“A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.”

 Black people in the U.S. have the highest overall cancer death rate of any racial group and a lower 5-year survival rate than white patients. CDC+2KFF+2
 

In the 1990s, cancer death rates for Black people were about one-third higher than for white people; by 2022 that gap had narrowed but Black communities still face about 10–12% higher mortality overall. American Cancer Society+1
 

Breast cancer incidence is similar for Black and white women, but Black women have about a 40% higher death rate, and young Black women under 50 have roughly double the mortality of their white peers. Breast Cancer Research Foundation+1
 

For colorectal cancer, Black men have had a five-year mortality rate about 37% higher than the total male population. Office of Minority Health+1
 

Black patients are not just fighting cancer.
They are fighting delayed diagnosis, undertreatment, and disbelief.

From late-stage diagnoses to less access to cutting-edge treatments, cancer care continues to mirror the same pattern we see in birth and mental health: Black lives are asked to survive more with less.

 Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers we know—yet the burden is not shared equally.

Black women are about 41% more likely to develop cervical cancer than white women and 75% more likely to die from it. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital+1
 

National data show that cervical cancer death rates for Black women are about 65% higher than for white women, even though we have vaccines, screening tests, and treatments that could prevent most cases. American Cancer Society+1
 

Black women are more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage, when the cancer is harder to treat and survival drops sharply. PMC+2St. Jude Children's Research Hospital+2
 

When a preventable cancer is still killing Black women at higher rates,
that is not a medical failure alone.
It is a moral one.

Delays in screening, limited access to gynecologic care, stigma around HPV and sexual health, and a long history of medical racism all converge to turn a preventable disease into a deadly one in our communities.

 In the U.S., the overall maternal mortality rate in 2022 was 32.9 deaths per 100,000 births. For Black women, it was 49.5 – more than 2.5 times the rate for white women (19.0). CDC+1
 

In 2023, as rates improved for others, the rate for Black women stayed around 50 deaths per 100,000, still the highest of any group. American Hospital Association+1
 

The CDC estimates that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. CDC+2American Hospital Association+2
 

Infant mortality

In 2022, the U.S. infant mortality rate was 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. CDC+1
 

For babies born to Black mothers, that number jumps to about 10.9 deaths per 1,000—more than double the rate for white infants (4.5 per 1,000). Office of Minority Health+3ABC News+3KFF+3
 

Black women are not dying because their bodies are broken.
They’re dying because systems are.
 

When most deaths are preventable, and yet Black mothers and babies carry the heaviest burden, that’s not a coincidence; that’s a design problem.

 Maternal mental health disorders (including postpartum depression and anxiety) affect up to 20% of mothers—the most common complication of childbirth. JMIR Pediatrics+4Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health+4PMC+4
 

Studies show around 1 in 5 women experience postpartum depression globally, and many go undiagnosed and untreated. PMC+3Nature+3BioMed Central+3
 

The postpartum crisis doesn’t end at six weeks: one CDC study found that over half (57%) of women who had depressive symptoms at 9–10 months postpartum had no symptoms earlier in the year. CDC
 

Across the U.S., about half of maternal deaths happen after birth, between 7 days and 1 year postpartum—precisely when many families have been sent home, cleared from care, and told they’re “fine.” The Week+2CDC+2
 

Emerging research shows that Black mothers experience some of the highest burdens of postpartum depression, yet are less likely to be screened, diagnosed, or connected to treatment compared with white women. Health Affairs+2PMC+2

When postpartum care is rushed or ignored, depression is not “missed”;
it is manufactured. You cannot deny a mother support, and then be surprised when she struggles to survive.

This is why community-based doulas, extended postpartum follow-up, and culturally rooted mental health care aren’t optional “extras.” They are life-saving infrastructure.

 Overall rates of mental illness in Black communities are similar to the general population, but access to care, quality of care, and outcomes are not. American Psychiatric Association+2PMC+2
 

Black people are less likely to receive mental health treatment, more likely to live in “mental health deserts,” and more likely to encounter providers who are not culturally competent. Fountain House+2PMC+2
 

Black individuals are more likely to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia when they are actually experiencing mood disorders like depression. NAMI+1
 

Our pain is often called “attitude.”
Our trauma is called “aggression.”
And our symptoms are called “something else” until it is too late.

The result is a system where Black adults are both over-policed and under-treated, far more likely to be criminalized or restrained than to be offered therapy, medication, or long-term support.