Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Collaborate with Black Market Reads Podcast to Highlight Racial and Health Inequities Impacting Black Communities
13 Mayo 2024 - 9:55AM
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is collaborating with Black
Market Reads, a podcast series produced by The Givens Foundation
for African American Literature, which will impact the mainstream
health narrative and address health inequities within Minnesota
communities. The collaboration will feature a series of
conversations led by podcast co-hosts, Lissa Jones, renowned media
presenter, creator and cultural coach, and Bukata Hayes, vice
president of racial and health equity and chief equity officer at
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
Black Market Reads: On Health will shine a spotlight on the
critical health inequities that Black Americans face. Episode one
featured Pulitzer Prize Finalist and contributor to the New York
Times 1619 Project Linda Villarosa, who authored ‘Under the Skin –
The Hidden Toll of Racism on Health in America’ as its guest. The
newly released episode two features Dolen Perkins-Valdez,
pre-eminent chronicler of American historical life and First
Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library
Association winner. This episode will look at her book ‘Take My
Hand’ that was inspired by a real case in which two
sisters, Minnie Lee and Mary Alice Relf aged 12
and 14, were sterilized against their will in 1973.
Each episode in the series will explore the Black American
experience and dive deeper into finding healthcare strategies and
programs that can positively impact inequities. Providing space to
have these needed conversations, and amplifying them to broader
community audiences is essential for the narrative change needed to
break down ingrained mainstream narratives and biases that continue
to perpetuate structural racism and inequities.
"As leaders and key stakeholders in our communities’ health, it
is imperative that we address the systemic barriers contributing to
health inequities within historically and contemporarily
underrepresented communities,” said Bukata Hayes, vice president of
racial and health equity and chief equity officer at Blue Cross and
Blue Shield of Minnesota. “The significance of this collaboration
with Black Market Reads is that it allows us to amplify voices,
foster dialogue, advocate for healthcare and equity, and drive much
needed meaningful change.”
Episode 2 is on iTunes, Spotify, Libsyn, and with
bonus content providing discussion context and GO DEEPER
content here. The final podcast episode will be broadcast live in a
community setting with the goal of receiving feedback from
community representatives as to how to best address these health
care inequities.
About Black Market ReadsBlack Market
Reads, a program of The Givens Foundation for African
American Literature, is produced in partnership with
iDream.TV, a multimedia production company serving
educational and non-profit clients. Lissa Jones has served as the
podcast’s Host and co-producer for seven seasons. Since 2016, the
podcast has received over 40,000 unique Downloads across 112
countries.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
MinnesotaFor more than 90 years, Blue Cross and Blue
Shield of Minnesota (bluecrossmn.com) has
supported the health, wellbeing and peace of mind of our members by
striving to ensure equitable access to high quality care at an
affordable price. We are on a mission to inspire change, transform
care and improve health for the people and communities we serve by
reinventing both ourselves and the broader system. Our more than
2.5 million members can be found in every Minnesota county, all 50
states and on four continents. As a proud nonprofit organization,
we believe working to advance wellness for all Minnesotans is the
greatest investment we can make. Our goal is nothing less than for
everyone to be able to achieve their full health potential,
regardless of race or other socially defined circumstances. Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of
the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which serves more than
107 million members across the U.S.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Christian Knights |
651.662.4058Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
Minnesotachristian.knights@bluecrossmn.com