Black Maternal Health Project

Between January and June, 2024, we conducted workshops with local Black women to discuss the Black maternal health crisis, explore and celebrate stories of Black midwives of the past, and discuss ways forward to improve outcomes for Black women. In our final workshop, the participants and workshops leads (Natalie Denny and Michelle Richards) created a shrine to Granny Marie, a Black midwife who was born under slavery on Oakland Plantation, Louisiana. You can download the final project report here.

This is the collaborative poem produced by participants to honour Granny Marie.

Thank you to Oakland Plantation, National Park Service (USA) for allowing use of the image of Granny Marie.