Coco Moms of Santa Clarita Valley, a nonprofit providing support to Black mothers in the Santa Clarita Valley, hosted a breast cancer awareness workout at the Santa Clarita Athletic Club in Newhall on Sunday.
While there are many breast cancer awareness events in the SCV, Kei Kei Lee, executive director of Coco Moms, said awareness and prevention is specifically important for Black women.
“Black women are four times more likely to have breast cancer and the most aggressive metastatic breast cancer than any other race,” said Lee. “So it’s important that we’re fighting for our health, moving these bodies and doing all these things… that’s why I thought this event was important and we need to continue to spread awareness, get resources out to your friends, invite people to events like this and keep the conversation going.”
Evonne Biggs, director of strategic planning and project development for Coco Moms, said that while there is a lot of information regarding breast cancer available, getting information directly from her community by seeing and hearing one another is extremely important.
“I think it’s so important when you have information delivered, and correct information delivered by folks who look like you, folks who you can relate to, so it’s not being brushed off as ‘all of this is someone else’s problem’ or ‘this person, or this group is impacted more than the other.’ It impacts us all. But we want to make sure that we close the disparity and knowledge-gaps,” said Biggs.
Janette Wright, in charge of playdates for Coco Moms, said this event – and the organization’s events in general – were ways her kids could be able to play with other kids who look like them, and for the family to be seen and heard.
“I think it’s an opportunity for the community to realize that we actually exist in the Santa Clarita Valley,” said Wright. “I know people always wonder like, ‘Why is there an NAACP? Why is there Coco Moms?’… In Santa Clarita, I think we just want to be seen. To be honest, we just want to be seen and know that we exist.”
The workout was done in coordination with Circle of Hope, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and Remedy Athletix. The hour-long workout was led by fitness trainer Mac Solomon, who’s been featured in publications such as Newsbreak and The Hustle and Soul.
