Last Member Drive of 2025!

Your year-end tax-deductible gift powers our local newsroom. Help raise $1 million in essential funding for LAist by December 31.
$560,760 of $1,000,000 goal
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.

KPCC Archive

After losing her son, this LA mom's mission is saving black babies

Raena Granberry, who lost her first baby in 2011, handing out flyers about California's Black Infant Health program. She does community outreach for a group called Great Beginnings for Black Babies.
Raena Granberry, who lost her first baby in 2011, handing out flyers about California's Black Infant Health program. She does community outreach for a group called Great Beginnings for Black Babies.
(
Priska Neely/KPCC
)

Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.

Listen 5:08
After losing her son, this LA mom's mission is saving black babies

Black babies die at a shocking rate in this country. Nationally, black infants are two times more likely to die before their first birthday than white infants. In Los Angeles County, black babies are three times more likely to die.

Seven years ago, Raena Granberry had never heard these statistics. But when she lost her first baby, she turned her grief and anger into action. Now she does community outreach for a group that's working to close the gap.

As L.A. County public health officials launch a new plan to address the issue, Granberry is cautiously optimistic – hoping for action, funding and real change.

Click above to listen. Read more about this issue on LAist.

This project received support from the Center for Health Journalism's California Fellowship and its Fund for Journalism on Child Well-being.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible year-end gift today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right