Who is Anthony Washington Sr.?

Anthony Washington Sr. is a U.S. Army and Maryland Army National Guard veteran, a coach and official of more than twenty years, and the founder of After Today, LLC. He builds leadership training, athletic recruiting education, and people-first AI systems for student-athletes, families, schools, and organizations. He is based in Pennsylvania and works primarily across Pennsylvania and Maryland.

What does Anthony Washington Sr. do?

He works in three connected areas: athletic recruiting education that gives student-athletes and families a repeatable daily process, leadership training for first-time supervisors and public-sector leaders, and people-first AI and workflow implementation for organizations. He also speaks and runs workshops for schools, teams, and districts.

What is athletic recruiting infrastructure?

Athletic recruiting infrastructure is the repeatable system a family or program uses to manage recruiting — film, academics, communication with coaches, eligibility tracking, and follow-up — instead of relying on exposure events and luck. Anthony teaches recruiting as infrastructure so progress comes from a daily practice rather than a seasonal scramble.

What does people-first AI implementation mean?

People-first AI implementation means adopting AI to improve the work without displacing or sidelining the people who do it. In practice that means starting from the actual workflow, keeping a human accountable for decisions, training staff on the tools they will use, and setting guardrails before scale — not buying software and hoping the team adapts.

Who are Anthony's programs designed for?

Student-athletes and their parents, high school and grassroots coaches, athletic programs, schools and districts, first-time supervisors, public-sector leaders, and organizations that want leadership training or help implementing AI without leaving employees behind.

Does Anthony Washington Sr. provide leadership training?

Yes. He trains first-time supervisors and team leads on the first ninety days, difficult conversations, accountability, and building trust, drawing on his military service, public-sector supervision, and coaching experience. Training is delivered as courses, workshops, and organizational consulting.

How can a school, district, or organization work with Anthony?

Schools, districts, and organizations can book speaking engagements and workshops, bring in leadership training for supervisors and staff, or engage him on recruiting support and AI and workflow implementation. Start on the contact page and say which of those you need.

How can I book Anthony Washington Sr. to speak?

Send an inquiry through the contact page with your event date, audience, format, and location. The speaking page lists topics, session formats, and the audiences he speaks to most often.

Where is Anthony Washington Sr. based?

He is based in Pennsylvania and works primarily across Pennsylvania and Maryland, with virtual sessions available beyond that area.

Home › Blog › Black Maternal Health Has a Week. It Has a Movement. It Deserves a Recognizable Symbol.

Black Maternal Health Has a Week. It Has a Movement. It Deserves a Recognizable Symbol.

commentary · September 22, 2026

Black maternal health already has a week.

Black maternal health already has a week.

It has organizations.

It has advocates.

It has research.

It has federal recognition.

It has years of documented disparities that should have made the country pay attention a long time ago.

What it does not yet have is one visual symbol that people across the country immediately recognize.

That is why the Black Maternal Health Awareness Ribbon deserves a serious conversation about broader national recognition.

The Health Crisis Is Already National

This is not an attempt to manufacture awareness around a small or emerging issue.

The numbers already establish the importance.

According to the CDC, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women in 2024 was 44.8 deaths per 100,000 live births.

For non-Hispanic White women, it was 14.2.

For Hispanic women, 12.1.[1]

That means Black women continued to experience maternal mortality at more than three times the rate of White women.

The CDC has also reported that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.[2]

Then there is the experience of receiving care.

CDC research found that approximately 30% of Black respondents reported mistreatment during maternity care, while about 40% reported discrimination. Nearly half of all mothers surveyed said they had held back questions or concerns from healthcare providers.[3]

So the issue is already documented.

The question is how we make the issue more visible.

The Ribbon Was Created for That Purpose

The Black Maternal Health Awareness Ribbon was created by Nysheva-Starr as a public awareness symbol representing the different dimensions of the Black maternal health experience.

The design uses four colors:

Black connects the overall design and centers Black women.

Hospital Blue represents physical health and the relationship between healthcare institutions and communities.

Exuberant Pink represents social impact, belief, healing, and community.

Sage Green represents mental and emotional health while acknowledging environmental factors including bias and systemic racism.[4]

The official site also documents the design process, including Nysheva-Starr involving her children as the ribbon moved from an idea to its final form.[4]

That matters to me.

This was not simply a logo created during a corporate branding session.

A mother developed the concept.

Her children participated.

A family helped create a symbol intended to bring attention to the health and survival of other mothers and families.

That history should be preserved.

Black Maternal Health Already Has National Recognition

Black Maternal Health Week is held annually from April 11 through April 17.

The campaign was founded and is led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance to build awareness, activism, and community while amplifying the experiences of Black mothers and birthing people.[5]

The movement has grown substantially.

BMMA marked the tenth anniversary of Black Maternal Health Week in 2026 under the theme “Rooted in Justice & Joy.”[6]

That makes the opportunity around the ribbon easier to understand.

The argument is not:

Create a new cause.

The cause already exists.

The argument is:

Give an established national issue a consistent visual identifier.

A Symbol Does Something Different

Statistics educate.

Reports document.

Awareness weeks concentrate attention.

Organizations mobilize people.

A recognizable symbol does something different.

It travels.

A ribbon can appear on a nurse’s badge.

A hospital poster.

A conference program.

A social-media graphic.

A university campus.

A community-health event.

A legislative briefing.

A church bulletin.

A doula organization’s website.

Someone sees it and asks:

What does that ribbon mean?

That question becomes the opening.

Then comes the education.

That is the real value.

The ribbon cannot solve maternal mortality.

It cannot eliminate bias.

It cannot replace better clinical care.

It cannot replace doulas, midwives, physicians, nurses, researchers, community organizations, patient advocates, or public policy.

Its job is visibility.

And visibility matters.

Recognition Should Mean More Than a Proclamation

National recognition should not simply mean getting a public official to wear the ribbon once.

The real goal should be adoption.

Hospitals using it.

Maternal-health organizations using it.

Universities using it.

Health departments using it.

Professional organizations recognizing it.

Community groups displaying it.

Researchers incorporating it into awareness materials.

Families knowing what it means.

The official Black Maternal Health Awareness Ribbon site already provides downloadable versions for websites, social media, presentations, print materials, banners, and other awareness uses.[7]

That creates the infrastructure for broader adoption.

Now the challenge is consistency.

Same ribbon.

Same meaning.

Same history.

Same attribution.

Repeated often enough that recognition grows.

Do Not Claim Recognition Before It Exists

There is also an important credibility issue.

The ribbon should not be marketed as though it has already become the universally recognized national symbol for Black maternal health.

The stronger statement is also the more accurate one:

The Black Maternal Health Awareness Ribbon is a public awareness symbol created by Nysheva-Starr that is seeking broader adoption and recognition as a unifying visual representation of Black maternal health.

There is nothing weak about saying that.

Actually, that is the campaign.

Created.

Documented.

Adopted.

Recognized.

Institutionalized.

Culturally understood.

That progression does not happen overnight.

It happens because people intentionally build it.

A Week Is Not Enough

Black Maternal Health Week is important.

But the disparity does not disappear on April 18.

Black women are pregnant throughout the year.

They give birth throughout the year.

They experience complications throughout the year.

Families experience loss throughout the year.

Healthcare professionals make decisions throughout the year.

Advocacy has to continue throughout the year.

That is where a symbol can become useful.

It provides continuity.

Something that remains visible after the awareness week ends.

Something that connects hospitals, advocates, communities, families, and institutions around a common visual language.

It Deserves the Opportunity to Become Recognizable

Nobody can simply declare a symbol culturally significant.

Recognition has to be built.

People have to wear it.

Organizations have to adopt it.

Institutions have to display it.

Communities have to understand it.

And eventually someone should be able to see:

🩷 🖤 💚 🖤 💙

and know exactly why those colors are together.

Black maternal health already has the evidence.

It already has the movement.

It already has national attention.

It already has people doing the work.

Perhaps what it needs next is something simple enough to travel with all of them.

A symbol.

Sources

[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, “Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024.”
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/hestat113.htm

[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Many Women Report Mistreatment During Pregnancy and Delivery.”
https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/respectful-maternity-care/

[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Vital Signs: Maternity Care Experiences — United States, April 2023.”
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7235e1.htm

[4] Black Maternal Health Awareness Ribbon, official website and ribbon history.
https://blackmaternalhealthribbon.com/

[5] Black Mamas Matter Alliance, “Black Maternal Health Week.”
https://blackmamasmatter.org/bmhw22/

[6] Black Mamas Matter Alliance, “2026 Black Maternal Health Week Toolkit.”
https://blackmamasmatter.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-BMHW-Toolkit-Updated_2.24.pdf

[7] Black Maternal Health Awareness Ribbon, “Official Black Maternal Health Ribbon Download.”
https://blackmaternalhealthribbon.com/pages/official-black-maternal-health-ribbon

Key takeaways

The CDC reported a 2024 maternal mortality rate of 44.8 deaths per 100,000 live births among non-Hispanic Black women, compared with 14.2 among non-Hispanic White women.[1]
CDC research has also documented substantial disparities in reported mistreatment and discrimination during maternity care.[3]
Black Maternal Health Week is a nationally established campaign founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance.[5]
The Black Maternal Health Awareness Ribbon was created by Nysheva-Starr as a public awareness symbol representing physical, social, mental-emotional, and systemic dimensions of Black maternal health.[4]
The strongest case for broader recognition is not that the ribbon replaces existing organizations or campaigns. It can provide a common visual identity connecting them.
National recognition should ultimately mean consistent adoption across healthcare, public health, education, community organizations, advocacy, and public awareness.
The ribbon should be described accurately as a symbol seeking broader adoption rather than as an already universally recognized national symbol.
Black maternal health needs visibility beyond one awareness week each year.

All articles