It is hard to talk about race. Discussions about race in general and racial discrimination in particular are potentially unnerving, which explains in large measure why such conversations are so few and far between. In the health care context, discussions about race and racial discrimination are particularly rare....Racial disparities in many areas of health status are well documented, disturbing, and preventable. In order to eliminate health disparities, it is important first to understand the root causes. Until recently, the role of discrimination was largely ignored. Instead, disparities have been defined in other terms: economic -- poor people are more likely to have difficulty accessing quality health care; geographic -- those who live on the wrong side of the tracks and near the toxic waste dump are more likely to encounter health problems; and sometimes genetic -- certain races or ethnicities may have a genetic predisposition to certain illnesses. Finally, disparities frequently have also been defined in terms of education or behavioral issues -- if we could simply teach better habits.
All of these explanations are undoubtedly true depending on the context, with some factors perhaps playing a larger role than others. However, another factor is rarely discussed -- discrimination. This paper addresses the role that discrimination plays in explaining health disparities, and outlines a host of civil rights interventions that can be put into place to address these disparities. (abbreviated author introduction)