For week 3 we are focusing on systemic racism. Systemic racism is defined as "systems and structures that have procedures or processes that disadvantage non-white people - you may have heard this referred to as "institutional racism" or "structural racism". We dove more into the definition of systemic racism here, and for the last two years we have discussed many systemic racism issues on #WakeUpWednesdays which you can view the content and discussions in any of my instagram highlights labeled with #WUW (short for Wake Up Wednesday).
Today we are focusing on the healthcare system. Racial healthcare disparities have become glaringly obvious recently as COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted the Black community, Black mothers are 3-4 times more likely to die in childbirth than white mothers, recent studies have found Black patients are up to 50% less likely than white patients to receive pain treatment..the list goes on.
To understand how we got here with medical treatment, we're listening to Episode 4 of the 1619 podcast: "How The Bad Blood Started" which traces the roots of this issue back to slavery.
Episode links:
Spotify
Stitcher
Apple
Reflection Questions (discuss with your group, join the conversation on Instagram, journal):
- What is something new you learned?
- What is something that surprised you?
- What is our role as individuals in fighting this issue?
- If you're in the healthcare profession, would love to hear how your workplace fights this?
*Note: if today is your first day joining us - welcome! Head to the Intro Post to learn more about this challenge. You can start with today and stick it through to day 30 and then go back and do the first two weeks after!
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