Doulaspiration
The Maternity Care Coalition’s doulas were a source of inspiration behind Hannibal Lokumbe’s new composition, “Healing Tones.”
Hannibal Lokumbe looks down and whispers: “There, there …” as he gently rocks 5-week old Bella. She stops fidgeting and lets out a soft, quiet coo.
Lokumbe looks up at the women gathered around a large conference table. It is here, at the Maternity Care Coalition in North Philadelphia, where the foundation was set for his new composition, “Healing Tones.” The piece is the finale of his three-year residency with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and will be conducted under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
His desire to be close to those who “did the work of healing” during his writing process led him to the subject of birthwork and strengthed his perspective.
“It’s extraordinary what I’ve learned in this room,” he said. “How affirming it is.”
For over 40 years, the Maternity Care Coalition has addressed the high infant mortality rate in Philadelphia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported that maternal deaths are decreasing in every country in the world, except the United States. Since 1994, Pennsylvania’s maternal death rate has more than doubled.
A survey conducted during a three-year period (2010, 2011 and 2012) by Philadelphia’s Maternal Mortality Review Team found that 27.9 women died per 100,000 live births in the city from a pregnancy/post-pregnancy-related complication. The number was significantly larger than the national average of 17.8 deaths per 100,000 live births.
With its coalition of doulas working to improve the health and well-being of pregnant women and families, the Maternity Care Coalition’s MOMobile community program visits homes to educate and support families through pregnancy, and assists in school readiness for toddlers.
Lokumbe spoke to the women about his writing process.
“My power comes from an ancestral service. I ask what it is the ancestors what they want me to do [and] I try to do it to the best of my ability,” he said. “And so, they wanted me to write a piece about healing because the world is in such turmoil. So they gave me the title, ‘Healing Tones’.”
In “Healing Tones,” there is a mention of the New Being, he said. “And the New Being is one who has no hatred, has no fear and has no need for a demon or deity.”
He rocks Bella and looks down and looks at the sleeping baby with a heart-warming smile. “So when I wrote … I was thinking of this baby’s generation.”
Naima Black, coordinator for Coalition’s breastfeeding program, asks Lokumbe, “How do you feel?”
He responded by stating, “I like a saying my grandmother would sometimes say after working in the field: ‘Well done my good and faithful servant’.”
By: Zenovia Gallagher | Photos: Z. Gallagher
