On Thursday, March 20, Grand Valley State University’s Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies welcomed alumna Amanda Rostic back to campus for a showing of her documentary film “Delivering While Black.”
Through the screening, Rostic, who graduated from the University with a Master of Public Health degree, brought attention to racial disparities in maternal and infant birthing outcomes. Specifically, the film focuses on the inequalities Black women have faced within the healthcare system in Grand Rapids. The event ended with a group Q&A and panel discussion, where community members were able to engage in conversation with the film’s cast. The panel also included healthcare specialists, who shared their personal experiences within the healthcare and delivery system.
“I hope my film creates spaces where people from different backgrounds can come together and learn,” Rostic said. “I hope students and faculty feel encouraged and inspired to use their voices and influence to change the world around them in positive and meaningful ways.”
Joy Schaefer, an Interdisciplinary Studies affiliate faculty member who helped organize the screening, said the college hoped to highlight the ongoing urgency of the subject, as well as the importance of centering topics related to systemic and institutional racism. She added that the topic was able to spark deep reflection and inspiration during Women’s History Month.
“As a white woman who has never been interested in having biological children, I’m practicing cultural humility by co-organizing (the film showing) that asks us to listen to Black women and Black birthing people who have been harmed by institutions that are built to help people like me survive and thrive more than them (Black individuals),” said Schaefer.
Schaefer pointed to CDC data, which reports that Black newborns in the U.S. have more than double the infant mortality rate than white newborns, and that, in 2020, Black American mothers were twice as likely to receive late or no prenatal care as compared to white mothers.
Beyond raising awareness and creating dialogue, Rostic also called on the GVSU community to strengthen its ties and focus on taking tangible steps toward combating systemic and racial inequality.
“GVSU should leverage the collective passion, energy and brain power of their student body and faculty,” Rostic said. “We should connect and offer our time and services to the greater community and follow the lead of communities doing great work already.”
Rostic’s documentary provided examples of how to get involved in ending the racial injustice of delivering while Black. The call to action encouraged supporting doula organizations, backing local and state legislation centered on increasing maternal and infant safety, talking about birth justice with others and asking Black women what forms of support they need.
“I hope administrators and professors use this event as a catalyst to create an even more inclusive curriculum, and that GVSU community members are inspired to practice allyship in the ways that the documentary suggests,” Shaefer said.
Crystal Scott-Tunstall, another Interdisciplinary Studies faculty member, expressed that the documentary brings awareness to a topic that’s historically been “swept under the rug.”
“Amanda (Rostic) is paving the way for change around the health disparities faced by Black women, and leading as only a Laker can,” Scott-Tunstall said.
