Issue/ Background: Dorothy Roberts ("Killing the Black Body") posits that social institutions assumed

purpose is to implement population control, set future trajectory for children and limit options for

parents. The social institution of health care serves as a modern-day middle passage which lays

foundations for lifelong inequality and equality of the child, fragmentation of family and dysfunction at

we see manifested in a multitude of ways in today's society.

Description: Microaggressions, though more covert, cause significant psychophysiological distress and

reactions to black women leading to adverse emotional and health outcomes. Presenter uses critical

race theory as the lens to understand how day-to-day interactions are intrinsically laced with

microaggressive language and ultimately actions that reinforce stereotypes which negatively impact the

perinatal experience of black women in maternal health settings.

Lessons Learned/ Impacts

1. Participants will increase awareness of the sociohistorical connections of care for black women

in perinatal settings.

2. Participants will increase capacity to understand the role of race-based microaggressions and

their effects on perinatal health.

3. Participants will deconstruct the stereotypes associated with black women in healthcare settings.

4. Participants will apply the critical race theory to day-to-day interactions in the healthcare

settings.

Next Steps: Participants will walk through process of deconstructing interactions social workers report

so that institutional racism can be identified and addressed. Participants will learn tools to identify

micro aggressive behaviors, develop strategies to address them and subsequently have the ability to

reduce the number of disproportionate negative health outcomes of mothers, children, and communities

of color.