Art, anti-racism and health equity: "Don't ask me why, ask me how!"

Abstract

Objective: One of the fundamental challenges in research on, and the practice of, anti-racism is helping people open their minds to new possibilities and new ways of thinking. Design: This commentary illustrates how art can help people unlearn misinformation and narrow ways of thinking while enhancing flexibility that allows people to think creatively about efforts to eliminate or mitigate the health effects of racism. Results: Historically, art has been a critical foundation of the history of protest and struggle to achieve equity in the United States and across the globe. Whether music, poems, paintings or other forms of creative expression, art has been at the core of efforts to express emotion, communicate difficult concepts, spur action and change what seems impossible. Art has been particularly important in illustrating and helping to facilitate how people understand what racism is, how it feels to experience privilege or oppression and exploring the implications of policies and practices that affect health indirectly or directly. Yet, art remains underutilized in anti-racism education, training and organizing efforts within public health. This commentary includes several arts-based examples to illustrate how art can facilitate insights, observations and strategies to address racism and achieve health equity. Conclusion: Art can be an important tool to facilitate moving past intellectual arguments that seek to explain, justify and excuse racism. Art may be particularly important in efforts to illuminate how racism operates in organizational or institutional contexts and to communicate hope, resilience, and strength amid what seems impossible.