FORESYTHE first emerged in 2020 as a five-part, person-centered photography journal exploring Portraits in the Time of Quarantine, centering BIPOC visual storytelling during the global pandemic. This anthology marks its return—expanded into literary form and rooted in Black birthing life and legacy.
FORESYTHE: Midwifery + The Black Birthing Family
FORESYTHE: Midwifery + The Black Birthing Family is a community-written anthology centering the lived experiences, memories, and testimonies of Black birthing families, midwives, and perinatal practitioners across Massachusetts.
This collection is both archive and offering.
About the Anthology
Through intimate storytelling, FORESYTHE traces the threads of:
- lineage
- maternal health
- reproductive justice
- intergenerational memory
- collective care
]Each narrative holds the weight of lived experience and the tenderness of memory—revealing how birth, mothering, and care are shaped across bodies, across time, and across generations.
Within these pages, joy and grief coexist.
So do transformation, resilience, and love.
An Archive in Relationship
FORESYTHE lives alongside the visual and cinematic components of Midwifery + The Black Birthing Family.
Together, they form a multidimensional archive rooted in storytelling as a practice of:
- documentation
- remembrance
- reclamation
These stories extend beyond the individual, illuminating the networks of care that sustain Black birthing life and legacy.
This Is Not Just a Book
This is not only something to read.
It is...
a circle to enter
a space to listen
a call to remember
an invitation to witness
Editor
Stefanie D. Belnavis, LMHC, BC-DMT
Founder , The Diahann Project × Birthlooms
Editor, Foreysthe
Foreword
Nashira Baril, MPH
Founder + Executive Director, Neighborhood Birth Center
Contributing Birthlooms Storytellers
Priscilla Andrade
Stephanie Campbell
Sabrina Correia
Soraya Dosantos
Joëlle Fontaine
Lanisha Harrison
Lyv Norris
Ebere Oparaeke
Mardia Pierre
Jo-Anna Rorie
Charlotte Shook
Storytellers Circle Series
FORESYTHE also lives through community gathering.
Join us for ongoing Birthlooms Storytellers Circle Series events:
- April 5
- May 31
- June 14
- July 19
- August 30
Each gathering centers storytelling, reflection, and shared witnessing.
FORESYTHE (c) 2020
This 5-part issue person-centered coffee table styled photography journal explored #PortraitsInTheTimeOfQuarantine centering the visual stories of BIPOC communities of color in 2020 during the global pandemic curated by Boston-based Photographer Stefanie Belnavis.
Stills Featured In