Dylan Brogan
Foundation for Black Women's Wellness Capitol walk
The Foundation for Black Women's Wellness weekly walks draw a core group, including, from left, Annik Dupaty, Charlotte Cummins, Jeanine Hutcherson and Erica Marty.
Jeanine Hutcherson has Wednesdays off from the post office, but she agreed to work this mid-December day to help with the Christmas rush. She had one condition though.
“They know I have to leave by 11:45 ’cause I have my Wednesday standing date,” she says.
That weekly date is when Hutcherson meets a group of women for a midday walk around downtown Madison or, depending on the weather, inside the state Capitol building.
“It’s part of my self-care. It’s good for my soul,” says Hutcherson. “I always say it’s the highlight of my week. To just be with women, women of color. It’s something I look forward to every week.”
So just after noon, on a strangely balmy Dec. 15, Hutcherson waits with others in the Capitol Rotunda to see who might show up for the weekly walk sponsored by the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. Annik Dupaty comes bearing gifts, beautiful handsewn pouches her mother made from African print cloth, that she passes out to those in the group. The walkers decide to take advantage of temps in the 60s and head outdoors. On their way to the Monona Terrace convention center, they can’t resist a quick stop at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Main Street, where “Madtown Dancing Dave” is, as usual, serenading passersby with a mix of pop music and Motown. Today he is decked out in a Santa Claus hat and suit and the women, smiling broadly and laughing, dance with Dave to Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me.”
“That’s pretty typical,” says Dupaty of the spontaneous dance session. “We still get our steps in.”
Erica Marty says the walks originated with LaShunda Prescott, whom she met in the halls of the downtown office building where they both worked. Prescott was involved with the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. Marty hadn’t heard of the group at the time.
“The two of us started walking together in late 2018 and then we just started picking up other women and connecting with other women through the Foundation and social media,” she says. “I had no idea any of these ladies were downtown so I met them all through the Foundation,” adds Marty, who has worked in downtown Madison for 26 years.
From the walks, Marty started going to meetings at the Foundation, eventually becoming a wellness ambassador. Dupaty is one as well. These volunteers are an essential cog in the work of the Foundation, says Lisa Peyton-Caire, founder and president of the 10-year old group that recently moved into its own office on Madison’s west side. “These women come into our community and they don’t leave,” she says. They volunteer in multiple ways, helping the organization plan its priorities and providing feedback on ideas. “They become our advisors,” says Peyton-Caire. “They are not staff persons but they are as committed to carrying out our mission.”
Judith Davidoff
Foundation for Black Women's Wellness
After leaving the state Capitol, walkers Rita Henderson, foreground, and Jeanine Hutcherson, middle, join “Madtown Dancing Dave” for a quick dance.
That mission is to address the substantial health disparities experienced by Black women in Dane County and statewide. That includes everything from higher rates of infant mortality to heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. The Capitol walks, says Peyton-Caire, create “a pathway to wellness through the simple act of walking.”
Another benefit? “It breaks up their day,” quips Rita Henderson, teasing those in the group who are on their lunch break from work. Henderson retired from the Dane County Courthouse a few years ago and drives each week from the west side to join the walks. The walks are open to all and allies are encouraged to attend. Susan Stein, who is white, says she became acquainted with the Foundation through her church and is supportive of its work on women’s health issues. Also, she adds, “I am trying to do some personal work on being an ally. What better way to do that than go and get some exercise and meet some people?”
“It’s nice because there is always a different mix of people,” says Dupaty. “Not everybody is available every week on the Wednesdays to do the work, but there’s a core group of us who come consistently. I think people know that and just show up. If it’s raining or something challenging in the schedules then we encourage people to try to get a walk in or some type of exercise on their own.
“One thing we’ve talked about is the accountability of knowing that other women are going to be there,” adds Dupaty, who is the director of events and volunteers at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. “We show up for each other. Otherwise, for me personally, having a consistent exercise routine probably wouldn’t happen. But because I have committed to this, I know I’m going to do it every week.”
The women share tips, and all agree the walks are important not just for their physical, but mental, health. Says Hutcherson: “I see these ladies and it brings me joy. I’ve made some great friends; they are like family.”
Black infant mortality rates: Wisconsin ranks first in the nation
Deaths in childbirth or due to pregnancy-related complications: Black women in Wisconsin are five times more likely to die than their white peers
Premature births: Babies born to Black mothers in Wisconsin are three times more likely than white babies to be born prematurely
Number of women reached and engaged annually by The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness: 7,000
COVID relief funds distributed by the Foundation: $85,000
Typical length of Capitol walks: 1.5-2 miles or 4,000-5,000 steps
[Correction: This article was corrected to note that Erica Marty and LaShunda Prescott met in the office building where both worked; they were not co-workers.]
