Black Women Leaders to Gather in Cincinnati May 19-20 for Inaugural Queens Village National Summit

Black women from across the country are coming together in Cincinnati this week in the fight for more first birthdays. Queens Village, an initiative of Cradle Cincinnati, is hosting its inaugural national summit Centering the Voices of Black Women in Maternal and Child Health on May 19 and 20 at the Contemporary Arts Center and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. The two-day summit will include events and activities designed to invest in and build up Black women leaders in order to improve Black infant mortality from the ground up.

Mayor Aftab Pureval and Councilmember Meeka Owens will serve as keynote speakers on Saturday, March 20. Local leaders in the areas of policy, fundraising, public health and systems change – including Senator Greg Landsman and bi3 President and CEO Jill Miller – will be on hand for roundtable discussions later that day. Participants will have the opportunity to connect with their peers for the first time in person, share best practices and innovative strategies happening in their communities and celebrate the power of their collective work.

Queens Village was formed five years ago to address the high rate of Black infant deaths in Hamilton County. Nationally, Black women are 2.5 times more likely to experience infant loss than White women. This disparity is even greater in Hamilton County, where improvements in Black maternal and infant health have occurred at slower rates than their White peers.

“If we want to succeed at reducing infant mortality, we have to center the voices of Black women,” said Dr. Meredith Shockley-Smith, Executive Director of Cradle Cincinnati and Founder of Queens Village. “By bringing Black women into the conversation, creating opportunities for them to grow and flourish, and following their lead, we can make real, sustainable change for the Black community.”

The summit comes as Queens Village expands its number of chapters to 13 nationwide. Recent additions include Akron, Ohio; Butler County, Ohio; Fresno, California; and Kansas City, Kansas.

“Queens Village is the dream of several Black women who came together to understand how Black moms were experiencing pregnancy and parenthood in Cincinnati based on their own lived experiences,” said Josselyn Okorodudu, Director of Community Strategies for Cradle Cincinnati. “What started as a group of ten women around a kitchen table in Northside has grown into a national movement making waves in maternal and infant health.”

“This summit is a testament to the power and strength of Black women, who have come together to prioritize and center our experiences,” said Marché Gendrew, Queens Village Expansion Manager. “Together, we are rejecting the negative messages that have held us back and embracing our true worth and leadership potential.”