Holland Museum > Holland Museum > Groups Partner to Look at Racial Disparities in Health Care 

Groups Partner to Look at Racial Disparities in Health Care 

January 7, 2021

Alliance for Cultural and Ethnic Harmony (ACEH)

CONTACT: Viola Jackson   Phone: (616) 405-1832   Email: vijackson25@gmail.com 

 

In March 1966 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most inhumane.” The statement was made in Chicago following a Convention for the Medical Committee on Human Rights. 

Last year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared racism a public health crisis. But what does that mean and how does that look in our community? 

The Alliance for Cultural and Ethnic Harmony (ACEH) is hosting Racial Disparities in Health Care – Let’s Talk About It, a virtual forum on Sunday, January 17 from 3:00-6:00 p.m. to continue Dr. King’s work by talking about the issues and considering solutions. 

The forum will include a tribute to King, breakout sessions on specific topics, and a way forward.  Follow-up discussions are being planned for Sunday, February 21, and Sunday, March 21, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. 

The breakout sessions for January 17 are: 

1.   Inequalities in Elder Care
2.  Disparities in Giving Birth
3. Mental Health: Race Matters
4. Healing our Youth 

Panelists will include: 

  • Shandra Smith, from Allegan County Mental Health.
  • Bree Austin-Roberts: The Healing Space at Maple Avenue Ministries, offering resources and space for people of color to receive mental, emotional, and financial services, including trauma-based counseling, group therapy, and mental health coaching from professionals of color.
  • Lindsay and Henry Cherry: I Am Academy, working to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline through mentorships with students and community partnerships; it empowers African American youth to achieve their full potential by centering their identity, cultivating relationships, supporting educational success, providing college experiences, and facilitating job readiness, ultimately changing the narrative and trajectory of their community. 
  • Also presenting will be a doula student, a former certified nursing assistants with experience in area nursing homes, and others.

This event is a collaboration between ACEH, the Holland Museum, the I Corinthians 13 Project, and Maple Avenue Ministries. 

For more information or to register, visit  www.harmonyalliance.org. 

ACEH is a grass-roots, membership organization founded in Holland in 1999 to work for justice, equal opportunity, cross-cultural understanding, and appreciation for diversity. 

We sincerely encourage members of the media to register and attend the forum.