Priska Neely

The Castlemont neighborhood in East Oakland is known as a Best Babies Zone. The idea of the initiative is that improving life for all residents will ultimately save babies.

Experts say one of the reasons black babies are more likely to die is because of a tendency to ignore one of the underlying causes: systemic racism.

There are so many public health workers, researchers and community organizers across the country who have dedicated their lives to improving birth outcomes for black babies. Here are some of them.

"You have to start somewhere as a department, put a stake in the sand about what's intolerable - and this is intolerable." --Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of Public Health for LA County

The issue is not new, but we know more about the causes than ever before. Will society fix it?

After Raena Granberry 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.

Black babies in the U.S. are twice as likely to die before their first birthday as white babies. KPCC's Priska Neely has a personal connection to this issue.

Black infants die before their first birthday at twice the rate of their white counterparts. Over the next few weeks, reporter Priska Neely will be sharing stories of people in Southern California and across the country who are trying to change that statistic.

Early childhood advocates have been working for years ahead of the election to make sure the top candidates are thinking about the state's youngest constituents.

In the L.A. Unified School District, 28,000 preschoolers are getting hands-on training in how to build friendships, be empathetic and self-aware.