Black Maternal Health Is a Fight for All of Us 

As participants in Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW) commemorate the week’s 10-year anniversary, Families USA’s deputy senior director of strategic partnerships, Tasha Dawson, sat down with three trailblazers leading the way toward a more equitable future for Black mothers in America. This year’s BMHW theme is Rooted in Justice and Joy. The theme reflects the vision for what must be built: systems that not only prevent harm, but support dignity, healing, and conditions that empower Black families to thrive.

To learn more, hear directly from Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, Nebraska State Senator Ashlei Spivey, and Charles Johnson IV of 4Kira4Moms and how they are rooting their work in justice and joy.

Watch the Full Series: Black Maternal Health Week 2026

These interviews remind us that Black maternal health in the United States remains a crisis shaped by systemic inequities, not biology.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are still more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. These disparities exist despite the fact that more than 80% of all maternal deaths are considered preventable. These outcomes are driven by structural gaps in access to care, quality of care, and broader social and economic conditions.

The good news is that we know what solutions are needed to forge a new path forward, and the Black Maternal Health Week movement has been driving awareness of these solutions to policymakers for more than a decade. Please join us in supporting the hosts of BMHW, Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA), by sharing these videos and calling on our nation’s leaders to do better by all mothers, including Black mothers, and to pass legislation like the Momnibus Act, introduced in Congress by Representative Underwood.