Black Women’s Wellness Day (BWWDAY) is the signature annual event of the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, and aims to inform, inspire, and empower Black women of all ages to build, lead, and sustain healthy, wellness-centered lives, families, and communities.

Launched in 2009 by founder & CEO Lisa Peyton-Caire, Black Women’s Wellness Day was first observed in a small public library with a crowd of 40 women and family members on Friday, May 22, 2009. Lisa created the event to honor her mother Roberta W. Peyton who succumbed to heart disease at the age of 64 on May 22, 2006; and to spur a movement among Black women everywhere to radically transform their health and their lives.

Since that time, BWWDAY has grown to become one of largest annual health and wellness summits by Black women, for Black women, and attracting attendees and speakers from across the United States and the world. Over the last 15 years, BWWDAY has brought thousands of women of all ages together and into a space of healing, sisterhood, power, and collective action to reclaim our health, and to create the solutions we need to save our own lives.

This year’s 15th Annual celebration will mark our first time covening in-person since 2019 when we welcomed 700 guests just months before the strike of the global pandemic. And though we were fortunate to maintain our momentum and impact in the virtual space for the last three years, we are elated to return to the live stage and to welcome you face to face for what will be our most energizing BWWDAY to date!

Join us on September 30th in Madison, Wisconsin to experience the transformation as we commit to Securing Our Present & Future!

Today, African American women account for roughly 7% of the U.S. population and 14% percent of the total population of women, yet are over-represented in all major categories of disease and illness, including hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, obesity and reproductive disorders.

Black women are more likely than their white peers to die from heart disease, cancer, and stroke; to experience life-threatening complications in pregnancy and childbirth, to be obese or overweight, and to be diagnosed with HIV. We are more likely to have less access to quality healthcare or mental health services that support our optimal well-being, and to face racism, bias, and barriers in accessing social and economic opportunities that contribute to better health. We need not look far within our families or to read local, state, and national reports to conclude that the health and well-being of Black women and our communities is in a state of duress.