[Press Release] : 'UNNATUAL CAUSES…is inequality making us sick?'

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Nanette Chun-Ming Ward, Human Rights Educator - (573)
874-7487, HRC at GoColumbiaMo.com 

'UNNATUAL CAUSES…is inequality making us sick?'

COLUMBIA, MO (September 24, 2008) - The Columbia Human Rights
Commission invites civic leaders, policy makers and workers in the
fields of health, social welfare and education, and citizens concerned
for the well-being of all who live in our community, to view the
groundbreaking documentary “UNNATURAL CAUSES…is inequality making us
sick?”

This Wednesday, Sept. 24, 6 p.m. - 8:45 p.m., will feature two episodes
of the seven-part
documentary. The program is free, with refreshments provided, and will
be held at 1005 W. Worley, Columbia/Boone County Health Department.
Through film and dialogue, attendees will have the opportunity to
confront and understand the hard realities of racial, social and
economic injustices that impact our health - birth, death and
in-between.

Episode 2 “When the Bough Breaks” uncovers how racism affects birth
outcomes (African-American infant mortality rates remain twice as high
as for white Americans) and how the chronic stress of racism over the
life course increases health risks. Episode 3 “Becoming American”
explores the worsening health of immigrants. Recent Mexican immigrants
tend to be healthier than the average American, but the longer they are
here, the more the health advantage erodes. These half-hour episodes,
which continue Oct. 8 and Oct. 22, are each set in a different
ethnic/racial community and explore of how social conditions affect
population health and how some communities are extending their lives by
improving them.

UNNATURAL CAUSES is about health, but not about doctors or drugs.
Rather, it looks into findings that shake up our conventional concepts
of health - genes, behaviors and medical care. It sheds light on
mounting evidence of how inequities in the rest of our lives - the jobs
we do, the wealth we enjoy, the neighborhoods we live in - can get under
the skin and disrupt our biology just as germs and viruses do. Solutions
lie not in more pills but in more equitable social policies.

The series is part of ongoing effort by the commission to strengthen
community relationships and create a culture of inclusion and
understanding by dealing with difficult issues in small-group dialogue.
The series continues Oct. 8 and concludes Oct. 22. The first event was
held on Sept. 3.

Contact Nanette Ward, Human Rights Commission, at (573) 874-7487 or
HRC at GoColumbiaMo.com for more information, disability accommodations or
transportation
assistance. Visit us on the Web at www.GoColumbiaMo.com (Go Word:
gostudycircles).

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