Expo provides gap-bridging resources for Black central Ohioans
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Ohio Black Expo Riverfront Culture Fest and Convention is returning to Downtown Columbus over the Memorial Day weekend.
The event aims to celebrate the heritage of Black culture, shine a spotlight on minority-owned businesses, and provide access to gap-bridging resources for Black central Ohioans.
“We face disparities in health, in education and economic development, housing – so many different areas,” said President and CEO of the Ohio Black Expo, Sherri Hamilton. “And obviously, as a small organization, we can’t do everything. And really, we move in a spirit of collaboration. Collaborations just create opportunities for everybody to stay in their lane and do their best work, but work together so that we can take care of that whole piece of the pie.”
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And the Expo is once again collaborating with ROOTT — Restoring Our Own Through Transformation — a reproductive justice organization working to address issues with Black maternal and infant health, which Founder and CEO Jessica Roach has experienced on both sides.
“The work that is surrounding ROOTT and how it was developed was out of years of being a nurse, being a public health professional, also being a mother of a preterm infant, and having my own significant issues, when we’re talking about these issues surrounding Black maternal and infant health,” Roach said.
Ohio currently has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the nation. And last year in Franklin County, 126 babies died before their first birthday. More than half of them, 56%, were Black.
But in its seven years of existence, Roach said ROOTT has maintained a 0% mortality rate — of both children and mothers — within the more than 700 families it’s served.
“We have an amazing group of people that have, not only an education level, but a personal experience level that you cannot be taught in school,” said Roach. “And so, for us, that means that we get to utilize our own voices. And we’re the ones that are able to best dictate what it is that we need for ourselves. We don’t ever look at our family as a deficit, and we know that being Black is not a health risk factor. And so, this relationship that has continued to develop with the Ohio Black Expo is really about that Black family stabilization across the board. And it’s something that we’re looking forward to doing this year. We look forward to do it since the first year that it’s been here, and we’re looking forward to doing this well into the future.”
ROOTT will have information and activities for the whole family available at the ROOTT Family Zone at the convention, as well as a lactation station for nursing moms.
More information about the event can be found here.
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