Racing to Save Black Moms

What we're doing. Our three teams (Team Tikee, Team Onyx, and We Don't Quit (WDQ) Adventure Racing Club) are racing in the Shenandoah Epic, a Regional Championship qualifier for the nationals of the U.S. Adventure Racing Association (USARA). The Epic is a hard-core adventure race in which our teams will have 24 hours to cover up to 100 unmarked miles--on and off trails) of the beautiful, rugged Shenandoah Valley. We’ll pick up checkpoints along the way and navigate with just a map and compass. The race will include 30-40 miles of trekking by foot, 14 miles of paddling on the Shenandoah River, and 40-50 miles of mountain biking on amazing trails. We’ll start at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 9:00 a.m. the next morning. 

Why we are doing it. In America today, Black women are two to four times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth than white women. In October 2017, our friend Tikee — a hardworking mother with an infectious laugh and eternal optimism — was one of them. Tikee's husband Tavar and her friend Rae assembled a team of people dedicated to honoring Tikee's memory by supporting the fight to lower Black maternal death rates. As Team Tikee, we city folks are turning ourselves into hardcore adventure racers — and we're sharing Tikee's story with the world. But as Team Tikee geared up for the race, our friends at Team Onyx and WDQ — who have been endlessly supportive of Team Tikee and its mission — offered to join us! 

Who we are supporting. This campaign is to support Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA), a national network of black women-led organizations and multi-disciplinary professionals who work to ensure that all Black Mamas have the rights, respect, and resources to thrive before, during, and after pregnancy. BMMA honors the work and historical contributions of black women’s leadership within their communities and values the need to amplify this work on a national scale. For this reason, BMMA does not have chapters. The alliance is composed of existing organizations and individuals whose work is deeply rooted in reproductive justice, birth justice, and the human rights framework.

In order to secure a future in which all Black Mamas have the rights, respect, and resources to thrive throughout their lives—including their reproductive lives—we must take a step back from the numbers and reach into Black Mamas who can best speak to how to realize this vision. 

Be part of the movement to advance Black Maternal Health, Rights, and Justice! Your gift will help fund our work to ensure Black mamas thrive before, during, and after pregnancy. Thank you for your support.

A gift at any level can have an impact:

• $50 - Enables BMMA to educate and engage thousands of healthcare providers, patients, and birth workers by hosting online maternal health webinars;
• $100 - Contributes to the success of BMMA’s annual National Campaign;
• $250 - Allows BMMA to update the BMMA toolkit, a rich document complete with research, state policies, resources and talking points for anyone interested in maternal health for black women;
• $500 - Enables BMMA to conduct and contribute to research to impact practices of medical providers, advance policies and bring awareness to black maternal health;
• $1,000 - Helps BMMA present its national health conference and training institute convening partners on policy reform.

Other ways to support. In addition to donations, you can follow along and cheer our teams on at https://live.enabledtracking.com/epic2022/.  That website will include live media, commentary, and event information, and allow you to send our teams messages of support that we can see when we complete the race!