Conversations that Count: Understanding the Complexities of Race and Health

Nick Baker, Web Experience and Content Manager

The LUNGevity Conversations that Count speaker series offers an opportunity to stay informed, engage in critical discussions, and learn from top experts revolutionizing lung cancer care for underserved populations. The series is intended for healthcare professionals, community health equity champions, and anyone interested in equitable access to healthcare.

In January, we welcomed Matthew McCurdy, MPH, co-founder and executive director of BLKHLTH, to speak on the complexities of race and health.

You can always find upcoming speakers and watch these sessions live by visiting the LUNGevity calendar here.

BLKHLTH is a Black-led nonprofit organization, founded in 2016, that aims to advance health equity in Black communities through antiracist education, advocacy, research, and programs. Some specific actions they’re taking include:

Community-based screenings
Developing medical school curriculum
Digital health communication and education
Decision maker engagement with legislators
Translating health equity research

You can watch the entire video here or use the timestamps below to skip to specific topics.

Who Is BLKHLTH & What Do They Do? 2:00-9:50

Matthew opens by sharing quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr., that direct and inspire the work of BLKHLTH. For a complete understanding of who BLKHLTH is and what they do, make sure to watch this section in full.

Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Defining Key Concepts: 9:50-16:05

Race vs. Racism

Race – Social classification of people based on phenotype (such as physical features like skin color). Race is a social construct with no biological or genetic basis.

Racism – A system of power that structures opportunity and assigns value based on one’s phenotype. This results in unfair advantages for certain groups and unfair disadvantages for others.

Structural Racism

The totality of how society is organized to privilege White communities at the expense of non-White racialized communities. Structural racism derives its strength and resilience from the interconnections between institutions.

Health Inequity

Systemic differences in the opportunities available to groups for them to achieve optimal health, leading to unfair and avoidable differences in health outcomes.

Health Disparity

Differences in health status across groups of people. These are the outcomes of health inequity, such as:

Presence of disease – Incidence or prevalence
Severity of disease – Morbidity
Death from disease – Mortality

Social Determinants of Health

The social and community conditions in which we are born, live, and age. Examples include access to and quality of education, health care, environment, neighborhood, community, and economic status.

Pathways Between Racism and Health: 16:05-19:20

Understanding racism and its connection to public health is a complex and changing problem. To illustrate the complexity while giving concrete examples, Matthew shares a helpful tree diagram of how racism leads to mental and physical health outcomes.

Why Focus on Racism and Black Health? 19:20-25:35

Using Atlanta as an example, Matthew shares how being the “Public Health Capital” of the nation doesn’t exclude the city from health inequities. The stark reality of Atlanta is that life expectancy can differ by 10 years just by the zip code someone lives in.

BLKHLTH Approaches to Health Interventions: 25:35-46:15

Matthew goes in-depth on the five major shifts BLKHLTH has identified to drive change. These focus areas are:

Shifting how we think of the problem
Shifting how we think of the solution(s)
Shifting our framing from deficit-based to strength-based
Shifting decision-making power
Shifting our gaze inward