SAVANNAH, Ga. () — According to a 2022 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report, 75% of Black infants were introduced to breastfeeding compared to 86.2% of non-Hispanic white babies. Healthy Savannah wants to increase those numbers by holding a screening of the movie, ‘Chocolate Milk.’

Elsie Smalls, PhD, is the Breastfeeding Program Manager at Healthy Savannah. “Healthy Savannah is a nonprofit, community-based organization that’s been around for about 18 years. Our overall strategy comes from a CDC grant called the ‘Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health’ (REACH). The breastfeeding program is one of those strategies and the focus is education, access, awareness and creating an environment that’s breastfeeding friendly.

Smalls says Healthy Savannah chose this date to share the film with the community to coincide with National Breastfeeding Month, held annually during August, and specifically Black Breastfeeding Week, which is August 25 through 31. “We hope that the film and this observance will help raise awareness about the importance of breastfeeding in the Black community and inspire discussion to address challenges and promote support systems for Black breastfeeding mothers.”

The 90-minute documentary is free and open to the public. Following the screening, there will be a discussion of ways to improve breastfeeding rates among Black women. For Black mothers in Chatham County, breastfeeding rates declined from 76% in 2019 to 60.3% in 2023 and rose to 80.8% in 2024.

Nandi A. Marshall, DrPH, MPH, CHES ®, CLC, CDE®, is the associate dean for academic affairs and professor, Health Policy & Community Health in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University. She says bringing this movie to families in Savannah is an important step in helping Black mothers get breastfeeding support. “The film masterfully tells the story of African American women and their journey with breastfeeding. It does an amazing job of working towards its purpose of increasing normalcy around breastfeeding within the African American community.”

Marshall feels strongly that Black mothers who are considering breastfeeding need to be surrounded by a support system of partners, families, workplace colleagues and communities. “We want to invite those supporters to watch this film as well, so they can better understand the importance of that support.”

Earlier this year, Healthy Savannah launched a “Breastfeeding Welcome Here” initiative, providing door decals and certificates of recognition to local organizations that offer reasonable accommodations for breastfeeding and pumping, including break time and private, clean spaces. The program is funded by a CDC Racial & Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant administered by Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia.

In Georgia, the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (also known as Charlotte’s Law) requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space, other than a restroom, for employees to express breast milk. This legislation applies to both private employers and state and local government entities, including school districts. (Employers with 50 or fewer employees can request an ‘undue hardship exemption’ from the law.)

Again, the screening of ‘Chocolate Milk’ is free and open to the public. It’s happening Sunday, August 24 at 3 p.m. in the Student Union ballroom (11935 Library Drive) on the Armstrong Campus of Georgia Southern University in Savannah.