Linda Janet Holmes

Linda Janet Holmes is an internationally recognized author and former director of the New Jersey Health Department, Office of Minority Health. She has spent more than five decades recording oral histories and writing about historic Black midwifery practices.

Her most recent book, "Safe in a Midwife’s Hands: Birthing Traditions from Africa to the American South," focuses on the practices of Black midwives whose holistic approaches are essential counterbalances to a medical system that routinely fails Black mothers and babies.

Our Bodies Ourselves was among the first to publish findings emanating from Holmes's groundbreaking work.

Her other books include "Listen To Me Good: The Life Story of an Alabama Midwife," co-authored by Margaret Charles Smith; "A Joyous Revolt: Toni Cade Bambara, Writer and Activist"; and "Savoring the Salt: The Legacy of Toni Cade Bambara," co-authored with Cheryl Wall.

Holmes curated "Reclaiming Midwives: Stills from All My Babies" housed at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum & Center for African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

Holmes lives in Hampton, Virginia, where she continues to write and support the Birthing Justice Movement.