One in eight U.S. women will develop breast cancer over the course of her life. But the burden is particularly heavy for African-American women. Like Hispanic women, they are more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive forms of breast cancer and at a later stage than their white counterparts.

Breast-feeding rates are increasing each year, but a gaping disparity between Black women and women of other races remains.  Nationally, according to recent federal data, there is an 18 percent gap between white and black mothers who have ever breast-fed.