This year marks the 11th year of Black Breastfeeding Week and the organisers have announced the theme for 2023.
BBW 2023: We Outside! Celebrating Connection & Our Communities
Each year Black Breastfeeding Week carries its own theme and for 2023 the theme will be ‘We Outside! Celebrating Connection & Our Communities’. This year the event will run from 25th -31st August.
Speaking about the meaning of this year’s theme, the organisers said: “We are back outside…reconnecting and celebrating…sharing space again. As always, we are also outside the box as we redefine the Black breastfeeding and parenting experiences in our community.”
We are back outside…reconnecting and celebrating…sharing space again. As always, we are also outside the box as we redefine the Black breastfeeding and parenting experiences in our community.
What is Black Breastfeeding Week?
Black Breastfeeding Week is a yearly worldwide campaign founded in 2012 by breastfeeding advocates Kimberly Seals Allers, Kiddada Green and Anayah Sangodele-Ayoka. It takes place during the last week of August every year.
Breastfeeding is one of the best investments for saving lives and improving the health, social and economic development of individuals and nations. In the US and in other parts of the world breastfeeding rates amongst black people are lower than their white counterparts. The most recent CDC data show that 75% of white women have ever breastfed versus 58.9% of black women. The Black Breastfeeding Week campaign serves to help reduce these racial disparities by raising awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding amongst black communities.
Speaking on the boobingit podcast, co-founder Kimberly Seals Allers explained the need for Black Breastfeeding Week. She said: “We wanted to create a movement, to spark a revolution in reclaiming black breastfeeding. Certainly here in the US breastfeeding was something black women did before they were brought to this country and enslaved.” You can listen to the full episode here.
“We wanted to create a movement, to spark a revolution in reclaiming black breastfeeding.” says Kimberly Seals Allers