“Black women are almost three times more likely than white women to give birth before 32 weeks.” --Sarah DiGregorio, Early: An Intimate History of Premature Birth and What it Teaches us about Being Human

The author of Early continues to explain that this is true, no matter the income level, health care, or education of the black woman. The research further suggests this troubling outcome is the result of the “stress for black women of living in America.” The stark consequence of this is that black children are more than twice as likely to die before they turn one than white children, mainly because of prematurity.

We are hearing the term “structural racism,” often in responses to the murder of George Floyd and the resulting protests. For white people, the term invites us to look more closely at the racism embedded in our institutions-- the often unacknowledged racist practices and assumptions within our economic and cultural institutions.

We witness structural racism within a police culture that protects officers who kill black men, women, and children with impunity, and we see it’s effect on black women who birth earlier than white women, with dire consequences.

Choosing to act for anti-racism, we need to continually seek out and undo the structural racism in the places we work, live, and attend church!

This post, by Sharlene Cochrane, first appeared on Merson Neisner’s blog: Life After Losing A Mother.