Black Woman Receives Backlash for Breast-Feeding Baby During Her College Graduation

A 25-year-old woman has sparked controversy after posting a photo of herself breast-feeding her baby at her college graduation ceremony.

Karlesha Thurman, who was attending her California State University, Long Beach graduation, posted the breast-feeding photo to a Facebook page called Black Women Do Breastfeed, which celebrates black women who opt out of formula and rely on their own milk resources. Once the Facebook page posted the photo, it immediately went viral.

But there were those who felt the photo was abnormal or blasted the young mother for even having a baby to begin with.

https://twitter.com/jerseygrad2016/status/475753242300022785

But Thurman was not without her supporters, including former NFL star Chad Johnson:

Thurman defended her actions, saying that her child was the motivation for getting her education and graduating:

The fact that people still don’t understand that breast-feeding a baby in public is normal still baffles me. No woman should be shamed or embarrassed for feeding her baby. 

Yesha Callahan is editor of The Grapevine and a staff writer at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.

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