When Oprah talks, people listen. So hopefully, her latest partnership with the Smithsonian Channel will get people to listen to the cries for better access to quality healthcare for people of color. On April 14, the network announced its Color of Care campaign, which is focused on equity in health care across racial lines.
The highlight of the year-long multi-platform campaign is “The Color of Care,” a documentary produced by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions that will premiere on May 1 on the Smithsonian Channel. The film, directed by OSCAR®-nominated and Emmy® award-winning director Yance Ford, explores the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the fact that people of color often receive second-rate health care. There will be a national screening of the film at various nursing schools, medical schools, nonprofit organizations and Historically Black Colleges and Universities around the country.
“The COVID crisis has exposed gross inequalities in our healthcare system which, if left unaddressed, will again disproportionately impact people of color during the next health emergency,” said James Blue III, the head of the Smithsonian Channel in a press release. “This campaign will work to address these inequalities.”
TikTok is one of the corporate heavyweights who has signed on to participate in the campaign. They will be teaming up with the Smithsonian Channel for an exclusive live stream panel event with MTV News for The Color of Care. The event features experts who will discuss the racial inequities in healthcare and how viewers can become engaged in working towards a solution to the problem. The panel will be hosted by MTV’s Nessa with an introduction by Oprah Winfrey.
The Bloomberg Philanthropies Greenwood Initiative is also participating by donating $100 million to the four historically Black medical schools in the country. The donation is an effort to encourage more Black doctors by reducing the cost of medical school for Black students.