Madison-WI- Following Representative Shelia Stubbs’ Speech at the 15^th Annual Black Women’s Wellness Day celebration, Representative Shelia Stubbs released the following statement:

“I salute and honor Founder and President Lisa Peyton-Caire and the Board of Directors for the creation of the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. For over 11 years, the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness has acted as a source of empowerment and equity in health care for Black women in our community.

We are here today because it is evident that the present and future of Black Women’s health is in a state of emergency in Wisconsin. The health disparities we face are executions of aims to depreciate the value of every aspect of our livelihoods by institutions of power. It is without question that we must destroy the status quo that allows Black babies to be born into a state where they have the highest rates of infant mortality, premature birth, and low birth weights of any demographic. The same state where 40% of them will live in poverty as a child and likely experience health side effects and more severe ailments as adults because of their lack of access to preventative care, the state that is worst to raise a Black family in. That is why it is critical to have organizations like the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. Their advocacy is key to promoting change and amending these health disparities in our communities.

The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness has played a fundamental role in mobilizing and supporting Black women toward a vision of, in the words of the Foundation 'a world where Black women and girls live long, happy and thriving lives, defined by healthy minds, bodies and spirits.' The Foundation has created numerous spaces for support and socialization where Black women, regardless of age or diagnosis, can grow in knowledge and connection in a group setting. Just a few examples include their walking groups, fitness classes through Project Live Well, and their support groups for Black women with cancer and lupus.
In addition to the community they have fostered, the Foundation has also undertaken policy and advocacy efforts to combat high Black infant mortality and morbidity rates in Dane County and Wisconsin as a whole. They have conducted community-wide outreach and assessments to understand and address the underlying causes of low birth weight among Black infants. They have also partnered with local doulas to support parents through pregnancy and birth, which includes fostering better communication between parents and healthcare providers.
Achieving equity will be a strenuous process that may outlive us but I remain assured we will succeed. I have hope because of where we have come from; we have made progress despite all odds. We have done this because of the passion with which our ancestors dreamed for us. Each and every generation has worked for our present so that we could work for the next generation’s future. I hold on to their hope because I believe in all the women in front of me. Congratulations once again to the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness on the 15^th annual celebration of Black Women’s Wellness Day.

In the words of the late Dr. Maya Angelou, ‘Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.'”