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Getting Inequity on the Table

Dr. Karen McNeil Miller

Bold solutions require bold, fearless approaches. 

It's no longer enough to simply talk about health inequities and disparities in diverse communities, particularly in racial and ethnic communities. 

There is no better time than now to take action. 

These are some of my key takeaways from Day 1 of the 2017 Colorado Health Symposium. The theme "Let's Talk About ... Inequity" fully delivered on its intent and rallying cry to tackle head-on the white elephant in the room: racial inequities in the healthcare system and society at large.

The conversation kicked off as Colorado Health Foundation CEO and President Karen McNeil Miller unveiled the Foundation's bold new vision:

Across Colorado each of us can say: “We have all we need to live healthy lives.”

Investing in Colorado communities and families to attain and maintain access to healthy choices and opportunities that lead to healthy lives can't happen without deliberate and intentional steps toward meaningful and lasting change.

And it all starts with each of us taking a hard look at our own experiences and biases that contribute to the health inequities, said Alan Weil, editor-in-chief of Health Affairs.

"If we want to get inequity on the table, understand the lived experiences of others, as well as our own lived experiences and how they shape the approaches we take and the priorities we set for issues that we choose to address," he said.

Dr. Manuel Pastor
Professor Manuel Pastor, Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California discussed the reality and busted myths about demographic shifts in the United States.

The "browning" of America is approaching as scheduled, with new estimates putting the United States as a majority-minority country around years 2043-44. Immigration is not the culprit: these changes are brought on by U.S.-born Latinos and Asians that now comprise a large percentage of America's children and youth.

Pastor pointed to the widening gap between the whiter, older generation of Americans who "do not see themselves" in the younger generation. The racial generation gap has policy implications that affect the everyday lives of communities of color. Case in point: Arizona has the largest racial generation gap in the country, and the divide in perspectives and priorities is evident in policies that promote harassment of immigrants and disinvestment in public K-12 and higher education.

Darrick Hamilton, Associate Professor of Economics at The New School, discussed the historical contexts and current realities of the racial wealth gap and its impact on social determinants of health for marginalized communities.

Despite the explicit focus on racial equity, written questions from the audience questioned the approach, and why the symposium is not spotlighting inequities in other communities.

Resistance to the approach to underlining racial equity is palpable. Anonymously shared comments reflected a healthy interest in focusing on the pains experienced by low-income white communities.

In  her opening talk on Day 2, the Foundation's Karen McNeil-Miller responded to questions and critiques about prioritizing race and ethnicity in discussions focused on addressing health inequities.

"The fact is, we could work toward trying to solve some of those other inequities and never have to have the race discussion," said McNeil-Miller. "But if we tackled the race discussion, we can also embrace and work on so many of the other issues."

See clip below for her full response:

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