LANSING, Mich. (April 11, 2025) — Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) recognizes April 11-17, 2025, as Black Maternal Health Week in Michigan.
This commemorative week, now in its eighth year, was founded by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) in 2018, and the Michigan Legislature has been recognizing it since its inception. This year’s theme is Healing Legacies: Strengthening Black Maternal Health Through Collective Action and Advocacy and is dedicated to awareness, activism, and amplifying the voices of Black mamas to express the concerns and necessary improvements regarding Black maternal health and reproductive justice.
“Black Maternal Health Week is a powerful call to action — and this year’s theme, Healing Legacies: Strengthening Black Maternal Health Through Collective Action and Advocacy, urges us to honor the resilience of Black mothers while confronting the systems that have long harmed us,” said Sen. Geiss. “Healing requires reflection on the deep-rooted and well documented impacts of systemic oppression, reproductive disparities, and health inequities. As a state legislator, Black maternal health advocate, and mom, I know that while some advancements have occurred, others of these inequities have only intensified. At this pivotal moment, when reproductive justice, rights, and freedom are under continued assault, we must uplift that our bodies still, and always will, belong to us. By centering healing, collective action, and the intersections of reproductive and economic justice, we can strengthen Black maternal health, restore Black bodily autonomy, and build a future rooted in equity, dignity, and joy.”