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Both the CDC and American Medical Association classified racism as a public health issue. For Black women, racism in healthcare is more likely to create a life and death situation.
Black women in the US are more likely to die in childbirth, have more aggressive forms of certain types of cancer –– data that advocates say racism and bias from medical providers contribute to and have for some time.
Since slavery, Black women's bodies have been used for experimentation, like in the case of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were used to develop life-saving antidotes for millions across decades. Enslaved African women were often used as test subjects which perversely advanced the field of gynecology.
Yet, Black women today often lack access to adequate healthcare, are denied care, and ignored in healthcare settings.
To combat that issue and help Black women get the need and deserve, two Black women launched a tech company, Health in Her HUE.
Health In Her Hue was founded by Eddwina Bright and Ashlee Wisdom who used their personal experiences of going to the doctor to shape the app that helps pairs Black women to culturally-sensitive healthcare providers.
"I remember thinking that if I felt like my doctor, as a white woman, would understand experience of dealing with racism at work and microaggressions, then I might have naturally shared with her that was going on at work," Wisdom told ABC News.
"Black women have shared with me that they wear sometimes wear college paraphernalia or they talk really proper with their doctor so their doctor will see their humanity and take them seriously," Wisdom added.
Health in Her Hue, the founders told the outlet, isn't just about matching Black women with Black doctors, it's also about building a community of culturally-resonant resources for Black women.
Bright says, "The demand we've been seeing so far has been really reassuring. Users are saying, 'This is a solution that we want. It's something we've been looking for.'"
Click HERE, to learn more about Health in Her Hue and how it works.
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