Today we’d like to introduce you to Chardá Bell.
Hi Chardá, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been a loving community member of San Diego since 1985. I originally lived in an impoverished area of the community Solola Ave and 47th St in the area of Lincoln Park, the area was riddled with gang violence and drug use to the point that I couldn’t play outside much. My parents (dad – Army Vet) and (mom – an insurance underwriter) worked hard and by the time I was around 4 years old, we moved to Skyline Hills in Southeast San Diego. This area was also booming with turf wars by local gangs, but that didn’t stop my parents from buying their first home there and in fact, they made it a more peaceful place and I loved every second of living on Brookhaven Rd. No matter where I go, Southeast will always be my home. Skyline Hills is a beautiful community, I was heavily influenced by all my surroundings and highly engaged as a young member of the community. I grew up understanding that there was an element of danger as I was still told I needed to be in before the streetlights came on, and I couldn’t go walking or riding my bike past certain areas like Freese elementary (my school from K – 6), Pay-Low supermarket, Moonlight market liquor store or Meadowbrook apartments. I knew this all too well at a young age, as I was prevented from wearing red, blue, or green for several years, so I wouldn’t be mistaken as a gang member because police would quickly detain any Black person they saw with those colors and put you in a gang book, I wasn’t as worried about the gangs as much I was worried about being profiled, my young self was aware.
I remember walking home from Skyline Rec, a center that I frequently attended for ballet and jazz dance lessons, and daily I would visit my Granny’s house, just 5 houses down from mine. One day, I was out in the late evening, I went to see a Pop Warner football game with my friends. As we came home from our typical ice cream truck stop for Mexican candy and chips, we sat at my brick wall socializing with my girlfriends and pretending I was Dominique Dawes doing cartwheels, I noticed a car coming slowly down the street. It was flashing the headlights; I was taught that it was a signal of a drive-by shooting. Next, the shots rang out, I couldn’t move fast enough to get into the front door so I hid behind my dad’s truck wheel and stayed there praying not to get hit. I saw one of the “elder” gang members that lived on my block get shot in the hand as he stood there stoically trying to defend our neighborhood with his presence. I knew them just as “the guys” like brothers to me, they were very caring for the kids on the block. After the shots peppered through mostly the air and a few car windows, no one was killed Thank God, but it was a scary. Shortly after this happened, my dad, lovingly known as “Mr. B” to the neighbors, kids, and gang members even the rivals in the adjacent neighborhoods, he took some action. Instead of moving us out of there, he changed the scene. Being a church-going deacon, who also played DJ Quik and Too Short on the way to church, he was able to see eye to eye with these men and young men. He brought some of them to church and gave them jobs, he wanted them off the street, safe, and supported. Everyone knew my dad and the word traveled quickly that he was not taking any mess. He was able to provide them shelter, food, and jobs as he was a hardworking man, raised in a big family, and loved his community. He started a handyman service helping all the locals and church folks, then he started a construction company and earned a general contractors license, he had a lot to do with the iconic structures built in and around Southeast San Diego.
Shortly after that, my dad was able to retire my mom and she became a party planner, Sunday school preschool teacher, poet with published books and they together became owners of a pharmacy in La Mesa. We did a lot in the community including waking up at 6 am on Saturday mornings to go to the SHARE program (now Father Joe’s Village) to feed the displaced folks on the streets of downtown. My dad still works with unhoused individuals to this day. I always enjoyed doing community service and donating toys to children in Tijuana, the Mexico border was just a short 20 mins away with no passport needed at that time to cross. I also used to do praise dancing all around the county with the gospel dance troupe at my church Bayview Baptist. One fond memory is when we threw a big block party celebration at Skyline Park for the late Rashan Salaam, my neighbor, brother, and NFL athlete when he won the Heisman trophy. I remember very vividly being at his mother’s house on draft day sitting in the living room watching intently as he got “the call” on the spiraled corded mustard yellow landline, the newspaper was right there to take a picture. I knew then, things were changing, people were growing, and the community was abundant in peer support. Capacity had been built before my eyes. Most of the gang members in my neighborhood were now working for my dad’s business or working a different job, providing for their families or the young ones were in weekly youth groups with my dad and doing community service events. Eventually, the work was done and the streets were quiet and peaceful.
That’s when we moved to the suburbs of Spring Valley, where the fruits of my parent’s labor paid off as they purchased a much larger home, perks of being a general contractor, he knew where the new builds would be and we got a brand-new home. It was bittersweet because I didn’t want to leave my friends, my neighborhood, my childhood, but the timing was right and led me exactly to where I am today. I love my city, the good, the bad, and the ugly, I wouldn’t change a thing about my upbringing. My parents poured their hearts into the community which ultimately led me to see that’s what I wanted to do too, which is why I decided to start a community doula school with full scholarships for any resident past or present of Southeast San Diego.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My greatest obstacles and challenges came with moving from “the hood” to “the burbs”, I hadn’t experienced much diversity due to the fact that the city was designed long ago to “keep ‘us’ in our area”. It was a complete culture shock when I started middle school at Spring Valley Middle School now SVA, but I adapted well and enjoyed my experience. I now sit as the Vice President of the Board of Education for that same school and 20 others in the district of La Mesa-Spring Valley.
My parents were doing well for themselves and had become missionaries visiting South Africa often and bringing missionaries to stay with us, like one woman who sat in the parliament with Nelson Mandela. Even in a new area, they found ways to keep me engaged in the community and keep the spirit of giving back. I attended Monte Vista High School and became super involved in my school career. My senior year, something shocking happened, my parents decided to split. It created the beginning of the obstacles and challenges I once faced that now I see made me stronger and the person that I am today, so I’m not even mad about it. They did what was best for them, but what was best for me was for them to stay married…you see I had to put college on hold for more than 10 years because on paper, they made too much for me to receive financial aid and I had no one to explain to me what my options were. My mom was raising me and my dad was around for me but not in the way he wanted to be, and their divorce drained them emotionally, physically, and financially. My mom went on to purchase a home in Arizona shortly after I graduated and gave me the option to go with her or stay here. I chose to stay; California is where I belong. She was raised as a military child moving every year of her life from 1 – 18, her dad was a Navy Aircraft Technician, very high up, and retired here in California. My mom met my dad in El Paso, Texas where her father was stationed and my dad was too. They married and moved to Germany for several years, my mom learned German and my dad said the maternity treatment over there is excellent so my mom had a posh pregnancy. Then they were stationed in Florida, where I was born and then my dad got out of the military (Army) and moved to San Diego to be closer to my mom’s parents who had purchased a home here and we’re living here quite some time and enjoyed it. Eventually, my mom’s whole family moved here and we are all within 15 mins drive of each other or less. I grew up surrounded by cousins, sisters, and loved ones. When my mom left, easily to Arizona, I just couldn’t, I wasn’t used to moving around like she was. I stayed here and had to make it on my own.
I started working at an upscale shoe store in Fashion Valley Mall, then a job at the ARC of San Diego working with mentally disabled adults. It sustained me but I knew I wanted to do more, and find my passion. I decided while working at a credit card processing company that I was going to take up a few modeling jobs. I had previously attended Barbizon modeling school in my youth. I did print work and some local and L.A.-based runway shows like North Park Fashion Week and LA fashion week for a good couple of years and was a highly sought after and sometimes the only Black model in the room. One day, while I was on the set of a music video shoot as a model, I overheard the producer freaking out about needing more talent at the scene. I told her I could call my model friends, she said OK and so I did. They showed up deep and pleased the producer and director. From that day forward the producer took my number and started asking me to help book all kinds of talent, I developed good working relationships with dozens of production companies. Suddenly, I’m a casting director! I started my own business, the only Black female casting director and youngest in the county, I was 21. I then went on to cast larger productions nationwide, and casting commercials and music videos were my strong suit. I did a few independent films and two big movies on Netflix; the most popular film was one called 16-Love. I even casted animals and reenactment groups in the middle of nowhere (Calistoga) babies and kids for all kinds of productions. It was a wild few years, to say the least. I was on my way to getting a CSA title when I got pregnant with my oldest son and decided to take a break after they asked me to book talent for a set while I was in labor. I knew I needed something that aligned more with me being a mom.
Along the way of that whole journey, I had 2 children and the search was on for a career change as I stopped working and became a full-time stay-at-home mom that did preschool at home. When I was at the hospital giving birth to my firstborn, I became fascinated by the work of the lactation consultants who came into my room, and thought “I could do that!” and I began to research how. I couldn’t afford the tuition on a one-salary income, so we tried to save but no go. I then was fortunate to take the courses I needed when my ex-husband received a bonus at work that granted me the ability to pay for the coursework to be certified. I became certified as a lactation educator counselor at UCSD but I didn’t know what to do next. I held onto that certification and tried to start a business but didn’t know how or where to turn.
I had my second child the week that my first child started kindergarten. Being at a small community school made me feel good and it was easy for me to become involved, I wanted to be there for my child as much as possible like my parents were there for me. So, I joined the PTA, basically lived at the school, and became friends with the teachers and principal, who asked me to consider joining the school site council and District Advisory council. I did that for the next 5 years or so until I was approached by the teacher’s union to run for the school board. I had no idea this was a ‘political thing’, an actual run for office, an elected public official position until they gave me the information to go to the registrar’s office and put my name on the ballot! I knew this could be the way out of a toxic marital situation, building some independence for myself. I ran my campaign grassroots with a few educators, community members, parents, and other supporters. I raised all my funds on my own, walked the neighborhoods (a lot of them), and created my website and campaign signs independently. I won the race with 17k votes and went on to become a community leader. I have since had larger obstacles placed in front of me as I recently was vilified in the media for speaking my truth at a board meeting, trying to protect innocent lives during this unexpected global pandemic. I was met with death threats from extremists and had to flee my home and stay in hotels and get security detail to leave anywhere. I was offered bulletproof vests but the FBI and DA’s office told me I’m on my own, “Can’t do anything unless something happens to you.” I carried on.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As I made a lot of decent, well-meaning connections in the process of this journey, it allowed me to expand my lactation business into birth work and I met a few people that helped me get to where I am in this work. Being an elected official means special passes to things like backstage of the Women’s March, where I met people like Run Women Run who supported me with an endorsement and invited me to sit at their table for an annual Reproductive Justice breakfast. From there, I met Vernita Gutierrez, local Black female trailblazer, and director of Planned Parenthood Pacific Southwest. She was being honored at the event and I spoke with her after hearing of her work with the Black Infant Health program during her speech. I wanted to be a part of that program with my lactation credentials, so I asked if she could connect me to them and she graciously did that and more. I sat on their advisory board for a few good years. While that was happening, I was simultaneously doing volunteer doula work with an organization called For the Village, it was just getting off the ground, and the founder Sabia Wade told me about a job with a non-profit that would be providing her organization with grant funding, they needed someone with my skill set for a perinatal navigator position. Additionally, I was introduced to a Black midwife, Darynee Blount, who owned a birth center in Chula Vista, and I was able to start running a breastfeeding support group at her center. Previously I had been volunteering at La Leche League in East County with two amazing women who helped me learn the ropes, Elise and Rhonda.
I applied to the job after not having worked a “real job” in 10 years and did it while just starting my position on the school board. In 2019, I began working with the Healthy Start program (a non-profit under Global Communities formerly PCI) where I’m now a Senior Perinatal Health Navigator. All these experiences provided me with the skills and knowledge to grow, expand and continue building capacity within my own community as I always wanted to do.
I started Melanin Milk SD Doula & Lactation under Charda Bell Perinatal Health & Wellness LLC back in 2017, formerly known as Generation Milk. I have since been working on establishing a presence in my local community as well as other areas of the world through social media. I started a YouTube channel this year that has so far been successful, and increased my digital footprint to the point that I’ve managed to become a ‘perinatal influencer’ as I like to call it. I’ve partnered with a few local big brands and smaller local organizations to create content. It’s something I really enjoy as a birth and lactation educator because it helps me reach the masses and help others in a different way, one that they can relate to quickly, easily, and most of all in an engaging but fun way. It’s also been a powerful tool to connect with other Black birth workers and parents via social media as well.
Yet I realized something in this work, equitable support in my old neighborhood is still lacking. Limited access, affordability, and resources from people who look like me in the field of perinatal health, representation matters. I decided I needed to do something bigger, to make a difference and it couldn’t be just me. So, I decided to start a community doula school, to help people like me from this community do this same work if they so wanted. All in efforts to save us from this horrible Black Maternal Health Crisis that still persists due to these known disparities. I continue to do the work daily, hourly, to the minute to serve my city and county where I was raised and will likely never leave. I want to see the same success that my parents built in the community. I want us to thrive, not just survive.
I’m a mom, Bonus Mom, Certified Lactation Counselor and Educator, Full Spectrum Doula, Certified Childbirth Educator, Certified Parent Educator, and IBCLC candidate.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Birth Kweens w/one my personal favorite midwives in San Diego Karly Nuttall and doula Ali: A wildly honest and fun dive into all things natural-pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and women’s health-related.
Good Moms Bad Choices w/Erica and Milah: Two uncensored sex and cannabis-positive parents who are redefining what modern motherhood looks like.
Coffee & Books w/Marc Lamont Hill – My partner is in a doctoral program, Education for Social Justice, at USD. He introduced me to this podcast as he listens to it regularly and I must admit I love it, especially for road trips to Palm Springs!
My favorite app that relates to my work is the Irth app started by Kimberly Seals Allers – it’s like Yelp for Black maternal and perinatal health
The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women – by Marita Golden
We Live for the We: The Political Power of Black Motherhood by Dani McClain
The Three Mothers: How the mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs
Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race, and Injustice by Andrea Freeman
The Big Letdown: How Medicine, Big Business, and Feminism Undermine Breastfeeding by Kimberly Seals Allers
Pricing:
- $100/hr lactation consults
- $299/course for Doula Training + Immersion Program
- $99 birth planning session – custom birth plan included
Contact Info:
- Website: www.melaninmilksd.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melaninmilksd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Melaninmilksd
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/melaninmilksd
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg7xIMlLXRVKi3H0P86zlEg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/melanin-milk-sd-la-mesa
Image Credits
Sophia Ahman photography
Carma Collective Photography
David & Jewel Butler
