The Minnesota Department of Health will have an office dedicated to closing racial gaps in health outcomes by partnering with community resources.
ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Health will focus more on ways to reduce racial health disparities in the state, thanks to the new Office on African American Health.
The Minnesota Legislature voted last year to create the new office, in an effort to track racial gaps in health outcomes and identify new strategies to address the root causes of those disparities, while working closely with clinics and community organizations that They serve black people. Minnesotans.
“We need change for Black Minnesotans. It’s time. It’s time and this office will push for a new approach,” Minnesota Health Commissioner Dr. Brooke Cunningham told the crowd gathered outside the Capitol. state.
He said it is well known that Black Minnesotans suffer higher rates of hypertension, diabetes and pregnancy complications than the population as a whole.
“The creation of this office addresses generational health disparities and represents our dedication to overcoming generational trauma, racialized health disparities, and dismantling systemic barriers to improve health outcomes.”
The agency is under no illusions that the problem can be resolved quickly, but the establishment of this office marks an important step in the right direction when it comes to focusing resources.
“This office represents the hope and change we aspire to,” Dr. Robsan Tura, deputy commissioner of the MDH Office of Health Equity, told the crowd.
“This office represents the state government saying we hear you, we hear you, we are here for you, not us.”
The office will have a staff of six people and an annual budget of $1 million. Most of that money will be distributed in grants to MDH partners in community settings. DaVonna Rucker, who most recently worked with the YWCA of Minneapolis, will be the first director of the new office.
“This is a great responsibility. I do not take it lightly. I appreciate the report and look forward to a Minnesota where black people can live healthily.”
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan told the crowd that there are a growing number of lawmakers who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) who are giving voice to concerns that have been under the radar in the past.
“They want to make sure we know the solutions come from the community, making sure we have the data, because we measure what matters to us and that drives us to take action.”
Two weeks ago, MDH launched the Office of American Indian Health, which will adopt a similar model of data collection and partnering with community groups and clinics.
The TKO Drumline and Knockout Dance Team electrified the crowd during a break with a drum and dance performance.
The program’s emcee, Jamela Pettiford, gave a stirring performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the James Weldon Johnson anthem known to many as the Black National Anthem. He included the second verse, often omitted in public performances, which includes these lines:
We have traveled a path that has been watered with tears,
We have come, walking our way through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out of the gloomy past,
So far we are at last
Where the white glow of our bright star is projected.
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