Our Story
We are racing to save Black moms. And we need your help to cross the next finish line, and the ones that will follow.
In October 2017, Iteka “Tikee” Smith passed away due to complications from the birth of her fourth child. Tikee was the brightest light in any room. When she passed away, the world went dark for us, her friends and family. And her husband, Tavar, was left to raise their children alone.
We’ve all struggled to move forward without Tikee in our lives — cheering us on, holding our hands, laughing until we lit up. She was, and will always be, one of a kind.
Unfortunately, her death was not. In America today, Black women are two to four times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth than white women.
Experts say that these disproportionate maternal death rates are rooted in systemic racism. Black mothers are more likely to receive lower-quality care, be denied care by providers, and experience health conditions as a result of psychosocial stress caused by daily discrimination. These patterns are pervasive — across region and class — leaving no Black woman immune.
Years ago, Tikee used to chide Tavar for racing without a cause, racing for the fun of it. “What a wasted opportunity,” she’d say. “At least use the race to support a cause.” After her death, Tikee’s words served as a rallying cry.
So we assembled a group of people who are willing to do something crazy to promote change in her name. Together, we’re Team Tikee: a group of ordinary people gearing up to do something extraordinary, in memory of our dear friend.
Our Cause
When we first had the idea to create Team Tikee, we wanted to address the problem of Black maternal mortality in the most efficient, effective way possible. So we set out to find the leading experts on Black maternal health in America — and that search led us to Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha.
Dr. Amutah-Onukagha is the creator and director of the MOTHER Lab, a research organization at Tufts University focused on Black maternal health. Her PhD in Public Health examined maternal and child health through the lenses of race, ethnicity, neighborhood-level disadvantage, and infant mortality in Washington, D.C. She also hosts a Black Maternal Health Symposium every April — one of the largest events of its kind in the country.
With Dr. Amutah-Onukagha’s help, we identified two organizations — one local, and one national — that are working on the ground to create better outcomes for Black moms: Mamatoto Village (in Washington, DC), and the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (a national organization to which it belongs). Given the important role of Dr. Amutah-Onukagha’s and her team’s research, we decided to support MOTHER Lab as well.
These organizations are working to save Black moms around the country. We believe we can help them — and we hope you will join us.