New Health Equity Training Series Equips Community Leaders to Address Structural Racism

Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the initiative builds on more than 40 years of HCN Global's work alongside communities of color, creating culturally grounded campaigns and storytelling that connect, inspire, and empower communities. This occurs at a moment when communities of color continue to face compounding barriers to health access, education, and economic opportunity. The focus now turns to equipping local leaders with practical tools to recognize how systems shape health outcomes and how to organize for lasting change.

Structural racism—the policies, systems, and practices built into society that create and maintain racial inequities—continues to shape who has access to quality healthcare, nutritious food, safe housing, and educational opportunities. These barriers disproportionately impact Latino, Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities, resulting in measurably worse health outcomes and reduced life expectancy. Health and economic data reveal persistent racial disparities in the United States. Black women and infants experience significantly higher mortality rates than their white counterparts, while Latino communities have faced higher uninsured rates and disproportionate impacts from COVID-19.

Economically, white households hold substantially more wealth than Black and Latino households, and homeownership rates—a key source of generational wealth—are markedly higher among white families. These gaps stem from longstanding discriminatory policies such as redlining and unequal lending practices. Because these disparities persist across systems and remain even when accounting for income or education, they are considered structural—embedded in enduring institutions and policies. The new webinar series, titled Building Equity: Tools for Community Leadership, is a two-part training that equips participants to understand how structural racism shapes health outcomes and how to take meaningful action in their communities.

The first webinar, Seeing the Structures, examines how inequities in housing and food systems, education and health literacy, and immigration policy impact community health and access to care. The second, From Knowledge to Action, is an interactive workshop where participants map local barriers, develop messaging that connects community issues to structural causes, and create action plans for organizing, advocacy, and systems-level change. HCN Global's research helps identify the gaps in how community organizations understand and communicate about structural racism as a driver of health inequities. While leaders witness these impacts firsthand, many lack shared language and frameworks to connect lived experiences to systemic causes or advocate effectively for change.

This webinar series addresses those gaps by providing evidence-based, culturally relevant tools; elevating community expertise; and offering bilingual resources and peer learning opportunities. Leveraging national networks including La Red Hispana, Melanin Thriving, and LatinEQUIS, the initiative will expand access to trusted community partners. To further support these partners, dedicated webpages were launched to house resources designed to help community leaders and organizers continue this work beyond the live sessions. For Spanish resources, visit laredhispana.org/liderazgo-para-una-cultura-de-salud/. For English-preferring Latino and Black audiences, visit melaninthriving.com/leadership-for-culture-of-health and wearelatinequis.com/leadership-for-a-culture-of-health. Community leaders, health workers, advocates, and partner organizations interested in participating can register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/A4d9Hx10RdGvjIiHg4i5NQ#/registration. Webinars are free and open to all who work with communities impacted by health inequities.