By Eve Higginbotham, SM, MD, ML
As we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King today, we find ourselves immersed in a world that is filled with conflict and hatred. This context drives us to seek solace in the words of Dr. King, who shines as a bright beacon of hope and inspiration. In the face of the increase in hate speech that plagues our society, particularly in the last several weeks, his teachings become even more poignant. His words and actions offer a powerful antidote to venomous language that divides and dehumanizes. Dr. King exemplified the courage to break the chains of silence and confront the injustices that plagued society, leading us towards a path of redemption and progress. Three quotes, highlighted as italicized…
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By Dominique Alexis
This year we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 90th birthday and on January 23, 2019, marked the fifth anniversary of the Office of Inclusion and Diversity's Martin Luther King Jr. Health Equity Symposium. This year's keynote speaker Jonathan Woodson, MD, who leads Boston University's University-wide Institute for Health System Innovation and Policy gave a compelling talk entitled "My Soul Looks Back; Lest we Forget (What the Evolution of MLK Teaches about Solving America's Problem's Today)." The symposium opened with remarks by Dr. PJ Brennan, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), who reminded us just how much work remains to be done and the initiatives Penn Medicine…
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By Corrinne Fahl
Collaborating across public and private sectors
At Penn's fourth annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Health Equity Symposium, keynote speaker Howard Koh, MD, MPH, former Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), shared a motivating quote by Dr. King: “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, Dean of Penn's Perelman School of Medicine, opened the symposium by discussing the legacy of Dr. King, “a great example of how one person, with vision and leadership, can change the course of history in an important way." Dr. Jameson said that Dr. King “would be disappointed that we still have such a wide gap in health…
Read more on Penn LDI: Koh Promotes Partnerships at Penn 2018 Health Equity Symposium
Posted on Feb 15, 2018
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MLK
By Corrinne Fahl
AUTHOR: Janet Weiner, PhD, MPH and Nastasha Galperin 'No time for apathy or complacency'
Penn's third annual Martin Luther King Jr. Health Equity Symposium featured a keynote address by Antonia Novello, 14th Surgeon General of the United States, who had a hopeful, yet challenging message: "Had Martin Luther King been here today, he would see that we are doing much better, but he would he would still be fighting. He would feel pride, disappointment, sadness, and he would be appalled that blacks and whites are still segregated."
Read more at Penn's Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.
Read more on Novello Inspires Action at 2017 Penn Health Equity Symposium
By Corrinne Fahl
The Office of Inclusion and Diversity is working with the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice to sponsor a student from Cristo Rey High School for the 2016-17 school year. T. Powell, a senior at Cristo Rey, wrote the following letter to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as we celebrate his life and work with our annual Health Equity Symposium.
Dear Dr. King,
I’m accepted. Not in all places, but I am welcomed. I can say that you were off to a good start, but the job is not finished. Your letters and the March on Washington in 1963 (check date) made an impact on history. Your dream and your legacy are not going to be forgotten.…
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Posted on Jan 30, 2017
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MLK
By Corrinne Fahl
The Office of Inclusion and Diversity would like to thank everyone who was able to attend any of our events yesterday, as we honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s commitments and contributions to Health Equity. We were so happy to be able to bring Dr. Novello to share her experience and guidance, and Dr. Evans' passion for the necessity for equity in the field of oral health was truly inspiring. We hope to see an enthusiastic turn out next year, when Dr. Howard Koh will be our keynote speaker.
View the entirety of the symposium, available to stream.
The following pages are available to view from the MLK Programs:
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By Eve J. Higginbotham, SM, MD
If you missed the 2016 MLK Symposium this year held on January 27, don't despair. The Leonard Davis Institute posted a blog by Imran Cronk, which nicely summarizes what you missed: http://ldi.upenn.edu/healthpolicysense/health-equity-symposium-features-fiery-carmona. In a nutshell, we were reminded about the perfect storm in which we consider our questions about health equity. Nationally we have witnessed the clashes between the police and vulnerable communities, threats against fragile gains made since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, defunding of key pipeline initiatives, the reemergence of grassroots advocacy, and legal challenges in efforts to diversify the health professional workforce. A panel of Penn faculty reminded us about the impact of own biases to health care, what factors we need to…
Read more on So What Did We Learn About Health Equity at Our 2016 MLK Symposium?
By Eve J. Higginbotham, SM, MD
On January 27, 2016 PSOM will welcome Dr. Richard Carmona to campus as our second MLK Health Equity Keynote Speaker.
As the 17th Surgeon General, Dr. Carmona made significant contributions in the areas of prevention, health disparities, health literacy, global health, and health diplomacy during his tenure. His keynote presentation will be augmented by our own Penn faculty: Dr. Jerry Johnson, Jaya Aysola MD, DTMH, MPH, Tiffani Johnson, MD, MSc, Shreya Kangovi, MD, MS and C. Neil Epperson, MD. At the end of this two hour discussion of challenges and solutions associated with achieving health equity, each of us will be enriched in our understanding of the barriers associated with achieving health equity, and more importantly inspired to do…
Read more on Health Equity: A Dream or An Achievable Goal?
