Miami-Dade County

Black maternal health week highlights why proper maternal health is necessary

Jamarah Amani talks to women before a Birth Justice Film Screening and a panel discussion about the closure of the maternity ward at North Shore Hospital in Little Haiti Cultural Center on Saturday, April 13, 2024. Amani is a licensed midwife and executive director of Southern Birth Justice Network.
Jamarah Amani talks to women before a Birth Justice Film Screening and a panel discussion about the closure of the maternity ward at North Shore Hospital in Little Haiti Cultural Center on Saturday, April 13, 2024. Amani is a licensed midwife and executive director of Southern Birth Justice Network. for The Miami Herald

For Black Maternal Health week, I spoke with Jamarah Amani, executive director of Southern Birth Justice Network, a nonprofit organization that provides a mobile midwife clinic and outreach services throughout Miami, about her journey to midwifery in South Florida.

She said her first birthing experience in Philadelphia led her to eventually want to become a midwife. Her birthing experience in Georgia only fueled that passion and landed her here in South Florida.

SBJN recently opened its newest mobile midwife clinic which will rotate at different sites weekly, providing prenatal screenings and care services for birthing people. Read more about her here.

Need to know:

Donalds says FL should counter Democrats by redistricting. That’s illegal here

Alligator Alcatraz phones were cut off. Then the beatings began, court docs say

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INSIDE THE 305:

How a Miami entrepreneur stirs emotions with Love Language. ‘This is home’

A couple enjoys the intimate ambiance during dinner while grooving to “mikeflo” spinning at Bargean in Little Havana, Miami, Florida, on Sunday, April 5, 2026.Kyle Hoto Reid, founder of the Love Languages event, hosts a party focused on intimacy and low-key aesthetics at Bargean in Little Havana, Miami, Florida on Sunday, April 5, 2026, that brought guests of diverse backgrounds to enjoy cocktails, dinner, and music by “mikeflo,” who spun old-school hip-hop, R&B, and contemporary tracks in Miami, Florida.
A couple enjoys the intimate ambiance during dinner while grooving to “mikeflo” spinning at Bargean in Little Havana, Miami, Florida, on Sunday, April 5, 2026.Kyle Hoto Reid, founder of the Love Languages event, hosts a party focused on intimacy and low-key aesthetics at Bargean in Little Havana, Miami, Florida on Sunday, April 5, 2026, that brought guests of diverse backgrounds to enjoy cocktails, dinner, and music by “mikeflo,” who spun old-school hip-hop, R&B, and contemporary tracks in Miami, Florida. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com

The events have become a safe space for people of color to dance, relax and enjoy music with a cultural connection. While some people attend with a date, or maybe even meet someone there, that isn’t the main purpose.

No FIU students are suspended over racist group chat yet. It’s roiling campus

Students walk by at Florida International University, in Miami, on Tuesday, April 07, 2026.
Students walk by at Florida International University, in Miami, on Tuesday, April 07, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com

None of the students involved in a group chat that shared racist slurs and antisemitic speech have faced suspension or expulsion since the chats came to light five weeks ago and Nuñez announced stiff punishments were on the table. The university has been investigating the chats since last fall, according to a federal First Amendment lawsuit filed by four of the students facing conduct charges.

OUTSIDE THE 305:

A’ja Wilson signs the most lucrative contract in WNBA history

A'ja Wilson, WNBA player, cheers for the Miami Heat and her boyfriend center Bam Adebayo (13) during the second half of a game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, March 30, 2026, at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami, Fla.
A'ja Wilson, WNBA player, cheers for the Miami Heat and her boyfriend center Bam Adebayo (13) during the second half of a game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, March 30, 2026, at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami, Fla. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com

A’ja Wilson re-signed with defending WNBA champions Las Vegas Aces for a reported three-year deal with a $5 million “supermax contract,” the Guardian reported.

Meet Walter Johnson, otherwise known as Mr. Tendernism

Johnson — who coined the term “tendernism” while making one of his viral videos that demonstrated his impeccably smoked barbecue sliding right off the bone — is enjoying every moment of his newfound fame, Phil Lewis with HuffPost reported.

HIGH CULTURE:

Beyond the Gates renewed for two more seasons

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 05: (L-R) Karla Mosley, Daphnée Duplai, Clifton Davis and Sheila Ducksworth speak onstage at "Beyond The Gates" Q&A during the 13th SCAD TVfest on February 05, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for SCAD)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 05: (L-R) Karla Mosley, Daphnée Duplai, Clifton Davis and Sheila Ducksworth speak onstage at "Beyond The Gates" Q&A during the 13th SCAD TVfest on February 05, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. Bryan Bedder Getty Images

After more than a year on the airwaves, the beloved Black soap opera “Beyond the Gates” was renewed for seasons three and four. Set in the DMV, the series follows the illustrious Dupree family as they face public and private scandal within their gated community. The hit soap, produced by CBS Studios and NAACP Venture, can be streamed on Paramount+.

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