepless—But I’m Nobody’s Victim

Brandi Collins-Calhoun

We have to make communities safe for Black girls and women, but we don’t have to take away their agency because history has denied them victim status.

[PHOTO: Black woman cuddles an infant with a hat with pom-pom, while Black man with a wedding ring and wristband lightly touches the child.]

Why Gabrielle Union’s Surrogacy Story Gutted Me—and Gave Me Hope

Brandi Collins-Calhoun

You've heard about Michelle Obama's fertility struggles. But it was seeing actress Gabrielle Union's daughter that reignited my desire to help other people of color become parents.

[PHOTO: A human-like being with fangs, a bloody mouth, and a head with wisps of white hair.]

Five Times ‘American Horror Story’ Was Spot on—or Way off—With Reproductive Horrors

Brandi Collins-Calhoun

Forced commitment to a mental health hospital, rape, denial of abortion, a coat-hanger abortion, a pastor who holds a woman hostage and lets her bleed to death as punishment for an abortion: The FX show has it all.

Twerking While Pregnant: Joie Chavis Is Not Going to ‘Shake That Baby Out’

Brandi Collins-Calhoun

When the choreographer posted her response to a dance challenge online, social media critics accused her of jeopardizing her pregnancy. They need to get a grip.