Community
Campaign to Bring Awareness to Black Maternal Health
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 700 women die each year in the United States as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications.
- Almost two-thirds of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable (Source: CDC)
- In 2020, Black women were most disproportionately affected with a mortality rate of 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 19.1 deaths per 100,000 live births, and 18.2 deaths per 100,000 live births for White and Hispanic women, respectively (Source: CDC).
- In 2020, the maternal mortality rate for Black women was 3 times the rate for White women in the United States. Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as lower quality healthcare, structural racism, and implicit bias from healthcare providers, and underlying chronic conditions. (Source: CDC)
- The U.S. has an infant mortality rate of 5.4 per 1000 live births in 2020, with a health disparity among Black babies at a rate of 10.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019. (Source: CDC)
Recently the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Inc. (BMMA) kicked off its 6th annual Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW23) campaign with the introduction of the organization’s new comprehensive issues and values-based policy agenda, Black Mamas Matter: In Policy and Practice.
Black Mamas Matter: In Policy and Practice is organized into six overarching policy issues that are central to the work that BMMA partners do across the country and represent the issues on which BMMA is frequently asked to engage and endorse legislation. They include:
1) Structural and Social Determinants of Black Maternal Health
2) Full Spectrum Maternal, Sexual, and Reproductive Healthcare
3) Black Maternal, Reproductive, and Perinatal Workforce Development 1
4) Criminalization of Black Women, Birthing People, and Families
5) Research and Data Transformation
6) Black Women and Birthing People’s Leadership
Launched by BMMA in 2018, Black Maternal Health Week is a week-long initiative held from April 11 through April 17 that amplifies Black and Black women-led efforts across the U.S. and globally to improve and advance maternal health, rights, and justice for Black mothers and birthing people. Black Maternal Health Week takes place each year during National Minority Health Month and coincides with the International Day for Maternal Health and Rights on April 11. The theme for this year’s campaign is, “Our Bodies Belong to Us: Restoring Black Autonomy and Joy,” which captures the ethos and spirit behind collective efforts to amplify the voices, perspectives and lived experiences of Black women and birthing people.
“As we reckon with the upending of Roe V. Wade and the relentless attacks against reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, this year’s Black Maternal Health Week campaign speaks to our strength, power and resilience, and our unassailable right to live freely, safely, and joyfully,” said Angela D. Aina, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. “Further, BMMA’s policy agenda is both the culmination and continuation of the work being led by our Alliance partners to end the maternal health crisis in the United States, and offers sound, evidence-based policy recommendations that would genuinely support and advance the Black maternal and perinatal workforce.”
Building upon its commitment to improving Black maternal health across the country, #BMHW23 Sponsor Baby Dove will unveil their latest initiative – the NEW Black Doula Directory, developed in collaboration with Sista Midwife Productions. This new accessible online resource will limit barriers to accessing Black doulas who can provide culturally competent care that acknowledges the unique experiences of Black families.
Art
Downtown SA Lights Up for the Holidays
Downtown San Antonio will sparkle this holiday season with an array of lights and holiday events.
Set against the backdrop of one of the city’s most historic and charming walkways, five blocks of Houston Street will buzz with twinkling lights, decorations, entertainers, and vendors from Nov. 24 and runs through January 2.
Additionally, on Nov. 24, kick off the holiday festivities with the Annual H-E-B Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Travis Park. Festivities begin at 4 p.m. and include live entertainment, food trucks, letters to Santa, giveaways, holiday crafts, a special visit from Santa, and a movie screening of “The Grinch.” The tree-lighting ceremony begins at 6 p.m., followed by the movie at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
Get front-row seats to the 42nd Annual Ford Holiday River Parade, which offers a spectacular one-hour parade along the San Antonio River Walk starting at 6 pm at the Tobin Center. This year’s theme, “Holiday Stories,” will kick off the San Antonio tradition. Always held the day after Thanksgiving, the parade and river lighting ceremony will feature 28 illuminated floats and over 100,000 lights (2,250 strands) illuminating the River Walk. The lights turn on from sundown to sunrise every day until the weekend following New Year’s Day. Seating ranges from $15 to $40. It is broadcast live at 7 p.m. at the Arneson River Theatre.
The Rotary Ice Rink, presented by Valero, will also return this fall at Travis Park in downtown San Antonio. Since 2019, nearly 200,000 people have enjoyed the rink and surrounding festivities. For more information, including hours of operation, pricing, and specials, visit (rotaryicerink.com).
For more events, go to (VisitSanAntonio.com).
Black Life Texas
Carver Annual Fundraiser Dec. 2
The Carver Development Board presents the Cavalcade of the Stars on Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Center.
This annual fundraiser benefits the Carver’s School for Visual & Performing Arts’ Artist Residency/Master Class Program, summer camps, Youth Matinee Series, and supports the education programs of the Carver Community Cultural Center. The title fundraiser is Valero.
The night will start with a reception and silent auction at 5:30 pm. Dinner is served at 6:30 pm, and the show begins at 8 pm featuring Kiland Kyham, also known as Mr. Houston. Kyham is a gifted and powerful author, singer, and songwriter. He has performed and produced with such music legends as Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Johnathon Butler, and Smokey Robinson. He has written over 400 song jingles and has produced numerous projects.
For over 75 years, The Carver Community Cultural Center (“The Carver”) has served as the San Antonio Eastside’s foremost gathering place of cultural exchange and performance arts. It was originally erected in 1918 as a community center for African-Americans. By the 1930s, the building was repurposed as the Colored Library and renamed the Carver Library and Auditorium in honor of Dr. George Washington Carver. From the 1940s through the Civil Rights Era, prominent African-American entertainers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong played at the Carver.
Individual tickets for the Cavalcade of the Stars are $250 or $2,500 per table. For more information, visit (TheCarver.org).
Black Life Texas
Free Native American Festival at the Briscoe
Highlighting the continued vibrancy and artistic traditions of Native American communities – and the local tribes who helped shape San Antonio – the Briscoe Western Art Museum invites everyone to enjoy its annual Yanaguana Indian Arts Festival on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 10 am to 4 pm.
The event is free and includes admission to the Briscoe, making it a perfect way to celebrate the vital role Native Americans played in shaping the West while enjoying art and artifacts that highlight Native American history.
The community festival features live performances, storytelling, artist demonstrations, pottery and carving, as well as Native American-inspired food, including REZR’vation Only, a food truck featuring Native American-inspired cuisine that is owned and operated by a registered member of the Navajo Nation. The event starts with a Native American spiritual blessing, followed by a ceremonial drum circle that invites everyone to join.
The annual event is named in honor of the Payaya people, who were indigenous to the San Antonio area. “Yanaguana” was the word they used to describe what is now known as the San Antonio River. The festival has been held annually since the museum opened, with 2020’s event taking place virtually.
To learn more, visit (BriscoeMuseum.org).
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