In 2022, NBMA and the parent organization in which it was housed, the Southern Birth Justice Network, launched a campaign to establish March 14 as Black Midwives Day.

"A nationally recognized Black Midwives Day venerates the work and contributions of past and present birth attendants who have served to usher in new life despite a history fraught with persecution, enslavement, violence, racism and the systematic erasure of community Black midwives throughout the 20th century.

The resurgence of Black midwifery is a testament to the resilience, resistance, and determination of spirit in the preservation of healing modalities that are practiced all over the world. The focus on holistic care, which involves caring for the whole person, family and community, is what makes a difference in midwifery."

The goals of the Black Midwives Day campaign are:

To strengthen the base of Black midwives and their supporters.
To preserve the cultural history of Black midwifery as an important part of the story of America.
To provide advocacy tools that eliminate barriers to education and resources for Black midwives.
To build power by developing a national unified voice that advocates for Black midwifery.
To address perinatal health disparities that impact Black communities.
To elevate the consumer demand for access to midwifery and community birth.

Join us in celebrating Black midwives on March 14th each year!

Learn more about why NBMA/SBJN created this campaign and sign the Black Midwives Day petition on change.org, with currently over 4,000 signatures.

Sign the Petition

Artwork created by
artist Bekezela Mguni

Jamarah on March 14, 2019; day of receiving the Trailblazer Award.

Herstory: Jamarah Amani Day in the City of Miami

In 2019, Jamarah Amani, co-founder of NBMA and Executive Director of the Southern Birth Justice Network was awarded the Trailblazer Award by the Miami Commission on the Status of Women along with a proclamation that March 14 would be Jamarah Amani Day in the City of Miami.

Her vision for this day was to aim higher than the recognition of a sole midwife. As reported by the Miami Times at the time, she said, "To me, this is an opportunity to raise the visibility of Black mamas, Black midwives, and Black doulas and to compel elected officials in Miami to have conversations about the intersections of oppression that impact health outcomes.”

She believed a day honoring the legacy of Black midwifery would be a greater value. In 2022, as the Executive Director of both SBJN and NBMA (which was a project incubated within SBJN), Jamarah repurposed this profound day of honor to include the collective body of past, present, and future midwives: Black Midwives Day.

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