Let me be clear: I wanted to put myself between the racist healthcare systems and the patients who looked like me.

I built my career around this instinct - that the individuals that needed me most were in the hospital setting and I set out to serve that population first and foremost. What I couldn’t address directly back then for fear of losing my job - I will say aloud with nothing short of certainty today - is that midwifery, as a practice, can serve as a tool to change the racial inequalities of patients seeking a hospital birth.

While I was moving from being a nurse to a midwife, I was driven toward leadership by countless situations where I felt like I couldn’t address the decisions being made. This story - this conflict facing caregivers, especially those of us who are called to midwifery to serve our communities - is playing out across the whole country. 

And as more and more individuals like me finally get a chance to lead and speak their truth and advocate for their patients in a new and more equitable way, we are also demanding change within the systems that have brought the inequitable healthcare and maternal care we see today.

Last year was a reckoning in so many ways. My work existed before Black Lives Matter and is focused on maternity care. What I appreciate about the current climate after George Floyd’s death is that more non-BIPOC individuals are acknowledging racism. I’m seeing more non-BIPOC individuals trying to become better allies. 

 There has finally been some acknowledgment about the impacts of racism in our maternity care system and a heavier push for change. This is a step in the direction as COVID-19 has also been taking the lives of Black people and minorities disproportionately - as if we didn’t have enough to deal with day-to-day.

Working at the intersection of racial inequality and maternal health has been my life’s work and the past year has only solidified my calling. That’s why I’m a proud board member of March for Moms. They, too, realize this is where the work needs to be done and they’re showing up and doing the work.
 

Join me in helping March for Moms establish stability during uncertainty by setting up a monthly contribution - any amount will help. Supporters like you have shown up for March for Moms in the past and it’s time to do it again. Because moms still need us. Babies are still coming. And healthcare isn’t equitable.

In love and justice,

Ebony Marcelle

Board Member, March for Moms

March for Moms is a non-partisan, 501 ©(3) non-profit that aligns the diverse voices of families, health care providers, policymakers, and partners to advocate for mothers and families’ health, well-being and equal access to care.