Tell-It Report: Birthing Mom Turned Away By Hospital Facing Health Issues

Mercedes Wells’ story has inspired a new bill that would urge hospitals to implement a safe discharge plan for expectant mothers.

(Envato/ContrabandCamp)

In Gullah Geechee communities, a “tell-it” was a designated lookout, community warning system and the most trusted source for news and information. The Tell-It Report is ContrabandCamp’s weekly roundup of the Black stories that deserve more attention — from politics to entertainment.

The mother who gave birth on the side of the road minutes after an Indiana hospital turned her away had to be hospitalized for health complications.

As Black Friday spending hit a new high, boycott efforts from “We Ain’t Buying It!” and “Mass Blackout” continue.

The city of Santa Monica will pay a settlement to the family of a Black entrepreneur whose land was seized in eminent domain nearly 60 years ago.

Read the full stories below:

Mom turned away by hospital faced post-birth health issues

The mother who gave birth on the side of the road after being turned away from an Indiana hospital is back in the hospital because of postpartum complications.

On Nov. 16, Mercedes Wells gave birth to her fourth daughter just eight minutes after a nurse at Health Crown Point reportedly didn’t believe she was in active labor. Her husband, Leon Wells, told the Chicago Tribune that Mercedes was recently experiencing excruciating pain and hemorrhaging and was taken to University of Chicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Illinois, on Nov. 23.

“They said she’s going through trauma from the difficult delivery, and they gave her medicine,” Leon said, “but she’s breastfeeding and has to take smaller doses, so she can still breastfeed.”

The physician and nurse responsible for Mercedes’s care were fired by the hospital.

“The recent video shared on social media does not reflect the values of Franciscan Health Crown Point, which include respect for life and compassionate concern,” President and CEO Raymond Grady said in a statement to People. “Compassionate concern is absent when a caregiver fails to listen to a patient who is clearly in pain and vulnerable. The video was difficult to watch.”

Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) plans to introduce the Women Expansion for Learning and Labor Safety (WELLS) Act in response to the news. The act urges hospitals and birthing centers to implement a safe discharge plan to protect and inform birthing people.

“Mercedes has given birth three times before and was telling the nurse she was in active labor, but far too often, Black women’s pain is ignored, dismissed, and discharged,” Kelly, who is running for U.S. Senate, said in a statement. “This cannot continue to happen. My legislation builds on my comprehensive CARE for Moms Act and aims to correct our healthcare system, so all Black women receive the care they need and deserve.”

In that statement, Mercedes said that she will live with this experience “for the rest of my life.”

“No expecting mother should be visited by this kind of horror,” she said. “I’m ready to join Congresswoman Kelly in advocating for women like me. I’m ready to speak up and speak out so that one day, substandard medical care is a thing of the past.”

Black Friday spending spiked this year, but so did economic activism

Thanksgiving weekend may have seen an increase in consumer spending compared to last year, but organizers continue through Cyber Monday to let big companies know “We Ain’t Buying It!”

On Black Friday, shoppers saw concerted efforts from two grassroots movements to pause their spending as a form of protest against big corporations that have cozied up to the Trump administration.

“We Ain’t Buying It,” started by Black Voters Matter Fund, urged consumers to boycott Target, Amazon and Home Depot from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1 and divert their spending to support Black-owned businesses. Organizers targeted the companies for DEI rollbacks, collaboration with ICE and political funding.

Ahead of the boycott, LaTosha Brown, who’s leading the economic movement, told ContrabandCamp’s Michael Harriot that their goal is to use Black America’s nearly $2 trillion in spending power to push for political change.

“We’re seeing attacks on every single level of Black life. We’re seeing an attack by this administration,” Brown said ahead of the boycott. “We see [corporations] kissing up at the White House… But they get their power, they get their money from us. From consumers.”

On Saturday, demonstrators occupied a Target in Washington, D.C., holding picket signs and chanting “we ain’t buying it.” One organizer said, “You cannot break your promises to the Black community,” emphasizing their problematic diversity, equity and inclusion cuts at the top of the year.

Concurrently, the organizers behind “Mass Boycott” have implored consumers to keep their wallets closed from Nov. 25 through Dec. 2, with the exception of small businesses. Groups behind the boycott include Blackout the System, The People’s Sick Day, The Progressive Network, American Opposition, and the Money Out of Politics Movement.

Blackout the System founder Isaiah Rucker Jr. told Forbes that billionaires and corporations are currently writing the rules.

“Congress serves donors, not the American people, and democratic norms are being dismantled in front of our eyes, with corporate backing,” he said. “This campaign is about showing them where the power truly lies, with the people.”

The New York Times reports that Black Friday sales were up 9.1% this year compared to 2024, with $11.8 billion in online purchases.

This year saw what may be a record number of economic protests, including the efforts against Target, which extended to a full out boycott from a 40-day fast.

With hours still left in the boycott, “We Ain’t Buying It!” is asking consumers to take a digital break from Amazon and other shopping apps. “Mass Blackout” ends on Dec. 2.

Santa Monica to pay $350,000 to family of displaced entrepreneur

The family of a Black entrepreneur whose land was taken through eminent domain in the 1950s will soon benefit from the city of Santa Monica’s reparations effort.

City council has agreed to pay $350,000 to the family of Silas White after the city acknowledged that his land was unfairly taken, the Los Angeles Times reports.

In 1958, White planned to open the Ebony Beach Club, a hotel and beach club exclusively for Black people at a time when Jim Crow was the law. Instead, the city took the property from White, claiming that it was needed to build an auditorium nearby.

At the time, White had an agreement with the property owner that he would make $2,700 per month payments for 15 years. White had only made one payment when the land was seized.

A year later, a judge awarded money to the property owner and the family that loaned her funds to make improvements. However, White was never awarded funds for losing what would’ve been the city’s first Black-led beach club.

White’s family brought their case to the city council in March 2024, claiming racial discrimination. The city entered mediation in August of this year, with the city council making their decision ahead of Thanksgiving. Mayor Pro Tempore Caroline Torosis told the Times that Santa Monica deprived Black Americans “of the opportunity of being in Santa Monica.”

“Our history books show that systemic racism, oppression and discrimination happened,” he said. “We as a council made a decision that, despite the fact we’re facing a very challenging financial time, we want to dedicate funding because [a formal apology to the Black community] is great, but unless it comes with money and meaningful repair, it’s just an empty word.”

According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, the settlement doesn’t include admission of liability.

This settlement is one of several recent moves the city has made to address its racist past. In 2021, Santa Monica issued an apology for racist land use practices that displaced Black and brown communities. Earlier this year, the city launched the Landback and Reparations Task Force to propose formal reparations.

ICYMI

• Viola Fletcher, the oldest known survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, died at age 111.

• D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser will not seek reelection.

• A federal judge has dismissed charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James after being targeted by President Donald Trump.

• Rush Hour 4 gets the green light at Paramount after Trump intervened on the franchise’s behalf.

• Pennsylvania has become the 28th state to adopt the CROWN Act.