The fight of our lives: COVID-19 and communities of color

COVID-19January 12, 2021

At our virtual Leadership Conference last September, leading scholars and activists joined us for a discussion about the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color and the racial disparities that exist in providing and accessing health care. The panelists delved into how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these disparities and how we — as healthcare workers and a health care union — can seize this moment to help build a more just healthcare system. That discussion is now available on video.  The participants included:

Adolph Leonard Reed, Jr., is an American professor emeritus of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in racism and U.S. politics.

Monique LeSarre, PsyD, is adjunct faculty in the School of Undergraduate Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She also serves as the institute’s director of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Project, which seeks to empower historically underrepresented groups in the five master’s in counseling programs.

Victoria Dooley, MD, is a healthcare activist and board-certified family physician in Michigan, who has developed policy on Black maternal health;

Mónica Ramírez is an activist, author, civil rights attorney, social entrepreneur, and speaker.