Hispanic Woman Now Suing After She Was Denied Benefits Meant for Black Moms in California

When a non-Black California woman was looking for help with her first pregnancy, she claims the Los Angeles County Department of Public
Health denied her; not because of her income, but because of her race. Now she’s suing, claiming a program designed to fight systemic exclusion on behalf of Black women is allegedly doing the excluding.

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The state of California offers programs to support pregnant women and new
mothers, offering services, programs and resources at the state, county and local levels.

That help includes the state’s Black Infant Health (BIH) program. Established in 1989 and the recipient of $5.5 million in federal funds, “was created in recognition that anti-Black racism, social and economic stressors, and neighborhood conditions contribute to poor birth outcomes for Black mothers,” according to the California Department of Public Health website.

BIH offers prenatal and postpartum group sessions, engaging activities and assistance with applying for health insurance “within a culturally affirming and supportive environment that honors the unique history of Black women.” The program is only “open to all Black women who are 16 years or older, pregnant or up to six months postpartum at the time of enrollment regardless of income.”

But according to Erika Jimenez’s lawsuit, she should qualify for those benefits despite not being Black, nor birthing a Black child.

In a bombshell lawsuit filed in California Western Division District Court on April 2, Jimenez claimed she was discriminated against after she was denied entry into the Black Infant Health program, despite being “qualified in every respect except race.”

She had gave birth to her first baby in mid-March when she sought help from the Pasadena BIH program in February. She said a coordinator told her the program was not for her because “she was not of the government-preferred race,” according to the lawsuit.

Now, the non-Black mom is suing because she was rejected from a program exclusively created to empower African American women and their children, their vital care and support.

Jimenez’s lawsuit, which named defendants California Department of Public Health and its director, as well as the L.A. County and Pasadena public health departments and their directors, claimed BIH’s “racial exclusion uses race as a negative,” stereotypes individuals and has caused her harm. Now she wants nominal money damages, plus attorney fees.

The lawsuit is also asking the court to issue an injunction barring California from excluding anyone from the program based on race.

“Countless other pregnant and new mothers across California suffer the
same exclusion,” Jimenez’s lawsuit claimed. “They qualify in every way except the government’s racial criterion. The program sets no income limits—only race decides who gets help.”