As part of the State of Black Life in York Series, YWCA York’s Racial Justice Committee presents Toxic: A Black Woman’s Story, a Black maternal health film. After the screening, please stay for a panel discussion hosted by the YWCA York’s Racial Justice committee on the film and Black maternal health in York.

African American families experience every kind of pregnancy loss at a significantly higher rate than any other racial group. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black women are twice as likely as white women to experience infant loss. To shed light on this critical issue, First Year Cleveland’s Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) Committee and the Healthy Neighborhoods Committee of Healthy Cleveland developed a film to examine the impact of racism and stress on African American maternal and infant health outcomes. Funding was provided by First Year Cleveland’s Pregnancy and Infant Loss Committee. The film was directed by Devon Collins, Stimuli Film, Inc. The film was produced by Chris Benninger, Your Story on Film, LLC.