Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts

Race & Health Equity Resource Guide

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    What is Health Equity?

    This resource guide was initiated by the PHIWM Board's Race & Health Equity Committee and augmented by regional partners and collaborations. Through discussions, activities, and the development of a resource library, the committee and regional partners work to support professional development and personal growth by fostering a learning community. These resources were gathered from various platforms that lend differing perspectives and scholarly insights.


    We hope organizations and stakeholders will utilize this guide to strengthen their understanding of race and health equity, serve as a guide for difficult conversations, and utilize this tool as a form of education to help aid and support the development of equitable communities.


    Help us keep this tool up to date! Given that conversations around race and equity will continue to evolve as well as the resources used to support growth and learning, the committee seeks your comments, additions, or upgrades. Contact us with your suggestions, comments, and updates.

    A Race and Health Equity Blog

    Putting Resources into Practice

    Understanding How We Got Here

    January 23, 2025
    Jaymie R. Zapata is a Senior Planner - Public Health with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. "Though the challenges of achieving racial equity may seem daunting, the past has a lot to teach us about how the systems that define our daily lives came to be. The first step to dismantling systems is to understand them. As a systems-level public health planner, I think it is vital to always be reading and educating myself about the decisions my predecessors made in public health for good or ill, so I can center what is just and challenge what is not. A book that was essential to my understanding of race and Black health in the United States was The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander , without which I do not think I would have been able to understand the continuation of Jim Crow laws into the present day nor their deep impact. At my agency we have established a racial equity reading library in our break room, stocked with many books from the Race and Health Equity Resource Guide . We hope people will take a minute over coffee to unplug, pick up a book, and gain some new insights while they are at it. There’s never a bad moment to learn something new!"

    We can build new bridges to health

    November 13, 2024
    Keleigh Waldner is the Senior Manager of Communications and Research at the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts. She writes, "When someone asks me how to explain structural racism or social determinants of health, I often direct them to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s 'Bridge to Health' model . The bridge metaphor illustrates structural racism in an accessible way. One bridge is built to safely carry people to their destination of good health, while the other is intentionally constructed with barriers. I appreciate this metaphor because it highlights the human role in creating systems and practices that value some lives more than others. This isn’t a natural occurrence; it’s the result of intentional decisions over time. Given the rise in rhetoric suggesting that our genes are responsible for our intelligence or criminality, it feels important to emphasize this point. Inequality isn’t genetic, rather, it is deeply steeped into our policies, systems, and environments. It is easy to become immobilized by injustice. At times it all feels like too much. The 'Bridge to Health' model offers some hope that we have the agency to replace these old bridges with new ones that enable everyone to thrive."

    Connecting to the human story

    October 17, 2024
    Debbie DiStefano, PhD, is the Chief People and Equity Officer at Hilltown Community Health Centers, Inc. She writes, "I find that helping folks connect to the human story can guide an understanding of racism, what it is, how it developed, and how it is directly impacting the whole health of people of color. Being antiracist is essential to our mission. I turn to the Race and Health Equity Resource Guide for podcasts such as Code Switch, videos such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story, and Beverly Daniel Tatum’s Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? We also partner with organizations such as the Women of Color Health Equity Collective as a way to learn, confront, and grow."
    Headshot of Dr. Gregory Todd

    What's In Your Toolbox?

    September 18, 2024
    Dr. Gregory Todd is the executive director of Men of Color Health Awareness (MOCHA). He writes, " If you are a self-proclaimed agent of social change like me, you have on more than one occasion made plans to take over the world, wanted to transform your organization, or even aspired to mentor a staff member. Whenever I have had such maniacal thoughts, I have asked myself two important questions. The first question is always: What tools do I have in my toolbox to accomplish these tasks? I then try to be specific regarding which tools I will need. Do I need more leadership skills? Am I transformative enough? How do I inspire others? If my passion is my WHY…my toolbox is my HOW. And, as passionate as I am about being transformative and impactful, I am honest enough with myself to know that the bravery, confidence, and deliberateness to engage can only be supported and justified by what I feel is in my toolbox. The second and equally important question is: If I don’t have these tools where can I get them? One answer that I discovered is the Race and Health Equity Resource Guide . With a bevy of useful information ranging from informative articles to transformative podcasts and books, filling and refilling my professional toolbox has been something that I look forward to doing on a regular basis. And with a toolbox that is responsive to my environment, I feel more confident in my ability to be transformative in my community in a way that is uplifting and empowering."
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