Ingrid Silva, a ballerina of The Dance Theatre of Harlem, is using the current closing of theaters and performance venues to expose racial bias in healthcare. In the past, Ingrid received praise and recognition for creating a line of ballet shoes in an array of skin tones for dancers of all races and cultures.
Silva founded a nonprofit organization called EmpowHer. EmpowHer NY is a social catalyst that ignites the conversation about women who break through the glass ceiling imposed by society and live authentically according to their truth.
Recently EmpowHer and The Bloc teamed up to create a video called 'The Call Project'.
According to Forbes, this project is an experiment where actress Corin Wells made multiple calls to a 24-hour Nurses health hotline. Wells used a white-coded name and voice as well as a Black-coded name and tone. The results showed that 77% of her “black” alias calls ended with a recommendation to go to an urgent care facility, a protocol for minor health issues. However, her “white alias,” using the same script, was advised to go to the ER, which is protocol for any patient with urgent symptoms of an appendicitis.
Empowher believes, "When it comes to getting proper healthcare, it shouldn’t matter what your name is or how you sound like. Your pain shouldn’t be underestimated because of biological myths that are not only scientifically false but also fantastical in nature."
The goal of this experiment is to address racial biases in healthcare and to make unconscious bias training mandatory for hospitals and healthcare to ensure quality healthcare.
Silva said, “It’s been past time for us to speak up on this matter for the black community worldwide. This is our way of saying enough already!”
You can join the movement in the fight for equality in healthcare. EmpowHer is offering a petition to make unconscious bias training a mandatory requirement for hospitals across the country. You can sign the petition here.
