When Fatherhood Meets Justice: Charles Johnson on Loss, Love, and Saving Mothers

This episode of the I Am Dad Podcast is a powerful and necessary conversation about love, loss, and responsibility. Host Kenneth Braswell welcomes Charles Johnson, founder and CEO of 4Kira4Moms, for an unflinching discussion about fatherhood in the face of tragedy and purpose born from grief. Charles shares his deeply personal daddy story, including the loss of his wife Kira just days after the birth of their second son due to preventable medical failures. What followed was not only heartbreak, but a reckoning—one that exposed systemic bias in maternal healthcare and propelled Charles into national advocacy to ensure no family experiences what his did. Together, Braswell and Johnson examine how racism, delayed care, and dismissal of Black women’s pain continue to drive maternal mortality in the United States. The conversation expands into the critical role fathers play—not only in parenting, but in advocating for their partners, navigating healthcare systems, and reshaping narratives around family, partnership, and accountability. This episode also explores the intersection of fatherhood and maternal health, why empowering dads improves outcomes for mothers and babies, and how partnership—not performative allyship—is required to create real change. This is not just a story about loss. It is a call to action for fathers, families, policymakers, and communities to show up, speak up, and do better.

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