Universal Single-Payer Health Care Campaign

I do not have the answers to the questions yet. I am meeting Neva Walker on Wed. Jan. 11^th at 9:30 am. I will have the answers by the meeting that night. Will try to get them on the web site by then. Can’t promise. Sorry so late.

I really want to tackle an issue lead by People of Color rather than work on the amorphous racism as I have done in the past. My new understanding of what may be most effective for social change is to work on an issue with leadership of People of Color. Since People of Color are the hardest hit by every social issue, they have the most passion and the greatest understanding of each issue. By working on any issue with people of color as leaders, we are working to undo the effects of racism, bridging the gap of the segregation of our social lives, and working to undo our unconscious white supremacy all at the same time. How efficient!!!

Here is what I know so far. This letter is from my friend Ann Cader.

Keith Ellison came to a meeting of the DFL Progressive Caucus Outreach Committee and suggested the committee tackle health insurance (specifically Universal Single-Payer coverage).  He noted that Neva Walker (among others) sponsored a bill for that in the House.  Since then that committee has pretty well devoted itself to that cause, leading meetings, enlisting speakers, going to many different groups around the state.  This is a topic that resonates very well with people, because it is a huge injustice that so many people are not adequately covered or are not covered at all.

  Right now I happen to be involved in helping set up a meeting on this topic that the Green Party initiated, asking me as an intermediary if they could bring the same issue (universal single-payer health care) to the St. Paul NAACP.  Everybody liked the idea, except we can't put the Green Party's name on any announcements because the NAACP cannot be political.  The president of the NAACP liked the idea very much and wanted to get the Urban League as a co-sponsor with the NAACP, which the Urban League president agreed to do today.  It will be on Jan. 19 and the speaker will be the absolute best person in MN on this topic, Kip Sullivan.

So Keith Ellison has been one of the people leading it,  Neva Walker is, and now for this event both the NAACP and the Urban League are the co-sponsors.   I did research for Kip on the racial disparities and found that black people are twice as likely to be uninsured in MN as white people..