Professors Speak on Health, Social Justice in UN Webinar

COVID-19 has had a bigger impact on people of color

How can people give voice to the voiceless during a pandemic?

Sacred Heart University faculty members Christina Gunther and Bronwyn Cross-Denny addressed that question as the featured speakers in a recent webinar, “Engaging Informed Citizens,” conducted by the United Nations Association of Southwest Connecticut (UNASWCT).

The professors’ conversation, hosted on Zoom, was titled, “Covid-19 Exposes Inequities in Health Care: What Can We Do as Advocates for Social Justice?” They asked viewers to take action and promote global health by being an ally for people who are affected adversely by situations like the pandemic due to their social or economic circumstances.

“The virus is attacking our people, our prosperity and our way of life,” said Alex Anvari, president of the UNASWCT. “We need to address this is as a collective, as an allied cause… We need to remind ourselves what it means to be an ally.”

Cross-Denny, associate professor in the School of Social Work, and Gunther, director of global and health-science programs, began their talk by explaining that race is one of the underlying conditions of health inequities.

“We are all promised the right to a standard of living,” said Gunther, referencing Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It states, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” 

The World Health Organization defines health as “not just the absence of disease, but total emotional and physical well-being of a person,” Gunther said. COVID-19 has proven that not everyone has that standard of living.

Cross-Denny went on to share statistics that show African Americans are affected by COVID-19 more than Caucasians.

Looking more closely at the dimensions of inequality, Cross-Denny said media reports indicate that low-income people in Connecticut are being turned away from COVID-19 testing sites. The majority of these sites are drive-through, she said, and a large percentage of people of color don’t have cars. The low-income population also isn’t represented in the governor’s response and reopening strategies. “They are lacking a voice,” Cross-Denny said.

Throughout the webinar, Gunther and Cross-Denny posted polls for viewers to answer. The first one—a true-or-false question, asked if race is biological. The results came back 50/50, but the answer is false. “Race is skin-deep,” Gunther said.

Unconscious biases have seeped into our attitudes and beliefs, said Cross-Denny. People often fall prey to these biases or stereotypes without realizing it and must make an effort to reverse their thinking, because the stereotypes create an environment of oppression, she said. The result is that vulnerable populations become more vulnerable.

Gunther said people of color don’t have great access to health care, which creates a number of problems. The United States is the only developed nation that doesn’t provide health care for all its people, she said. “This is an issue of social justice,” Gunther added.

Cross-Denny suggested people work with the media and their elected officials to support oppressed populations. Gunther encouraged the webinar participants to contact their state representatives or write a “letter to the editor,” speaking their minds.

Cross-Denny urged people to develop self-awareness and understand how the pandemic has affected all populations. “Ask yourself, ‘What is my role? What’s my responsibility?’ If you have privilege, you have responsibility,” she said.

In closing, Cross-Denny and Gunther noted that everyone has biases, and reversing them takes constant self-evaluation. They told viewers to embrace their racial-identity development, consider how they might contribute to the problem and, most importantly, ask how they can help.

“How can you become an ally?” Cross-Denny said.