Hello, I’m Heddy Keith, M.Ed, CI President/CEO

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I am a certified journal writing instructor, certified hypnosis instructor, and a retired Milwaukee Public Schools teacher, I taught middle school language arts and social studies. I am an awarding winning author of three books; Through It All A Memoir of Love and Loss, Through It All Trauma Recovery Journal, and African American Scientists and Inventors: An Accelerated learning Curriculum. Our logo is an Adinkra symbol FI-HANKARE pronounced (fee-han-krah) It represents an enclosed or secured House. A symbol of sisterhood, safety, security, completeness, and solidarity. Its style is a basic quadrangle enclosed on all four sides with four rooms. We have labeled those rooms; emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental for holistic healing.

We want to welcome you to our website. The center was established in August of 2018. Our co-founders are Mary Ali-Masai, Brenda Ward, Patrice Robinson, and Sheila Haygood. When we first organized we met twice a month on Sunday afternoons. We are a group of women who believe in our mission to help our sisters navigate through life’s journey. Our choice to help Black women is because we have many obstacles to rise above. Many Black women retreat to their families, churches, and other Black institutions for a sense of safety. CLAWW provides that sense of safety and belonging.

There are 19 million Black women living in the United States. Our lives are governed by old oppressive beliefs. “Societies stubborn myths continue to do tremendous damage to Black women.” These myths often seep into our inner psyches and become internalized.

A study by the African American Women’s voices Project was designed to explore the impact of racism and sexism on Black women in America. These two women wanted to know the impact of racism and sexism on their self-image, their relationships with men, their lives as mother, their experiences with the church, and the work world. Understanding the pressures that Black women live with and the compromises that they make mentally, physically, and emotionally is of upmost the importance.

“When I stand before thee at the days end, thou shalt see my scars and know that I had my wounds and also my healing.”

Rabindranath Tagore

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