Sis… heart disease is knocking at our door. ❤️
And one of the most powerful ways to help stop it? Movement.
Not perfection. Not punishment. Just moving our bodies in ways that support our hearts and our health.
Shoutout to @thefit_motivateher for the reminder we all need. Movement is medicine, and it doesn’t have to look one way to count.
Let’s keep showing up for our hearts ♥️
#MovementIsMedicine #MoveYourBody #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
We’re building something powerful in 2026, and we’re inviting vendors to build with us.
If you love the idea of working for and towards a great cause, come share your talents with us and support Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI), its programs, and special initiatives.
🔗 Vendor interest 👉🏾 bwhi.org/bid-information (Link in our bio)
#BWHI #VendorsWanted #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
The cancellation of Sherri isn’t just about one show ending.
It’s about what that space represented and why it matters for Black women’s health
For decades, Black women daytime hosts, from Wendy Williams, Jennifer Hudson, Tamron Hall, Joy Reid, and now Sherri Shepherd, created rooms where Black women were seen, heard, and centered. These platforms made space for conversations that don’t always happen elsewhere: joy, vulnerability, culture, humor, and normalized conversations that directly impact our health.
Black women’s media spaces have historically:
• Talked openly about menopause, aging, weight, grief, and infertility
• Made space for humor around bodily changes
• Validated experiences often dismissed in clinical settings
That validation matters. It reduces isolation. It affirms lived experience. It helps Black women feel less alone in bodies and seasons that are too often medicalized or ignored. When those spaces disappear, so does that public validation.
As Ebony Magazine noted, the end of Sherri reflects a broader pattern: shrinking space for Black women’s voices across media. And when our voices are minimized culturally, our health experiences are more easily dismissed systemically.
Health equity isn’t built only in exam rooms or policy chambers.
It’s also built in culture and in visibility.
When Black women own the platforms, our stories (including our health stories) don’t disappear. And that, too, is a health issue.
#BlackWomenInMedia #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
RFP Now Open: Digital Marketing & Media Agency
The Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) is seeking a strategic Digital Marketing & Media Agency to help strengthen and scale our digital presence.
The selected agency will support core digital operations and strategy, including managing our website and microsites, executing email marketing campaigns with analytics, maintaining our CRM and tech stack, supporting paid advertising, and providing ongoing guidance on KPIs, audience engagement, and conversion. This role also includes light design support, project tracking in Monday.com, and ensuring BWHI has full administrative access across all platforms.
We’re looking for a partner who understands mission-driven work, values accountability, and can help translate strategy into measurable impact.
🔗 View the full RFP and submission details: (link in our bio)
Application Deadline: February 4th
Requirements are outlined in the RFP
We look forward to partnering with a team ready to support equity-driven work at scale.
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first Black woman physician in the United States, and her legacy is deeply rooted in justice. She provided medical care to formerly enslaved people who were denied access to doctors and authored one of the first medical texts focused on the health of women and children.
Dr. Crumpler understood early on what we continue to fight for today: access to care has always been a civil and human rights issue.
Her work laid the foundation for health equity, advocacy, and policy change, reminding us that healthcare systems must be built to serve everyone, not just a few.
This is Black history.
This is health policy.
And this is the legacy we carry forward.
Want to learn more or get involved?
Explore BWHI’s health policy pillars and find ways to engage, link in our bio.
#BlackHistoryMonth #BHM #HealthPolicy #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative #BWHI
We’re kicking off Heart Health Month alongside champions and experts who know this truth: heart health is women’s health ❤️ @heyshantaq , BWHI EVP, Programs & Advocacy @enviablezsanai and our Policy Analyst, Christiana Verdelus
We’re proud to attend and support the Heart Health IS Women’s Health Forum, hosted by @healthywomenorg and @WomenHeart, a powerful convening where experts, advocates, and women with lived experience come together to reshape the conversation around women’s cardiovascular care.
This forum centers on what’s too often overlooked: women’s symptoms, real stories, prevention, and care that actually listens. Because closing the gap in heart health means centering women from diagnosis to treatment.
#HeartHealth #HeartHealthMonth #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
February is American Heart Month, and we need to say this plainly: heart disease is the #1 cause of death for Black women.
Not rare.
Not random.
And not because we don’t care about our health.
Heart disease shows up differently for Black women, often as fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, jaw or back pain, anxiety, or sleep issues. Too often, those symptoms are dismissed, minimized, or ignored until it’s too late.
Add chronic stress, racism, caregiving, lack of access, and being told to “push through,” and the risk compounds.
This month is about more than awareness.
It’s about listening to our bodies.
Taking symptoms seriously.
Advocating for care that believes us.
And creating systems that protect our hearts, not strain them.
Black women deserve to live long, healthy lives.
And our hearts deserve priority. ❤️
#HeartHealthMonth #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
Black History Month reminds us that progress didn’t happen by accident.
Long before health equity became a policy buzzword, Black women were building care systems, protecting families, gathering data, teaching communities, and challenging institutions that were never designed with us in mind.
They were physicians, midwives, educators, researchers, organizers, and advocates.
Many of them were never credited.
Most of them were never protected.
All of them laid the groundwork.
This month, Black Women’s Health Imperative is honoring that truth through our Black History Month theme: Health Policy Pioneers, the unsung architects whose work shaped access, care, and survival for Black women and our communities.
But honoring their legacy doesn’t stop at remembrance.
We honor it by continuing the work they started:
• Pushing for policies that protect Black women’s health
• Demanding accountability in systems that still fail us
• Centering lived experience in decision-making
• Building community care alongside policy change
Throughout the month, we’ll be spotlighting unsung heroes, the women whose impact still lives in today’s advocacy, and showing how BWHI is carrying their legacy forward through policy, research, education, and community action.
Because legacy isn’t something you archive.
It’s something you advance.
#BlackHistoryMonth #BHM #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
Before we turn the page on this month, let’s pause.
How is your body holding what this month asked of you? How’s your nervous system today?
There’s no right answer. Just awareness.
#MentalHealth #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
Take me thru there!!!! Whew… the world is doing the most right now. And we’re not ignoring the headlines and the heaviness.
But this week, at our staff retreat, we also reminded each other of something Black women have always known: joy is not a luxury… it’s a lifeline.
So we are allowed to have a little fun… even while we fight for our future. ✨
#BWHIteam #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative #takemethrudere
Menopause isn’t the end of anything; it’s a reset.
Our President & CEO, @thejoyd_ , spoke with @essence about what Black women really experience during perimenopause and menopause. The brain fog, mood changes, joint pain, intimacy shifts, fear, and the silence we’ve been taught to carry.
She reminded us that Black women don’t ignore our health, we prioritize everyone else first. And over time, we’ve learned to normalize feeling unwell.
But healing happens in community.
And menopause deserves culturally informed care, honest conversation, and support.
That’s why we created Power in the Pause to learn, unlearn, and navigate this season together.
This isn’t decline.
It’s clarity.
It’s confidence.
It’s power.
Read the full article in Essence (Link in our bio) https://www.essence.com/health-and-wellness/black-women-and-menopause/
#PowerInThePause #Menopause #Perimenopause #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
Whether you’re:
🌸 Navigating perimenopause or menopause
🍎 Living with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes
🌿 Breaking generational health patterns
💊 Pairing natural support with weight loss meds
💖 Finally putting YOUR health first
This program was made for YOU.
It’s not about the scale, it’s about better health, naturally.
👉🏾 Join our quick info session on Feb 5th at 6:00 PM (link in our bio)
Good news on prescription drug affordability 💊
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has identified 15 prescription drugs it plans to target for lower prices in 2028, including the GLP-1 medication Trulicity, along with treatments for Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.
This move is made possible by Inflation Reduction Act, which gave CMS the authority to negotiate the prices of some of the most expensive drugs on the market each year.
Why this matters:
High prescription costs force too many people, especially seniors and families managing chronic conditions, to skip doses, delay care, or choose between medicine and basic needs. Lower drug prices can mean better adherence, better health outcomes, and less financial strain.
This is one step toward reining in runaway drug costs but affordability and access must remain front and center as these negotiations move forward.
Because medicine should heal, not bankrupt the people who need it most.
#BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
Thank you @queenloany for this beautiful tribute.🕊️ We are honoring the life and legacy of Shirley Raines whose passing is being felt deeply by communities far beyond Los Angeles.
Ms. Shirley showed the world what compassion in action looks like. Through dignity, care, and radical love, she served unhoused women with beauty, hygiene, and humanity reminding them, and all of us, that every person deserves to be seen, respected, and cared for.
Her work was never about charity alone. It was about restoring worth, building trust, and meeting people where they are. That legacy will continue to ripple through the lives she touched and the movements she inspired.
We extend our deepest condolences to her loved ones, her community, and everyone who was changed by her light.
We’re celebrating powerful leadership 💜 🙌🏾 👏🏾
The American Psychological Association has elected Wendi S. Williams, PhD, as its 2026 President, and we couldn’t be more excited.
Over a career spanning more than two decades, Dr. Williams’ work has centered the inner lives, wellness, and lived experiences of Black women and girls. As APA president, she will advance her theme “Radically Well Together,” emphasizing the role of psychologists not only as scientists and practitioners, but as advocates, educators, and leaders shaping healthier communities.
As she shared, “The world needs us, and we need a healthier world.” We couldn’t agree more.
We also honor the Black women who paved the way before her, past APA presidents Dr. Thema Bryant @dr.thema , Dr. Jennifer F. Kelly, Dr. Rosie Phillip Bingham, and the first African American woman president of APA, Dr. Jessica Henderson Daniel.
This is what it looks like when Black women lead with vision, care, and impact. Congratulations, @drwendiwilliams , We’re excited to see what’s possible when wellness, science, and leadership come together.
Read more about Dr. Wendi S. Williams - https://www.apa.org/monitor/2026/01-02/wendi-williams-president
#BlackWomenLead #GenerationalHealth #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
😂 Listen… when @Choycebrown says “We have to fix this today”... we felt that. 🤣 @iamtabithabrown
Choyce, we don’t disagree. Something does have to give! Because the brain fog really does sneak up with no warning… one minute you’re fine, the next you’re standing in a room and forgot why you were there! 😩
But jokes aside, these experiences are real, common, and wildly under-discussed.
That’s why we created Power in the Pause, a space to navigate perimenopause and menopause together. We’re changing the lack of resources, the missing information, and the silence by centering Black women’s experiences, data, and voices.
Tap in with Power in the Pause, explore our groundbreaking menopause survey, and stay up to date on menopause policy as we keep our eyes on what’s happening.
Because laughing helps… but real support changes lives!
👉🏾 powerinthepause.bwhi.org (Link in our bio)
#Perimenopause #menopause #PowerinthePause #BWHI #BlackWomensHealth #TheImperative
Compassion should not be considered radical.
@drsharonthompson , Vice Chair of the Black Women’s Health Imperative, reminds us that care is not conditional. In her timely op-ed, she reflects on the death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, who stepped in to protect someone being harmed. He wasn’t on duty. He wasn’t seeking attention. He simply did what healers do.
And we also have to name the deeper heartbreak happening in this country right now.
Renée Good is gone.
Keith Porter is gone. He was a Black man whose death deserves to be spoken aloud and not forgotten.
We grieve them all.
We stand with their loved ones.
And we refuse to normalize a world where basic humanity is treated like a threat.
Now, if this isn’t just what the doctor ordered. 😍😍😍 Autumn, our timeline has officially been cleansed. 💜 @bam15_
RFP Now Open: Digital Marketing & Media Agency
The Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) is seeking a strategic Digital Marketing & Media Agency to help strengthen and scale our digital presence.
The selected agency will support core digital operations and strategy, including managing our website and microsites, executing email marketing campaigns with analytics, maintaining our CRM and tech stack, supporting paid advertising, and providing ongoing guidance on KPIs, audience engagement, and conversion. This role also includes light design support and project tracking.
We’re looking for a partner who understands mission-driven work, values accountability, and can help translate strategy into measurable impact.
🔗 View the full RFP and submission details: (link in our bio)
Application Deadline: February 4th
Requirements are outlined in the RFP
We look forward to partnering with a team ready to support equity-driven work at scale.
Health is bigger than what shows up on a chart, and managing diabetes means caring for your whole life, not just your labs.
If you’re looking for an accountability partner? We got you.
Tap in with our CYL2 program for education, support, and community that meets you where you are.
👉🏾 bwhi.org/cyl2 (Link in our bio)
#CYL2 #HealthIsOurBirthRight #LifestyleManagement #GenerationalHealth #BWHI #TheImperative