These Bold Instagram Captions Honor Black Breastfeeding Week

It’s been 10 years since Kimberly Seals Allers, Kiddada Green, and Anayah Sangodele-Ayoka co-created Black Breastfeeding Week (BBW). Part of the organization's campaign is having the community join in with bold and inspiring images on Instagram, and having Instagram captions for Black Breastfeeding Week helps tell the narrative of your unique journey.

This time is a distinct opportunity to not only recognize the years of racial exclusion around breastfeeding and the lack of access to education about its benefits for Black mothers, but to counter that with encouragement, informed support, and unapologetic representation.

Now, we celebrate the unique lactation journey of Black mothers. And make no mistake about it; social media will be flooded with Black babies on Black breasts — a hard flip to the social misrepresentation perpetuated for years that breastfeeding is for white moms.

This year, BBW is August 25 through August 31 with the theme: A New Foundation. This year’s social campaign will, like others, be in full swing on Instagram with powerful images and statements from Black communities and those in support of this special week.

While you’re gathering the beautiful pictures you’ll use to share your journey, here are some Instagram captions you can match them with. And don’t forget to use the official hashtags for this year — #BBW22 and #BBW10YEARS.

Instagram Captions for Black Breastfeeding Week

• The past is not my fault, but the present is mine to control, and breastfeeding is my right.
• “Breastfeeding is 90% determination and 10% milk production.” — Unknown
• Trust your body, lean on your village, and nurture your baby. You can do this.
• We are changing the visual message for this Black generation and those to come.
• “Chocolate milk for chocolate babies!” — Brittany Fadiora
• “When Black women breastfeed, they are reversing narratives, reclaiming traditions that were taken from them, countering stereotypes, and reestablishing the infant feeding norm in our communities.” — Kimberly Seals Allers

• “Black Breastfeeding Week isn’t about separation or segregation. It’s about supporting, spotlighting, and magnifying the voices of Black mothers and their children.” — A Mother’s Village
• Black lactation consultants allow us to see ourselves in the field and in the world of breastfeeding because we belong.
• Breastfeeding is not just a “white mom” thing.
• “Breastfeeding takes back my power and my autonomy over my body as a Black woman. A power and autonomy that was stolen from my ancestors.” — Caroline J. Sumlin
• I may have been kept from seeing breastfeeding as a normal part of Black motherhood, but I’m changing that for my children.
• I’m loving every moment of this time nurturing my baby.
• My baby deserves the benefits my breast milk can give them.
• Black Breastfeeding Week is a call to support each other in a nation that has long left us out of the conversation.
• “One of the most highly effective preventive measures a mother can take to protect her child and her own health is to breastfeed.” — Regina M. Benjamin
• Black Breastfeeding Week is a moment to hear and honor the Black mother’s story.
• Educate, support, uplift, honor! #BBW22
• “The new foundation of lactation support is built on racial equity, cultural empowerment, and community engagement, and is powered by our collective resilience.” — BBW Organizers.
• We deserve resources, access, and support, too!
• My lactation journey matters.
• 10 years of celebrating our breastfeeding stories! And it’s just the beginning. #BBW22
• “It takes a village…and that village should know how to support breastfeeding families with practical tips and know-how.” — Cinch Coalition