One group is working to save women’s lives during FAMU Homecoming

• The group 4Kira4moms works to prevent pregnancy-related deaths.
• The founder of 4Kira4moms is a Rattler graduate.
• Watch the video to hear the message the group shares with Black women.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT

It’s Homecoming Week on the highest of seven hills. This means events full of fun, but also important messages.

I’m Terry Gilliam, your community reporter in Southwest Tallahassee.

I see the message being shared on campus about Black maternal health.

“A lot of people have kids; a lot of people are having kids. We need to make sure that we’re taking care of Black women as much as we’re taking care of the kids.”

Florida A&M Senior Jayda Perdue plans to work in the medical field after graduation. I asked her about the importance of maternal health, especially for Black women.

“I think it’s extremely important.”

Jayda was on her way to buy tickets during FAMU’s Homecoming Week. Events cover many topics. One: the Walmart Black Maternal Health Discussion. It will be held at the Al Lawson Multipurpose Center.

The nonprofit called 4Kira4moms partnered with Walmart for this forum. I spoke with 4Kira4moms founder Charles S. Johnson about the mission.

“That mission is to eradicate the maternal mortality crisis here in the United States.”

That crisis is something Johnson has seen firsthand. It’s the reason 4Kira4moms exist.

In 2016, Johnson lost his wife Kira during a routine C-section. Kira bled internally for ten hours before medical staff at a Los Angeles hospital responded. Now Johnson and his organization want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

“We felt like we owed it to Kira. We owed it to every single mother who has made the ultimate sacrifice in trying to give the gift of life, doing everything she can to ensure that mothers go home with their precious babies.”

According to the CDC, hundreds of women die each year during pregnancy or in the year afterward. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women.

The CDC also says multiple factors contribute to this racial disparity, such as healthcare quality, underlying conditions, structural racism, and more.

People like Johnson and Jayda think it’s only right to spread this message at Homecoming and beyond.

“Homecoming is a great time to celebrate and connect, but it is also a time to learn and empower.”

“When you’re in college, it’s easy to just be in this world and not listen to others unless it’s about you. I think it’s important when it’s about you, and you get to see it .”

The Black Maternal Health Discussion takes place Wednesday at 10 a.m. on Southwest Tallahassee, Terry Gilliam, ABC27.