Each April, the HIPRC raises public awareness on National Minority Health Month (NMHM). This year’s NMHM theme is about understanding how the unique environments, cultures, histories, and circumstances (known as social determinants of health, or SDOH) of racial and ethnic minority and AI/AN populations, impact their overall health.
Across our nation and within our communities, it is vitally important to recognize the disproportionate burden of premature death and illness in people from racial and ethnic minority groups, and to encourage action through health education, early detection, and control of disease complications.
In 1915, Booker T. Washington, author, educator, orator, and philanthropist established National Negro Health Week in response to the growing recognition of the importance of health in ensuring the viability of the Black community and the economy in general. This eventually evolved to be National Minority Health Month.
In 2002, National Minority Health Month received support from the U.S. Congress with a concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 388) that “a National Minority Health and Health Disparities Month should be established to promote educational efforts on the health problems currently facing minorities and other populations experiencing health disparities.” The resolution encouraged “all health organizations and Americans to conduct appropriate programs and activities to promote healthfulness in minority and other communities experiencing health disparities.”
Today, we continue to raise awareness to the health disparities and intergenerational trauma that persists among racial and ethnic minority populations—encouraging everyone to take action and end these inequities.
The White House
• Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity & Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
The National Academies Press
• Unequal Treatment Revisited: The Current State of Racial & Ethnic Disparities in Health Care
University of Washington
• Equitable Language Guide
Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle
• Public Health Programming & Services
OASH
• Healthy People 2030
City of Seattle
• Race & Social Justice Initiative (RSJI)
Seattle Children’s
• Center for Diversity & Health Equity
Fred Hutch
• Office of Community Outreach & Engagement
CDC
• Be the Source of Better Health: Improving Health Outcomes Through Our Cultures, Communities & Connections
• Black Health is Public Health: A Legacy of Leadership
• Minority Health
• Health Equity Video Series
FDA
• Minority Health & Health Equity Resources
SAMHSA
• Behavioral Health Equity
• SOAR WORKS
• Minority Fellowship Program (MFP)
• Find Help & Treatment
For more injury & violence prevention (IVP) topics affecting Minority Health, visit hiprc.org/downloadables >>
Source: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH), National Network to Eliminate Disparities (NNED)