Black women carried so much this year.
The weight. The work. The worry. The love.
And still, we rose.
We built.
We loved fiercely.
Today, we honor both truths:
survival and softness.
strength and rest.
As we step into 2026, we’re bringing our lessons, our boundaries, our joy, and our care for ourselves with us. We’re leaving behind what no longer serves us, and moving forward with intention.
You are still here.
And that matters. 💜
#BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
We love this mother–daughter workout routine by @fitgurlmel 🫶🏾💪🏾
This is what wellness looks like too, moving your body with the people you love, modeling healthy habits, and making joy part of the routine. It’s not about perfection. It’s about connection, consistency, and showing the next generation that caring for your body is an act of love.
Black women don’t just pass down strength, we pass down wellness.
And we’re here for all of it. 💜
Who would you work out with if fitness felt more like bonding and less like pressure?
#GenerationalHealth #GenerationalWealth #Wellness #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
Thank you for learning with us.
For sharing the truth.
For advocating for Black women’s health.
For donating, supporting, and showing up in ways big and small.
This movement is stronger because of you.
Your voices matter. Your care matters. Your commitment makes change possible. 💜
And know this, bigger and better things are coming in 2026.
We’re building, growing, and pushing forward together. 💪🏾
#BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
Don’t wait for January 1 to start choosing yourself.
Start today.
Your health matters now.
Your goals matter now.
Your life deserves care right now.
There’s no perfect date on the calendar that makes you more worthy of rest, movement, healing, or change. One small choice today is still powerful.
Progress doesn’t begin with a new year, it begins the moment you decide you’re worth it.
Start where you are.
We’re with you. 💜
The experts are paying attention, and it shows!
“They’ve been told their symptoms are stress, aging, anxiety, or something they simply need to push through.
Emerging research continues to show that menopause is not a uniform experience—and for Black women, the burden is often heavier, more prolonged, and more dismissed. While education and access to care are often cited as solutions, they are not enough on their own.
This persistent gap points to something deeper: a disconnect in how information is shared, how care is delivered, and whose experiences are truly centered in medicine.
That uncertainty is not a failure of patients, it’s a failure of the system.
If we are serious about improving menopause outcomes, we must do more. We must ensure Black women are not only educated, but believed. Not only given access, but truly supported. This stage of life deserves more visibility, more nuance, and more accountability from the healthcare system” @jessicashepherdmd
We do this work because Black women deserve to be heard, believed, and cared for at every stage of life. 💜
Read the full report (link in our bio)
#Menopause #PowerInThePause #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
This is the kind of healthcare training we need more of. 💜
In this video, Clinical Medical Assistant Ms. Sumter ( @orleanstech) is doing hands-on phlebotomy training with students, allowing them to practice on her, guiding them with patience, care, and real love.
A Black medical assistant teaching Black students.
Leading with skill and compassion.
Creating confidence, trust, and excellence in real time.
This is how we build better healthcare, by training providers who are seen, supported, and grounded in care for their communities.
More of this. Always.
#HealthcareTraining #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
May this season bring you moments of peace, deep breaths, and the permission to slow down.
You deserve care today and every day.
From all of us at the Black Women’s Health Imperative,
Merry Christmas and warm wishes for the days ahead. 💜🎄
This season is about you, too. 💜
Your needs don’t disappear during the holidays.
Your body still needs rest.
Your mind still needs care.
Your boundaries still matter.
It’s okay to slow down.
It’s okay to say no.
It’s okay to choose yourself, even when everything around you feels loud and demanding.
Take care of you.
That’s not selfish. That’s necessary.
YASSSS, this is right on time! 📚
While we’re already planning resolutions and dreaming ahead to 2026, our sis @nemreads came through with a list of book releases by Black authors dropping in 2026 and we’re obsessed.
If “read more” is on your resolutions list (or you’re trying to be more intentional about what’s on your bookshelf), she’s got us covered. Period.
And this is just Part 1… Save this, share it, and start building that 2026 reading list now.
Black stories. Black voices. Black brilliance. Always. 🖤📖
#2026 #NewYearResolutions #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved oral semaglutide (Wegovy) a once-daily pill shown to support weight loss and help reduce major adverse cardiovascular events.
Why this matters:
Pills are familiar, less intimidating, and often easier to fit into daily routines. For many people, a pill isn’t just more convenient, it can feel more psychologically accessible, too. Options matter.
As always, access, affordability, and culturally responsive care are key and decisions about medications should be made with a trusted healthcare provider who understands your full health picture.
We’ll continue to share what’s new, what it means, and what questions to ask because we deserve clear information and real choices when it comes to our health. 💜
#BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
What the experts are saying matters, and this is powerful.
"This survey makes something very clear. Black women are carrying far too much of this experience without the information, support, or validation they deserve. Their symptoms are real. Their stories are real. This data finally reflects what they have been saying for years, and it gives all of us a responsibility to pay attention and continue fighting for change." @Tamsenfadal
This is exactly why we did this work.
✅To validate lived experiences.
✅To put data behind what Black women have been saying for years.
✅To demand better care, better information, and real support.
Because Black women deserve to be heard, believed, and cared for at every stage of life. 💜
Read the full report (link in our bio)
#Menopause #PowerInThePause #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
BWHI's policy work is guided by 5 pillars, and the first one centers one truth:
Black women deserve care that hears us, believes us, and treats us with dignity.
From Medicaid expansion to reproductive health, mental health, chronic disease management, and maternal care, this pillar lays out real policy solutions that move us closer to equity, justice, and the healthcare system we all deserve.
Our lives, our voices, and our experiences must shape the future of healthcare reform. And our 2025–2026 National Health Policy Agenda is the roadmap!
💜 Read the full Agenda → link in bio
#TheImperative #HealthEquity #BlackWomensHealth #PolicyAgenda2025 #BWHI
Sis, Your next Monday doesn’t have to be another “starting over.”
You’re not behind. You’re building.
Real lifestyle changes don’t have to be big, dramatic resets, they happen one choice at a time.
One glass of water.
One stretch.
One boundary.
One moment where you choose yourself.
You don’t have to restart your life every Monday. You’re allowed to continue. Progress counts even when it’s quiet.
Keep going. We’re right here with you. If wellness is the goal, check out CYL² for culturally tailored support! (Link in our bio)
@Kemidoll
#WellnessForBlackWomen #ProgressNotPerfection #GentleWellness #BWH
If this season feels heavy, you’re not alone. 💜
Joy and grief can sit at the same table and both are welcome here.
You don’t have to rush your healing.
You don’t have to explain your feelings.
Be gentle with yourself.
Rest when you need to.
Feel what you feel.
We’re holding space for you. Always. 🫶🏾
Listen… Christmas shopping in 2025 hits DIFFERENT.
Yes, it does cost that much for that little thing. And no, sis, don’t let these kids stress you out we are doing the BEST we can out here.
Kids’ lists are next level! Meanwhile we’re just trying to make magic without losing our minds (or our coins). 😂
Take a breath. Hide in your car for five minutes.
And remember: You are the gift too, sis. 🎁💜
The return of unaffordable healthcare is not new to Black women.
Our Policy team breaks this down in a powerful new article for CBC Health Brain Trust Broadsheet titled “The Return of Unaffordable Healthcare: A Story Black Women Know Too Well.”
With Medicaid cuts underway and ACA premiums at risk of skyrocketing by more than 100%, Black women are once again bracing for a crisis we’ve already lived through. Before the ACA, too many of us were uninsured, locked out of care, and forced to delay life-saving treatment. The ACA changed that cutting uninsured rates, expanding preventive care, and saving lives. Now, those hard-won gains are being rolled back.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t just policy. It’s groceries vs. prescriptions. Rent vs. doctor visits. And it will deepen health disparities we already carry, from maternal mortality to chronic disease.
Black women are often the first to feel the impact when systems fail. What’s happening now is a warning the country should take seriously.
Click the link in our bio to read the full article and learn what must be done to protect our health and our futures.
#BWHI #HealthEquity #BlackWomensHealth #PolicyMatters #HealthcareJustice
Lean In release the 2025 Women in the Workplace report and somehow they managed to write it cover to cover without mentioning childcare, motherhood, eldercare, or caregiving even once.
Not a paragraph.
Not a sentence.
Not even a footnote.
But they still blamed women for “lacking ambition.”
What the report doesn’t say is this: Women are carrying the weight of motherhood, caregiving, and emotional labor while working in systems that were never designed with us in mind.
Women are leading teams, managing households, earning degrees, advocating for communities and still being told we’re not ambitious.
The issue isn’t our drive.
The issue is a workplace culture that still expects women to do it all, carry it all, and smile through it all, with no structural support.
It’s time to stop blaming women and start fixing the systems that keep failing us.
#WomenInTheWorkplace #BlackWomensHealth #TheMentalLoad #CareEconomy #EquityAtWork #LeanIn #BWHI #TheImperative
We love this so much. 🥹
“If your aunties don’t make up songs for you, are they really your aunties?!!” @robertacemerson @becauseofthem
This is Black love in real time.
Aunties surrounding their nieces with joy, laughter, and encouragement as they enter a new season.
Every young girl deserves this kind of village. 💜
Before we wrap up the week and roll into a busy holiday one, let’s pause for a real sister check-in. 🫶🏾
Sista… what made you smile today?
And if you haven’t smiled yet, go do something you love, even something small, then come back and tell us about it.
Because even in heavy seasons, joy is still our act of resistance.
A soft moment.
A little giggle.
That deep breath you didn’t know you needed.
Sometimes that’s exactly the medicine.
Drop one thing that brought you a little light today or tag/share this with a sister who might need a gentle “I see you.”
We’re choosing joy, holding space for it, and loving on each other this season!
#SisterCheckIn #JoyIsResistance #WellnessForBlackWomen #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
🚩 Let’s talk red flags in healthcare.
@doctor.bayo reminded us of something far too real:
Some doctors are still prescribing blood pressure medications based on race, even though that approach has been debunked for years.
Black women deserve care rooted in science, not stereotypes.
If a provider can’t clearly explain why they chose your medication, the risks, or the alternatives? That’s a red flag.
And you have every right to ask questions, push back, or seek another opinion.
Advocating for yourself is not being difficult, it’s protecting your health.
👏🏾 to @wayupwithyee for hosting this conversation.
#BlackWomensHealth #AdvocateForYourself #HealthEquity #BWHI #TheImperative