If you are paying attention to the news these days, you have probably heard the term “systemic racism” used to describe the conditions in this country that made something as horrific as the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in broad daylight possible. The disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on people of color has also been talked about as an issue of “systemic racism.” But what exactly does that mean? How does it play out in different parts of American society and in individual lives? How do history, individual prejudices, government policy and social arrangement conspire to devalue the lives of some Americans?
This week, we explore those questions through a specific lens: health care. Sarah Kureshi is a doctor of family medicine who teaches a course at Georgetown University on racial bias in the health care system. We ask Dr. Kureshi about the root causes of health inequalities, what the medical community is doing to root out racism and what the coronavirus pandemic has revealed about what and who this country considers essential.
In Signs of the Times, we discuss the Supreme Court’s decision to extend discrimination protections to L.G.B.T. workers and how the Catholic media should cover Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s conspiratorial letter to Donald J. Trump.
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Links from the show
Supreme Court says federal law protects L.G.B.T. workers from discrimination
President Trump tweeted about Archbishop Viganò. So, who is he?
Archbishop Viganò is aligning with Trump to stay in the spotlight. Pay him no attention.
Inside the Vatican Podcast: Why is the Vatican silent on Archbishop Viganò?
What’s on tap?
Aperol Spritz
