Black Birth Joy by Tiana Lashae documents birth as a deeply personal story of connection, courage, tenderness, and joy. The photographs and stories in the exhibit challenge mainstream narratives that reduce Black birth to statistics and only amplify Black pregnant women's anxiety and hesitancy about navigating the maternal health care system. Instead, the exhibit offers evidence of joy, reminders of possibility, and a visual legacy for generations to come.

Black Birth Joy was born from Lashae's belief that more positive birth stories of BIPOC families need to be seen and heard, and her photographs invite viewers to witness the people behind them: the mothers, babies, partners, families, and birthworkers. They create space for BIPOC families to see themselves represented with dignity and to witness the full range of birth experiences. Lashae's photographs also create a tangible record that can support conversations around quality of medical care, respectful treatment, and patient rights. The exhibit empowers women to prioritize and advocate for their birth experiences while also encouraging perinatal health professionals and birthworkers to center the humanity, dignity, and individual experiences of patients and families.

The exhibit comprises over 30 photographs as well as stories of mothers whose births were documented by Lashae, a doula and birth/newborn photographer whose work has been published in Everyday Birth Magazine, an international publication. The physical exhibit is accompanied by a virtual component that encourages audiences to engage with each mother's birth story.

The Lane Hall Exhibit Space is sponsored by the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG) and the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) at the University of Michigan.

Black Birth Joy
Thursday, October 1, 2026 – Friday, January 15, 2027
Lane Hall Exhibit Space, 204 S State St., Ann Arbor, MI
Open M–F, 9AM–5PM