Happy March and Women’s History Month!
As the nation celebrates women and ushers in spring, there’s also work happening across the District and nation to address continued challenges affecting African American communities, particularly when it comes to health disparities.
Much of the work toward health equity starts in the community and the people fighting to combat challenges.
Research, such as from Dr. Lucile Adams-Campbell, a barrier-breaker in medicine highlighted in this edition, points to disparities rooting from racism, leading to a lack of access to education, preventative care and treatment when it comes to health.
“We can collect a lot of information on social determinants of health and we can talk about it and describe it, but if we can’t do anything about it, then we have a problem,” Adams-Campbell said in a lecture to Georgetown University students: “Intersectionality of Cancer, Aging and Disparities: A Biological Basis,” in April 2023.
Learn about the people and organizations, many led by women, working to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s, particularly in Black and Latino communities, or the freedom fighters in D.C., inspired by the work of the Black Panthers, offering health care and resources directly to District residents. Check out the women who have been groundbreaking in medicine or those working to educate the masses about diseases such as fibroids and maternal health care.
Further, delve into some of the organizations in the District and nationwide, including: CareFirst, Greater Washington Community Foundation, Howard University Center for Sickle Cell Disease, Safeway, Multicultural Healthcare Marketing Group, AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia and DC Health Link, who provided sponsored content for this edition and are working toward building healthier communities daily.
This edition offers tools, resources, education and inspiration to be part of the solution in making health care, treatment and outcomes equitable for all.
“Public health begins when all of us recognize the humanity and dignity of every human being,” said lawyer and author Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, during the virtual ALPHA 2020 meeting in October of that year, as the COVID-19 pandemic plagued the world and affected Black communities nationwide. “Sometimes we suffer, sometimes we are sick, sometimes there is crisis, sometimes there is infection, because people have had their humanity and their dignity doubted. And it is the role of public health to step into that breach. To wrap our arms around those who’ve been told their lives don’t matter. To affirm humanity and dignity.”