After losing her son, this LA mom's mission is saving black babies
This project received support from the Center for Health Journalism's California Fellowship and its Fund for Journalism on Child Well-being.
Other stories in the series include:
Black babies die at twice the rate of white babies. My family is part of this statistic
America's black babies are paying for society's ills. What will we do to fix it?
Saving black babies by saving a whole neighborhood
What's behind the high black infant mortality rates? Racism, not race
Raena Granberry, who lost her first baby in 2011, handing out flyers about California's Black Infant Health program. She does community outreach for a group called Great Beginnings for Black Babies. Priska Neely/KPCC
Black babies die at a shocking rate in this country. Nationally, black infants are two times more likely to die before their first birthday than white infants. In Los Angeles County, black babies are three times more likely to die.
Seven years ago, Raena Granberry had never heard these statistics. But when she lost her first baby, she turned her grief and anger into action. Now she does community outreach for a group that's working to close the gap.
As L.A. County public health officials launch a new plan to address the issue, Granberry is cautiously optimistic – hoping for action, funding and real change.
[This story was originally published by KPCC.]