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Most of us who are parents want better for our children. We want our children to be more successful, happier and even healthier

The first time Cherron Gilmore was denied a heart transplant, it was because her support system was too small. Once Cherron was on life support, doctors feared even if they gave her an artificial heart to bridge the time needed to find a heart, she might not make it. But after a nine-year near-death battle with postpartum cardiomyopathy, a rare type of heart failure, lying around was the last thing Cherron wanted to do. They said, if we don’t put this LVAD (left ventricular assist device) in you right now, you won’t wake up tomorrow,” she said.

Those staggering numbers are why Freshman Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., and Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C. announced the formation of a Black Maternal Health Caucus to assist in developing policies that combat the shockingly high black maternal death rate. The Caucus was launched with more than 50 founding members, including a number of Underwood’s freshman female colleagues, including Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga. About 700 women die each year in the U.S. due to complications from pregnancy or giving birth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and some 65,000 women nearly die of pregnancy-related complications. A maternal death is defined as the “death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy from any cause related to the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Kenneth Lockhart, Stacy Grundy, and Gina Lathan are changing the narrative and introducing travelers to the rick Black culture that lives on the Route. Route History is located two blocks from Abraham Lincoln’s preserved family home and neighborhood and one block from the Historic Route 66 in the capital city of Springfield, Illinois. Route History is an attraction that allows visitors to experience and learn about the tragedy, resilience, and excellence of Black people along Route 66 and in the city of Springfield, Illinois. Route History pays tribute to Black business owners along and near Route 66, how they served as economic drivers along Route 66, were an integral fabric and social support in Black communities and the critical role of Black businesses as Black people transitioned from the south to the north during Jim Crow and the Great Migration. “Route History’s physical location is symbolic of its mission to provide linkages of African American history with the broader Springfield Illinois history.