“This has to be an all hands on deck situation where we say, we are going to, together, as a country, solve this problem. I think that might be magical thinking in this world we’re in right now, but I do see some steps ahead..”
Linda Villarosa
In this inaugural episode of Black Market Reads: On Health, Lissa introduces her series co-host Bukata Hayes, Vice President and Chief Equity Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. Together they welcome their guest Linda Villarosa, a Pulitzer Prize Finalist and contributor to the NYT 1619 Project.
There’s an alarming saying in medical circles that Black people in the US “live sicker and die quicker.” Linda Villarosa, explores this phenomenon in her book UNDER THE SKIN: The Hidden Toll of Racism on Health in America. Villarosa finds that erroneous beliefs about Black bodies, dating from the time of enslavement, continue to influence medical practices today. Coping with the daily stress of racism ages Black people prematurely. And racist beliefs held by doctors and other medical professionals often keep Black people from getting the care they need.
LISTEN
GO DEEPER
LEARN MORE
Author Villarosa talks about The Heckler Report and the impact that it had on her thinking. (Margaret M. Heckler, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services 1983-85)
WATCH
Author Villarosa shares a poem, Have You Ever, included in her book. Written and Performed by U-Meleni Mhlaba Adebo, Multi-disciplinary Artist |Poet | Performance Art| Marathoner |Author of poetry collection “Soul Psalms http://amzn.to/1T34SiV This recording is from the November 2020 Black Love project at Hibernian Hall, Roxbury. Through multimedia, spoken word, movement, and music, Black Love explored themes of self-care, healing, and love. (VIDEO: Aja M. Jackson, lighting designer/Scott Quade, videography)
READ
“Having reviewed our interactions with Henrietta Lacks and with the Lacks family over more than 50 years, we found that Johns Hopkins could have – and should have – done more to inform and work with members of Henrietta Lacks’ family out of respect for them, their privacy and their personal interests. “
“J. Marion Sims was celebrated for his medical achievements; his statue remains on the Alabama State Capitol grounds today. Increasingly, his brutal mistreatment of Black women is informing a broader understanding of his legacy as an especially cruel chapter in our history of racial injustice.”
Illustration of Dr. J. Marion Sims with Anarcha by Robert Thom. Courtesy of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Pearson Museum. Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
LEARN
CULTURAL HUMILITY “In this series, we meet individuals from across Minnesota who have so much to teach us. We learn about language, faith, food, art, wellness and more from the Dakota, Anishinaabe, Hmong, African American, Latine, and Somali communities. Join us on this journey as we seek to collectively deepen our stance of cultural humility.”
ENJOY
Black Market Reads is produced by The Givens Foundation for African-American Literature in partnership with iDream.tv. Funding for this series is provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as part of Blue Cross’ long-term commitment to improving the health of Minnesota communities and ensuring that all people have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible.