October 2020: Addressing Threats to Health Equity Work

Critical Race Theory—The Tool To Unpack and Address Racial Disparities and Structural Barriers To Health.

Growing racial health disparities have headlined local and national news programs for the past two years. You’ve likely heard about how black counties have 3x the rate of infection and 6x the rate of death compared to white counties with regard to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. You probably also remember last year’s protests, in which calls to “defund the police” overwhelmed city streets and political institutions in response to the overt police brutality taking place in black communities. 

Large non-profits, community organizations, companies, and academic institutions have engaged in various legislative advocacy initiatives to pass laws that seek to end racial health disparities and promote health equity. However, many of these endeavors have been met with incredible backlash and astounding ignorance. In a hearing addressing whether or not racism should be declared a public health crisis, an Ohio lawmaker, physician, and leader of the Senate Health Committee asked “Could it just be that African Americans – or the colored population — do not wash their hands as well as other groups?” Additionally, studies have shown that policy proposals that are more likely to benefit racial (i.e. Medicaid expansion) are harder to pass as a result of these groups being associated with the “undeserving poor.” These examples, and many others, have two themes;

1) The willful neglect or ignorance of systemic operators that perpetuate racial disparities

2) The characterization of racial minorities as causing their own downfall. 

The true threat to health equity is not the policies that make it difficult for minorities to achieve financial, social, and economic equity.  Instead, the true threat to health equity is the white-supremacist mentality that characterizes minorities as inherently lazy, stupid, and underserving of human rights. It is this slave owner-like, outdated frame of mind that not only creates structural inequities, but also perpetuates them over decades and centuries. So how do we overcome this persistent and grand threat to health equity? The answer: Critical Race Theory.

This week, NAHSE CT members had the privilege of hosting Dr. Rydell and Harrison and Judge Angela Robinson for a discussion around the impacts of teaching Critical Race Theory in our schools and communities. While there has been much controversy and debate over its teaching, critical race theory simply posits that racism is built into the design and functioning of our political institutions. It is a lens that academics and scholars use to understand and unpack racial disparities and structural barriers to health by centering the experiences and perspectives of racial minorities. 

During our discussion, our panelists highlighted the importance of teaching critical race theory and having inclusive curriculums in our primary schools and collegiate institutions. These teachings serve as a starting point in reshaping the way Americans of all races and ethnicities view causes and responses to racial health disparities. Critical Race Theory is arguably one of the most important tools we can equip children and adults with in combating racist mentalities in the United States, in order to better facilitate positive political and structural changes.