Date: March 8, 2023
Today is International Women’s Day, a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. This day is also an opportunity to raise awareness for women’s equality, lobby for gender parity, and fight against the many inequities women face on a daily basis.
One such inequity is the US Black maternal mortality crisis. Black individuals die of pregnancy and childbirth-related causes three to four times more often than their White counterparts, a phenomenon not explainable by education or economic factors. Unconscious (implicit) racial bias is recognized as part of the reason for these excess deaths. Black patients are documented to be listened to and treated differently than White patients in medical settings, receiving less pain medication, and experiencing less responsiveness to symptom complaints.
Tonight, to bring further awareness, the Offices of Multicultural Ministries and Contextual Ministry are hosting a screening and discussion on the 2022 documentary, “Aftershock”. This moving documentary explores the causes, effects, and responses to the excessive death rates related to Pregnancy/Childbirth in the Black community. The screening will be held in Lettie Pate Evans Room TONIGHT at 6pm. Light refreshments will be served.
Click here to check out the film trailer.
Ebonee Davis
Associate for Programming & Historical Research for Reparations
Office of Multicultural Ministries