BLACK INFANT MORTALITY AWARENESS WALK (BIMAW)

The Black Infant Mortality Awareness Walk (#BIMAW) started in Missouri to bring awareness to the issue of Black infant mortality in our community. Black infants are twice as likely to die prior to their first birthday than their White counterparts.  Prematurity and low birth weight are the leading causes of infant death in the African- American community. The reasons for this tragic health inequity are varied and complex, but many deaths are preventable.

Uzazi Village will host its ninth annual “Black Infant Mortality Awareness Walk” on Saturday, September 16, 2023, registration starting at 8am and finishing at 12pm. The walk will commence at the Kansas City Health Department
(2400 Troost, Kansas City, MO 64108). Walkers will converge at Uzazi Village (4232 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO 64110) around 11am. The walk is approximately 2 1/2 miles for walkers and will proceed down Troost Ave, the traditional racial dividing line of the city.

BIMAW ORIGIN STORY

The first walk took place back in 2014, when Hakima Payne (known in community as Mama Hakima), Chief Executive Officer of Uzazi Village, attempted to walk across the state of Missouri via the Katy Trail, but her journey was cut short in Jefferson City, due to a hit and run car accident. Despite not reaching the eastern state border, Hakima managed to maintain her speaking engagements at hospitals and universities along her walk. Since that time, Hakima’s story has inspired others and the “Black Infant Mortality Awareness Walk” has become an annual event, now based in Kansas City, MO.

“Despite this being the ninth annual walk, very little has been done to increase the survival rate of Black infants” says Hakima. “Our African-American families are still more than twice as likely to lose their infants before their first birthday in comparison to their Caucasian counterparts. This walk is a chance for the community to come together and urge healthcare and government systems to address this disparity.” To that end, Uzazi Village invites you to join us. Wherever you are, you can order T-shirts, signage, playlist and advocacy toolkit to put together a walk in your area. 

Join us on September 16, 2023 from 8am until Noon to send a message to healthcare providers, law makers and policy makers, and our communities as a whole that the survival of Black babies is an issue that impacts us all. 

Mama Hakima, CEO, Uzazi Village