During the Jim Crow era, The Green Book was a travel guide used by African-American motorists to journey safely across the United States. It offered suggestions on where to eat, sleep and fill up your gas tank in both Northern and Southern States.

The Green Book was essential to avoiding humiliation, racism, prejudice and in the most egregious cases, death by White supremacists. To celebrate Juneteenth and to honor the legacy of the Green Book, we created ‘The Pink Book’ to further its root cause of protecting the Black community, by offering safe havens throughout the journeys of Black folks.

Simply put ‘The Pink Book’ is the Black Woman’s guide to a safe delivery. It is widely known that Black women have the highest instance of maternal mortality in the United States. Black women are 4x more likely to die during childbirth, 80% more likely to return to the emergency room during their postpartum period and forty-percent more likely to suffer from undiagnosed postpartum mental illness than White women. Knowing the aforementioned often leaves Black Women fearful, confused and cautious about where to give birth and receive postpartum care.

Personally, I gave birth to both of my daughters at Morristown Hospital in New Jersey, but I live in Harlem, NY. I knew that my chances of maternal morbidity and infant mortality were substantially decreased by crossing the George Washington Bridge.

She Matters’ Co-Founder Marguerite Pierce and I linked with our Founder friends and mompreneurs at Proxi, to offer Black Mamas an interactive map that lists the safest hospitals across 14 states with the largest African-American populations in the United States. This map shows women where they are likely to have the best outcomes for their maternal care. All the data used was collected by institutional researchers and checked via CDCand US News. We will continue to update the map over time and expand our coverage universe.

We hope this empowers Black Women and their families with the information they need to take on one of the most important journeys, bringing life into the world. In peace.

With so much love,

Jade Kearney CEO and Co-Founder