Byllye Avery facts for kids

Byllye Yvonne Avery (born October 20, 1937) is an American activist who has spent her life fighting for better health care for women. She believes in reproductive justice, which means that every woman should have the support and resources to be healthy and make her own decisions about her body and family.

Avery is famous for starting the National Black Women's Health Project. This was the first major group in the country created just to focus on the health of Black women. Because of her amazing work, she has won many awards, including a special fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation and an award from the Institute of Medicine for improving health care.

Early Life and Education

Byllye Avery was born in Waynesville, Georgia, and she grew up on a farm in DeLand, Florida. Her mother, L. Alyce M. Ingram, was a schoolteacher, and her father, Quitman Reddick, owned a local store. When Avery was 14, her father was killed. As the oldest of three children, she took on many responsibilities at a young age.

Avery went to Talladega College and graduated with a degree in psychology in 1959. There, she met her future husband, Wesley Avery. They got married in 1960.

Later, Avery earned a master's degree in special education from the University of Florida in 1969 and became a teacher. Sadly, in 1970, her husband died suddenly from a heart attack. He was only 33 years old. Doctors found out he had very high blood pressure. This tragic event inspired Avery to dedicate her life to improving health care and education for the Black community.

In 1989, Avery met her wife, Ngina Lythcott, who is also a public health activist. They were married in 2005.

A Career in Health Activism

In the 1970s, Avery saw that many low-income Black women in her town didn't have access to the health services they needed. To solve this problem, she and three colleagues opened the Gainesville Women's Health Center in 1974. It was the first clinic in the city to offer a wide range of women's health services, including help with family planning.

The clinic's goal was to help women in difficult situations at a low cost. They also provided health workshops and important tests, like for sickle cell anemia, which is more common in Black communities. To spread health information, the staff even created a monthly newsletter.

Creating New Health Centers

In 1978, Avery helped open Birthplace, a special birthing center in Gainesville. It offered a different, more personal option for having a baby. Trained nurse-midwives helped women give birth, and Avery herself assisted with over 100 births there.

The National Black Women's Health Project

In 1983, Avery organized a major event called The Conference of Black Women's Health Issues at Spelman College. About 2,000 women came to the three-day conference. They talked about important health topics like diabetes, mental health, and overall wellness. The conference encouraged women to take charge of their own health.

This event was so successful that it led Avery to create the National Black Women's Health Project (NBWHP) in 1984. Today, it is known as the Black Women's Health Imperative. It is the only national group focused completely on the health and wellness of Black women. By 1991, the NBWHP had groups in 25 states and was also working with women in other countries, including Jamaica, Nigeria, and Brazil.

Talking Openly About Health

Avery believed it was important to talk openly about health. When her first daughter turned eleven, Avery celebrated by giving her a cake that said, "Happy Birthday, Happy Menstruation!"

She later created a workshop for her daughter's school to help mothers and daughters talk about growing up. This became the 1987 film On Becoming a Woman: Mothers and Daughters Talking to Each Other. It was one of the first films where African-American women shared their own stories about growing up.

Fighting for Health Rights

In 1989, Avery joined other famous African-American leaders like Shirley Chisholm and Maxine Waters to sign a public statement called "We Remember: African American Women for Reproductive Freedom." The statement argued for reproductive freedom, which is the right for women to make their own choices about their health. This includes the right to have children, get information about family planning, and have access to good health care.

The statement explained how problems like racism and poverty made it harder for Black women to be healthy. It was very popular and was reprinted many times. That same year, Avery won a MacArthur Fellowship for her work in health policy.

Avery has traveled the world, teaching people how race, wealth, and gender affect a woman's health. She has worked with Harvard University, the National Institutes of Health, and has advised health programs in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

Awards and Recognition

Byllye Avery has received many awards for her important work.

• 1989: MacArthur Foundation's Fellowship for Social Contribution
• 1989: Essence Award for Community Service
• 1994: Academy of Science Institute of Medicine's Gustav O. Lienhard Award for the Advancement of Health Care
• 1994: Grassroots Realist Award by the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus
• 1995: Dorothy I. Height Lifetime Achievement Award
• 1995: President's Citation of the American Public Health Association
• 1998: Business and Professional Women's New Horizons Award
• 2008: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Impact Award from the Chicago Foundation for Women
• 2010: Audre Lorde Spirit of Fire Award from the Fenway Health Center