Dear Peter,

This Black History Month is more important than ever before.

Black history, Black voices, Black experiences, and Black spaces are being erased as we speak, through insidious attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and the censure of public health data on race and ethnicity within government institutions.

Yet Black people, particularly Black women, have always been resilient in the face of erasure.

This Black History Month, we are highlighting ways Black women refuse to be erased by exploring the reproductive justice movement and efforts to ensure that all Black birthing people are treated with dignity and respect and receive the best possible care. Here are two related resources we encourage you to check out to learn more:

The term “Reproductive Justice” — and the accompanying movement — was coined and founded in 1994 by 12 Black women called Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice.

In their words, reproductive justice is the:

These trailblazing women came together to address how the mainstream reproductive rights movement long overlooked how race and class impacted women of color’s ability to make choices about their reproductive lives.

Today, we know just how critical it is to be intersectional when we fight for women and families. And when our public policies don’t account for Black women, the consequences are disastrous. 

According to our analysis, more than 6.7 million Black women — 57 percent of all Black women ages 15-49 — live in the 26 states that have banned or are likely to ban abortion. We also know that 17 of these 26 states also have above-average maternal mortality rates.

Case in point: Black women are 3.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts.

Today, we remember Kira Johnson, who in 2016 tragically lost her life after giving birth to her second child through a routine C-section at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Despite concerns voiced by Kira and her family about her condition, Kira was left to bleed internally in her stomach due to a C-section complication for more than 10 hours before the medical staff took action.

Six years later, the Biden Administration launched a civil rights investigation into how Cedars-Sinai treats Black birthing people to ensure the hospital’s compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Affordable Care Act. Read more about Kira and the steps hospitals can take to improve their treatment of Black birthing people in my piece for Ms. Magazine.

Kira deserved to be alive today. Black birthing people deserve better. In the face of erasure, we must ensure Black women are centered in the fight for women and families and that their leadership is honored and amplified.

That’s what we’re focusing on this Black History Month and all year long. We hope you will too.

In solidarity,

— Amani

Amani Echols (she, her, hers)

Senior Manager of Maternal and Infant Health

National Partnership for Women and Families

NationalPartnership.org | @NPWF

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National Partnership for Women & Families
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