As the country struggles with a problem that puts Black women at a higher risk for pregnancy-related illnesses and mortality, the Howard University men’s basketball team is joining the battle to defend Black maternal health.
Prior to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the team will collaborate with Mamatoto Village to offer a unique event with a focus on eradicating racism and health inequalities for Black women. The crew will assist with packaging prenatal care kits at the event on Sunday in Washington, DC.
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The Supreme Court’s contentious decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year, which is projected to prevent millions of Black and brown women from accessing abortion treatment, prompted the Howard team coaches to suggest that the players made the decision to focus on the topic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which compiles data from state health agencies, finds that Black and Hispanic women have abortions at greater rates than White women in several states.
The CDC also reports that Black women experience racism from medical professionals more frequently than White women and that their risk of dying from pregnancy-related problems is three times greater.
Kenney Blakeney expressed to CNN news, “women’s health issues aren’t just women’s health issues.” He added, “everyone is affected by this, not only the women but also men.”
Blakeney claims that he only signs players who he believes can continue the university’s tradition of social justice advocacy.
“When we recruit our student-athletes to Howard, we aren’t just recruiting them to represent us on the basketball court,” Blakeney noted.
Blakeney claims he lets the squad decide each year the social justice initiative they want to take part in. He claims that his players felt compelled to take action for Black maternal health after Roe v. Wade was overruled.
Jelani Williams, a guard and team captain said the players felt it was crucial for them to utilize their position to bring attention to a problem that is crucial but rarely discussed.
“We have Black mothers, aunts, cousins, friends and we just felt like it would be… a good issue to shine a light on,” William noted.
Freshman forwards Shane Odom said he backed the initiative right away.
“I kind of related to it,” Odom expressed. “I have a single Black mother. She had me very young, so I feel because I relate to it, it would be a good cause to support.”
The basketball team’s efforts are appreciated, and the Mamatoto organizers acknowledge that challenges related to Black maternal health also impact males.
Black maternal health is not Black women’s “burden to bear alone,” according to executive director Aza Nedhari. She continues by saying that Black men also have a duty to uphold. “Black men are fathers, and they are brothers,” according to Nedhari.
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“It’s always refreshing when Black men join alongside us to uplift the issues that are going on,” Nedhari noted. “It just can’t be Black women carrying the bag and holding all the responsibility for making improvements for something that is a systemic and societal issue anchored in racism.”
