Celebrating Black Breastfeeding Week: Revive, Restore, Reclaim

Co-Authored By:

Kiddada Green, Founding Executive Director, Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association
Kiddada Green is the founding executive director of Black Mothers’ Breastfeeding Association (BMBFA), co-founder of Black Breastfeeding Week, and the Black Breastfeeding Caucus. She put forth recommendations for The U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding and the State of Michigan Breastfeeding Plan. Ms. Green is also an esteemed member of the inaugural class of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Community Leadership Network Fellowship Program. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a Master’s degree in the Art of Teaching from Oakland University. She is a devoted wife, mother, and educator.

Gatini Tinsley, Communications Associate, Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association
Gatini Tinsley is the type of multimedia journalist who escapes the computer to hit the streets and knock on doors in pursuit of a story. Delivering news to Southeastern Michigan’s Channel 18’s 200k+ viewers, her favorite thing about her job is “being in the field reporting, where anything can happen and every day is new. It’s the ultimate thrill ride for a journalist.” Gatini has written on a diverse array of topics, from a feature report examining the risks journalists assume while working in foreign hot spots to a food article that looked at the culinary marriage of bacon to a double fudge brownie. This native Detroiter earned her Bachelor of Science in Media Communications with a concentration in Broadcast Arts from Rochester College. She has a diploma in video production from Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts. Additionally, Gatini studied comparative journalism in Europe and holds two certifications in Public Access Television. Gatini, a self-proclaimed beauty industry “nerd” devotes time to staying on top of the latest trends and writes numerous articles on beauty and health. She also boasts a love of cars.

Celebrating Black Breastfeeding Week

Saturday, August 25th marks the beginning of the 8th Annual Black Breastfeeding Week and celebrations will take place throughout the United States. Created by Anayah Sangodele-Ayoka, Kimberley Seals Allers and Kiddada Green, this year's theme is Revive, Restore, Reclaim! Black women have the lowest rate of successful breastfeeding in the United States. Black women also tend to breastfeed for the shortest amount of time, when compared to other racial groups. The barriers that persist continue to undermine the breastfeeding success that BBW seeks to correct. Decreased access to healthcare combined with workspaces that aren’t breastfeeding friendly are just two of the systematic barriers leading to racial disparities in breastfeeding success that Black moms face. Yet Black moms persevere with breastfeeding rates that grow annually!

Black Breastfeeding Week celebrations throughout the nation aim to normalize breastfeeding amongst Black women and get the word out that breastfeeding is the healthiest decision you can make for your baby. Black women are in full swing, making choices that reduce the disparity Black babies face within the United States. The mission is a stark change in direction that will shift toward normalizing breastfeeding in the United States and guarantee Black babies have the healthy start they need for now and the future.

Infant formula has been pushed on Black families for decades. In the 1950s and ‘60s, formula was placed on the market, persistent media campaigns targeted Black communities, and breastfeeding rates within Black communities began to decline through the 1970s and beyond, leading to fewer breastfed babies - which ultimately spiraled into decreasing the health of Black babies while increasing their mortality rate. In an effort to correct this, Black women have built community support systems to continue to expose breastfeeding as a healthy food option that is normal, optimal and accessible. Groups that support breastfeeding, like Detroit’s own Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association (BMBFA), are able to reach multitudes of women by building communities where shared experiences about breastfeeding revive and restore a traditional act that has suffered due to systemic barriers.

BMBFA founder Kiddada Green had this to say: “It is imperative that we continue to build communities that support, uplift and dismantle the centuries of systematic oppression Black women have faced surrounding pre- and post-term birth. From forcibly caring for babies that weren’t ours that resulted in neglecting our own, we now harness the power to rectify the harm that has been done to us throughout America’s tragically tyrannous history. We hold the key, by building communities that educate and empower, we will rectify our history and move forward in a way that exercises our ability to secure our children's health and wellbeing.”

Black women are reclaiming their power by saying, “NO MORE!” and restoring it with the decision to breastfeed anytime, anywhere, as they see fit for their child. Breastfeeding allows Black moms to be leaders in the nutrition, health and wellbeing of their children, without seeking permission from outside forces that have a long-established history of divesting Black families of adequate healthcare.

To participate in BBW celebrations throughout the country, follow Black Breastfeeding Week on Facebook.