Last night, an impressive group of speakers and passionate activists gathered in Washington DC, in the appropriately named Freedom Plaza, to declare their commitment to health care advocacy and demand that Congressional reform efforts address systemic inequality in the American health care system. Punctuated throughout the evening by the rhythmic sounds of Rudy Gonzalez Y Su Lokura's Latin jazz band, the evening was a tribute to both the passion and diversity of the health care reform movement.
The night started off with speeches from Congresswomen Lucille Roybal-Allard, and Congressman John Conyers, champions of health care equality in Congress. Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, also Chairwoman of the National Hispanic Caucus, expressed her support for the public health insurance option to raucous applause. Congressman Conyers brought his 13-year-old son onstage to have him declare his support for health care reform before leading the crowd in a chant of "everybody in, nobody out."
Following the members of Congress, the event opened up to various speakers and activists, each with a moving story or clever epigram that put their own spin on their support for health care reform. Juan Carlos Ruiz, the energetic emcee, pumped up the crowd in between speakers: "An insurance card is like a cell phone: it's only good when your network is on!"
Speakers such as Eleanor Hinton Hoyt, President and CEO of the Black Women's Heath Imperative, who for the past 20 years has been committed to improving the quality of women's health, no matter what their race or ethnicity. She spoke about the discrimination inherent in such practices as gender rating, in her words, "a form of discrimination that continues to punish women by making them pay more than men." Hinton-Hoyt nearly brought the crowd to tears by relating the tragic story of Esmen Elizabeth Green, a 49-year-old home health care worker who died in the ER last year. After being ignored for 24 hours, she died, at which point, people stepped over her dead body. Hinton-Hoyt used this story to support her point: "this is not about the health care we want; this is about the health care we need."
The evening wasn't all heart-wrenching stories; uplifting performances from cultural groups like The Dance Place, a step team of impressive 10 - 14-year-olds who have previously performed at the Lincoln Theatre, and NAKASEC Poongmul Players, a Korean folk-art drumming group, energized the crowd. A special treat was the speaker Rico Newman, on the Elder's Council of the Choptico Band of Piscataway-Conoy Indians. His health care story was related in the form of a traditional Native American parable.
The night closed with the distribution of electric candles, and a moment of silence for everyone who has been a victim of discrimination due to our broken heath care system. Participants also shared individual experiences and stories on thousands of postcards to be hand-delivered to members of Congress by the Healthcare Equality Project, and were also encouraged to call the number 1-800-577-1635 to reach their member of Congress and express their support for health care reform.
From Hispanics, to African Americans, Koreans and Native Americans; from mental health advocates to 10-year-old children dancing, the evening was a rainbow coalition of support for reforming health care. Eleanor Hinton Hoyt expressed it best when she quoted Martin Luther King, Jr: the time for health care reform is "the fierce urgency of now." Visit http://www.healthcareequalityproject.org/ for more information.
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