The health care delivery system in the U.S has created a situation in which black women are three to four times more likely to die than their white counterparts. While there are a multitude of factors that contribute to this dynamic, democrats such as Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Elizabeth Warren are arguing that it really all boils down to prejudice. Doctors and nurses don’t give as much precedence to black mothers’ health concerns as they do white women. This has resulted in a huge disparity as well as a growing mortality rate amongst black mothers.
Consequently, as the 2020 vote approaches, Democrats seem to be following the strategy of garnering the support of their most influential allies, black women. The push for a celebration of “Black Maternal Health Week”, as well as the different economic approaches being offered to incentivize hospitals to take better care of the women of color that visit them, are some of the ways in which Democrats hope to rally support. While the political motives of this growing narrative are explicit, it is an undeniably good start to increasing the attention towards the racial bias that black mothers in the U.S. face.