By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
BLKBRY, a Black-owned and operated free-standing doula center in Seattle, is dedicated to serving Black families with holistic wellness and healing programs. Founded in 2019 by Jazmin Williams, the organization centers Blackness in its mission, addressing systemic disparities in maternal healthcare while advocating for better birth outcomes.
“We are Black founded, Black led, Black ran just making sure that we are advocating for Black birthing people, because we want to see better outcomes for our Black mamas and infants and to overall help Black families thrive,” said Jazmin Willams, BLKBRY founder.
According to Williams, the name “BLKBRY” comes from her mission of growing and supporting the community, in a rooted and meaningful way.
“I really struggled coming up with a name at first, and it just so happened that the song Keep Ya Head Up by Tupac came on and the first line is the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice and I immediately said that is it, it fits,” Williams said. “I love that saying, it is something I have always heard from my elders, and in addition to knowing that blackberries are rooted, they will grow and thrive, and that is something that we want for our families. We want to be here and continue to have sustainability and longevity.”
For Williams, the inspiration behind BLKBRY stems from her own birthing experiences, which led her to create a space where Black mothers could receive the support they need while birthing, especially after experience traumatic berthing experience.
“I had a traumatic postpartum birth experience with my first child, and with my second, I almost lost her,” recalled Williams. “And it happened at one of the most well-known hospitals in our area.”
BLKBRY works to break the barriers Black mothers often face, including higher risks of maternal complications, generational trauma, cultural insensitivity, and limited support options. Through its free doula services, community pantry, and milk-sharing program, the center provides essential resources tailored to the needs of Black families. The organization connects Black families with Black doulas, a woman employed to provide guidance and support to the mother of a newborn baby, and covers the cost to ensure accessibility.
“Our doula program has really helped serve the most people,” says Williams. “Through our doula program, folks not only received a doula at no cost, but they also receive childbirth and lactation education and are made aware of other resources within our state as well. So, we have really been able to help use our doula program as a way to make sure folks are properly served.”
Beyond birth support, BLKBRY provides additional resources to ease the financial and emotional burden on Black families. A community pantry stocks goods from Black-owned businesses and distributes them at no cost, while donated clothing and gently used baby items are also available to those in need. The center also launched a milk-sharing program after discovering that Black families were often mistreated in milk-sharing groups on social media.
“They were either being charged when it was supposed to be at no cost, they were getting ghosted when they were supposed to be meeting to get their milk, and a couple of people have even had CPS called on them by folks within the group stating that they were not adequate enough to take care of their babies, which is ridiculous because that whole group was meant to be able to support all folks in need,” Willams said. “So, we started the community milk training program to be able to collect donor milk and provide it to Black families, while keeping both the donor and the recipient anonymous to each other.”
Williams attributes BLKBRY’s success to its ability to continuously evolve and respond to the changing needs of the community. She believes that too many organizations focus on offering services without identifying what is truly missing.
“I feel that BLKBRY was founded looking at the gaps, and that is something that a lot of folks aren’t quite looking at,” says Williams. “They are looking at services that can be offered, but they are not fully looking at what is missing. That is why our services and our programming is constantly evolving because things aren’t always going to stay the same. Needs are going to change, trends are going to change, access to resources and funding is going to change.”
“We make sure that we take in what the community says, notice what the gaps are, what the community thinks that they are missing, what they need, and really work hard to make that happen to make sure that we are building those relationships and those connections to resources for folks,” Williams continued.
Over the next 5 to 10 years, Williams plans to enhance BLKBRY’s financial stability by securing grant funding.
“Knowing that in this current climate, not everybody knows where their next funding source is going to come from, we want to make sure that our organization is able to stay around because we take care of each other,” says Williams. “We want to be able to grow over the years and continue to build new relationships and partnerships and
just remain here to support Black families and looking at what that structure looks like and how we can support that mission.”
This story was produced in partnership with our media sponsor Communities of Opportunity, a growing movement of partners who believe every community can be a healthy, thriving community.
