PA-ACNM Action Statement
On June 2nd, 2020, PA-ACNM released a statement about our commitment to Black lives in the Commonwealth and our concerns about the violence and health disparities threatening Black communities. As a Board, we acknowledge that our words are not enough. Not only do we wish to be outspoken leaders in midwifery, but we would like to engage in tangible actions that bring about change within our profession and, most importantly, for the Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in our care.
Below are the commitments we pledge to make as an affiliate to put words into action:
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
We have created the Pennsylvania Health Equity Anti-Racism (HEAR) Scholarship within the ACNM Foundation, which is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable fund. This enables us to accept tax-deductible donations and set up specific scholarship funds to support PA members. PA-ACNM created the first of these scholarships specifically for BIPOC in our membership enrolled in an accredited Nurse-Midwifery or Certified Midwifery program, doctoral and postdoctoral studies. PA-ACNM has donated $10,000 to initiate the scholarship, in addition to $12,000 raised in a capital campaign for the scholarship. Please click on this link to donate to the scholarship fund: https://pahear.givesmart.com
HEALTH EQUITY ANTI-RACISM (HEAR) COMMITTEE
We recognize that other ACNM Affiliates have established Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committees in their affiliate structure and we have not. While our board plans to reach out to other affiliates for best practices and lessons learned to determine how we can most effectively leverage the work of a committee, we feel it is essential to focus on the work of the committee squarely on the root cause of health inequities that threaten and affect maternal mortality and morbidity in our state: racism. The Health Equity and Anti-Racism (HEAR) Committee supports the work of PA-ACNM at every level. We invite your feedback and, more importantly, your participation on the HEAR Committee. We welcome insight and wisdom of Black, Indigenous, and Midwives of Color and invite leadership and engagement on the part of all midwives within the affiliate. To do so, please get in touch with us at hear.pa.acnm@gmail.com.
ENGAGEMENT
We plan to release our Pennsylvania-focused survey to assess what Black, Indigenous, Midwives, and Student Midwives of Color need, both in their midwifery practices and from the affiliate. With the hope that our newly HEAR Committee may guide this effort, we will release our survey in the Fall of 2023. Again, we invite your feedback and participation. Please get in touch with us at hear.pa.acnm@gmail.com.
LEADERSHIP
Given the newly adopted ACNM Bylaws, there is now a precedent for BIPOC representation and voting power on the National Board of Directors. We want to replicate this in our state affiliate board structure by including the Chair of the HEAR Committee and an at-large Black, Indigenous, Midwife of Color (BIMOC; self-identified) as voting members of the Board. We will actively work on these mechanisms and will move to amend our bylaws accordingly. We will also work on creating an avenue(s) by which to develop and nurture sustainable leadership within the ranks of BIMOC in our state so that BIMOC in our form going forward can fill more positions of leadership.
ANTI-RACISM WORK
In tight alignment with our Affiliate mission and values, we recognize that systemic racism, interpersonal racism, and implicit bias are the root causes of inequities in health care and within our profession. Ongoing anti-racism work on the part of the Affiliate Board and membership is required to address this directly. We recognize that our white members must do the bulk of this work. We will investigate anti-racism training opportunities for our Board and make them available to our membership. With the hope that our HEAR Committee may guide this effort, we will release a formal plan for ongoing anti-racism opportunities in the Fall of 2023.
These are the deliverable steps that the PA-ACNM Board will take on behalf of our membership and our communities to be held accountable to our June 2nd, 2020 Black Lives Matter Statement. We hope you, our members, will join us in these efforts, as we cannot do this alone. Our voices are powerful, but collective action toward change is needed now. Please get in touch with us at hear.pa.acnm@gmail.com with your feedback, ideas, or desire to join us in these efforts.
In solidarity,
The PA-ACNM Board