Healthy Communities

"Why We Need a Black Breastfeeding Week"

2021 Healthy Communities Fellow LaBrisa Williams is the Executive Director of the Tulsa Birth Equity Initiative, an organization whose mission is to equip families in Tulsa to have healthy births with dignity and reduce maternal health disparities She fills gaps that have historically been ignored and connects birth workers with resources and supports to increase access to Doula of color to address health inequities in Black and Brown communities in Tulsa to build healthier families.

"Why We Need a Black Breastfeeding Week"

LaBrisa Williams

In The Black Wall Street Times, LaBrisa writes about how historical tragedies shape current health disparities in Tulsa, Oklahoma. By analyzing the racist beliefs present in the Flexner Report which many believe standardized medical education in the United States and Canada, LaBrisa unpacks the challenges she and other health innovators face in cultivating healthy families. She writes, "As we consider the solutions, it will take reflection and discomfort if we want to get at the nuances of the inequities we see today. So, yes, we need a Black Breastfeeding Week and so much more."

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Read her full article in The Black Wall Street Times.

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