Directed by Charles Burnett and Daniel Loewenthal • Documentary • 2018 • 56 minutes
POWER TO HEAL tells a poignant chapter in the historic struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans. Central to the story is the tale of how a new national program, Medicare, was used to mount a dramatic, coordinated effort that desegregated thousands of hospitals across the country practically overnight.
Before Medicare, disparities in access to hospital care were dramatic. Less than half the nation's hospitals served black and white patients equally, and in the South, 1/3 of hospitals would not admit African-Americans even for emergencies.
Using the carrot of Medicare dollars, the federal government virtually ended the practice of racially segregating patients, doctors, medical staffs, blood supplies and linens. POWER TO HEAL illustrates how Movement leaders and grass-roots volunteers pressed and worked with the federal government to achieve a greater measure of justice and fairness for African-Americans.
Up Next in Health & Wellness
-
Vicenta
Directed by Dario Doria • Animation • 2020 • 69 minutes
A film as necessary as it is beautiful, Vicenta explores the struggle for the right to a legal, safe, and free abortion.
Through small clay figurines and live-action news clips, the documentary narrates the real human rights story of Vicen...
-
Invisible Frontliners
Directed by Hedwig Bäbler • Documentary • 2022 • 50 minutes
There are jobs without which society would not function. Who are those caretakers, the people who keep everyday life going, who keep the homes clean, provide food, and make it possible for the rest of us to live and work comfortably eve...
-
The Providers
Directed by Anna Moot-Levin, Laura Green • Documentary • 2019 • 82 minutes
Set against the backdrop of the physician shortage and opioid epidemic in rural America, THE PROVIDERS follows three healthcare providers in northern New Mexico. They work at El Centro, a group of safety-net clinics that ...
