A Charlotte nonprofit has changed the name of its maternal health conference out of fear of losing federal funding. What was the Black Maternal Health Conference no longer includes the word “Black.”
The local nonprofit Care Ring plans to host the conference on Thursday, April 17, at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church on Beatties Ford Road.
The conference coincides with Black Maternal Health Week and highlights the experience of Black women who, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are three times more likely to die from complications due to pregnancy, despite more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths being preventable.
The group's CEO, Tchernavia Montgomery, said the group decided to omit the word Black from the conference's title this year out of fear it could cost them federal funding.
“If we were to allow one word to trigger those that are in charge of disseminating funds, I believe that would be a detriment to those that we're serving,” Montgomery said. “We serve nearly 1,300 families with our maternal childhood programs. That is growing. I do not want to have to cease that programming for those individuals — knowing that for some of them it's life-saving — over one word.”
In 2023, Care Ring received a $1 million federal grant to help reduce infant deaths and health disparities among those who are uninsured or underinsured.
In January, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the elimination of all federal funding that advances DEI initiatives, programs and services.
Thursday's event is expected to include 12 breakout sessions and a conversation with U.S. Rep. Alma Adams of Charlotte and a Mecklenburg County public health representative.
