Our Commitment to Community
Guiding Principals
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Focus on the lived experience of Black women
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Bring a diversity of ideas, experiences, and cultures to the table through radical collaboration
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Create an equitable, inclusive, and transparent process that leverages collective creativity
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Leverage community passion and relationships to draw support from existing programs and organizations, to not replicate or replace what is currently taking place
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Be action-focused by creating iterative projects that allow for feedback and insights in real-time to inform and refine the work
Collective Challenges
We want to reduce screening, diagnosis, and treatment gaps for Black women. But there are challenges:
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COVID has worsened and made public the health inequities in our breast cancer screening rates and access to care.
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Women had fewer mammograms and care during the pandemic.
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The high mortality rate of black women from breast cancer is seen across income levels. For example, Highland Park, a middle-class neighborhood in St. Paul, has the same mammography screening rates for black women as the Phillips neighborhood, where the average income is $30,000. It is more than a question of economics.
Partnering with community members and health systems, we close the gaps and make inspired change led by Black women partnering with their communities and health systems.
Collective Action
While there is a solid commitment to working on this issue, the work has often been done in silos. Many groups, e.g., healthcare systems, businesses, public health, and nonprofits, individually focus on this issue. We want to change that.
Community Co-Design around a common agenda driven by the lived experiences of black women will save lives. Sustained community engagement and trusting relationships will fuel innovation and success.
