Our Commitment to Equity and Justice

MIBFN is committed to ensuring that justice and equity are at the center of everything we do. This is the only way forward. We are, as every group of human milk supporters should be, committed to centering the people who are marginalized by dominant culture. To that end, we are working to dismantle systems of oppression where they exist and replacing these systems with ones that result in equity in outcomes.

Our mission-driven efforts are aligned with this commitment in that: 

  • Our community-building efforts are grounded in relationships and our commitment to listening, trusting, and investing in the people and organizations who are leading from within the communities they serve. Visit mibreastfeeding.org/coalition to learn more.
  • Our advocacy efforts are grounded in amplifying the voices of and meeting the needs articulated by families and lactation supporters who are most marginalized by our current systems and, therefore, have expertise in how these systems must change. Visit mibreastfeeding.org/advocacy to learn more.
  • Each of the educational offerings we provide and utilize is in the advancement of our commitment to change the paradigm of human milk feeding leadership by leveraging our platforms to amplify the voices, expertise, and experiences of the people who reflect and represent the communities they serve. Visit mibreastfeeding.org/education to learn more.

We operationalize this commitment through:

  • Our working core values of Respect, Diversity, Listening, Learning, Planning, Transparency, and Community Building. Each of the people who make up the MIBFN team – board members, staff members, and contractual partners – embodies these values and is committed to bringing them to each aspect of our efforts. To learn more, visit mibreastfeeding.org/about and mibreastfeeding.org/team
  • Our working definition of racial equity, initially co-created with the GLBW Power Panel and implemented for the Great Lakes Breastfeeding Webinars: Disparities in breastfeeding are perpetuated by inequities that have historically and currently centered white people and their experiences. Racial equity in breastfeeding is both a process and an outcome. The process of working towards racial equity in breastfeeding involves purposefully decentering white supremacy and colonialism, including the notion that whiteness is the standard of normalcy, beauty, superiority, and centrality in our society. This process involves trusting Black and Indigenous families, elevating their voices, and investing in their communities. The outcome of racial equity is the adoption of breastfeeding-supportive policies and practices that eliminate negative health outcomes caused by systemic racism and is realized when the social construct of race is no longer a predictor of breastfeeding outcomes. 

Feel free to browse our website and reach out to hello@mibreastfeeding.org to learn more. 

To learn more about the foundations of these efforts, visit www.mibreastfeeding.org/dei.  

Contact Us

(734) 365-6559

hello@mibreastfeeding.org

503 Mall Court #296

Lansing, MI 48912

 

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