At Melanin and Maternal Wellness, our advocacy is rooted in the principles of Birth Justice and Reproductive Justice, both created through the leadership, scholarship, and organizing traditions of Black women.

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We are guided by the Birth Justice framework developed by Jamarah Amani, community midwife, founder and Executive Director of Southern Birth Justice Network, architect of the Black Midwives Model of Care and the Birth Justice Bill of Rights, co founder of the National Black Midwives Alliance, and founder of Black Midwives Day. Birth Justice recognizes that Black communities and other historically marginalized communities deserve safe, culturally centered, holistic, and self determined care across the entire reproductive journey, including prenatal, birth, postpartum, breastfeeding, miscarriage, and abortion care.

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We also ground our advocacy in the Reproductive Justice framework established by SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, which affirms the human right to bodily autonomy, to have children, to not have children, and to parent children in safe and sustainable communities.

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These frameworks shape how Melanin and Maternal Wellness approaches advocacy. We believe Black maternal health cannot be separated from housing, economic justice, healthcare access, voting rights, environmental conditions, and the policies that determine whether Black families are able to survive and thrive.

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Through policy education, civic engagement, leadership development, legislative advocacy, and community rooted healing work, we connect lived experience to systems change. Initiatives such as Black Birth on the Ballot™, the Asè Toolkit®, legislative tracking, public education campaigns, and strategic partnerships allow us to advocate for a future where Black families are fully supported, protected, and empowered throughout the reproductive journey.

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