The Bentonville Film Festival strives to give filmmakers and their subjects a voice. An example is Friday's showing of the documentary "The Ebony Canal." The movie raises awareness about maternal mortality and the fact that Black infants have 2.4 times the infant mortality rate of white infants. "The Ebony Canal" will be shown Friday at noon at Skylight Cinema in Bentonville, followed by a conversation that will include director Emmai Alaquiva and Charles Johnson. Johnson is the founder of 4Kira4Moms. He founded the nonprofit after his wife, Kira, suffered a preventable death following childbirth. He spoke with Ozarks at Large's Kyle Kellams.
Charles Johnson: I began to move towards action a little bit over a year after Kira passed, so I shared Kira's story for the first time publicly. She passed away April 13, 2016, and I shared her story publicly for the first time the Friday before Mother's Day in 2017.
Kellams 4Kira4Moms is about awareness, it's about advocacy, but it's also about getting to legislators and letting them know what changes can make lives better.
Johnson: You're absolutely right. You hit the nail on the head. We address the maternal mortality crisis in the United States with three strategic pillars: education, advocacy and legislation. And legislation is a critical part. We've been extremely fortunate to move legislation successfully on both the state and the federal level. We worked to pass the first-ever federal piece of legislation to prevent mothers from dying in childbirth, in 2017. That was literally called the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act. We've worked on the state level — we're really active in almost nearly all 50 states — supporting advocacy groups that are working on state legislation. We've worked to pass sweeping legislation in states like California, New Jersey, most recently in Virginia. Virginia has done a lot of wonderful things. And currently on the federal level, we have a package of 14 bills that comprise what we call the Momnibus. And this bill addresses all of the clinical and non-clinical factors associated with the maternal mortality crisis. So it is definitely a grind, but we are extremely fortunate to have been able to do this successfully. I think the one thing that I want all of the other folks that are hearing this today to understand is that the unique thing — we talk about policy change, this issue around making our country a better, safer place for mothers and babies — is an issue that is uniquely not just bipartisan, but nonpartisan. Because regardless of how you identify politically, what side of the aisle you're on as a legislator, everybody can agree on the fact that we want mothers and babies to survive childbirth. And so that's how we position this: this is an opportunity for legislators on both sides of the aisle to come together around an issue that's uniquely uniting in a time that's so polarizing and divisive. We think that this is a wonderful opportunity, and they've stepped up to the plate in a lot of ways. We're proud of the bipartisan success.
Kellams: What is an example of a piece of legislation, be it part of the federal Momnibus package or something that has been passed by a state legislature, that can make maternal health safer for moms and families?
Johnson: Absolutely. So for instance, as a part of the federal Momnibus, we have a couple of pieces of legislation. We have one that is called the Tech to Save Moms Act. It is specifically geared towards supporting maternal health innovation. We have other pieces of legislation that address things like climate change and its effect on mothers — environmental risk factors. We know that we have places like Flint, Michigan, that were ridiculous — environmental toxins were affecting mothers and maternal health outcomes. So we're addressing that. And then also things like social determinants of health. Access to care is one thing, but it's important for a mother to have all of the wraparound services. What good is having access to care if she has a doctor but she's not able to — she doesn't have the transportation to get to that doctor's visit? So we're filling in the gaps. Another big thing — particularly, I think this is important for my home state of Georgia and for folks in Arkansas, that have a significant rural population — we understand that there are a unique set of risk factors that affect mothers and families in rural parts of our country. We understand that in many rural parts of the United States, the closest labor and delivery ward may be hours from where families are. And so we're finding new, innovative ways through this legislation to support and serve mothers and families in rural parts of our country as well. So those are some of the things that we're really proud of, and we really feel that this will put an incredible foundation on which to really support families throughout the country.
Kellams: "The Ebony Canal" is a documentary film. It's storytelling, and storytelling can raise awareness. Awareness can translate into people advocating who might not otherwise have known or been affected. What sort of reaction have you and the film team seen from these screenings?
Johnson: Anytime I get to share this film or be a part of it, I continue to be amazed with the impact that it has on people. And what I've found over the past 10 years, as I've traveled throughout the country sharing my story, helping to share stories like the mothers that are featured in "The Ebony Canal," is that data and statistics inform people, but people move people. So when they hear these stories and they see these women, and they understand intimately what they experienced, and how, in many cases, what they experienced could have been avoided, it moves people towards action. And that's what we want. We want people to leave informed, but we want people to leave empowered with what they can do, in their unique part of the universe, to help bring an end to this maternal mortality crisis. Because, like we say, this is everybody's business, because there's only two types of people in our country: either you are a mom, or you have one. And so that's what we want to do. But at the end of the day, the thing that I'm most proud about of this film is that it really is a story of hope and redemption, and understanding what is possible if we all lean in and do our part.
Kellams: People can't see, because we're on radio, but you have a shirt that says "Dadvocate," and I love that. I think a lot of people, unimaginable what you went through, would not be able to maybe get up off the canvas and found something and help create a film that spreads the word. What do you think got you up off the canvas and helped you reach out to others?
Johnson: I think that's an excellent question. And I think two things. One, first and foremost, anybody who knew or experienced my wife Kira would understand intimately that if the roles were reversed, and had something happen to me and she was left here, that she would go to the ends of the earth to make sure that it never happened to anybody else. That's the first thing. And so just understanding that, although there's nothing I can do to bring her back, the highest honor I can pay her is to do everything I can to make sure I send other mothers home with their precious babies. That's the first thing.
And the second thing, really simply, is my sons. And I know that there'll come a time where I have to have the conversations with them about how egregious what happened to their mother was, and how it's something that should have never happened. But what I want to be able to say to them is that it was because of the sacrifice that your mother made that other families and other mothers get to go home with their precious babies. So those are the two things that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, got me off the canvas and keep me moving forward.
Kellams: Where can people find out more about 4Kira4Moms?
Johnson: Absolutely. Thank you for that. You can find us on all social media at 4Kira4Moms — 4Kira4Moms.com. Please keep up with us. We'd love to hear from you, and we'd love to keep you informed and let you know how you can make an impact.
Kellams: "The Ebony Canal" is part of the Bentonville Film Festival. Charles Johnson, thank you so much for your time.
Johnson: It is my absolute pleasure. Thank you so much. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody in Bentonville.
Charles Johnson is founder of 4Kira4Moms and will be part of a discussion after the screening of the movie "The Ebony Canal" at Skylight Cinema in Bentonville Friday. The film is scheduled to be shown at noon as part of the Bentonville Film Festival. We spoke by Zoom yesterday.
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