Blog

A conversation with Earl Shellner, Patient Advocate and Advisory Council member

We need to strengthen Medicaid. With a new administration and Congress moving on key legislative priorities, now is the time. Strengthening Medicaid means increasing access to abortion and reproductive care. Abortion access is often an afterthought among the health advocacy community, but without abortion access, Medicaid coverage cannot ensure the overall well-being of people that may become pregnant.

When I briefly heard a report on television about the shootings that took place last week at three spa locations in Atlanta with no detail about who the victims were, I was first angry about the persistent gun violence plaguing this country.

These Black women are mothers of movements, icons, and leaders with their own rich history of defiance that young Black people, like me, are able to benefit from.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in nearly 50,000 cases and more than 60 deaths among pregnant people across the United States. And these numbers will surely increase as infections continue to surge over the winter months.

As the United States sees an increase in COVID-19 cases across the country, millions of people are set to lose the critical benefits that Congress enacted — including emergency paid sick days and paid family leave. Three out of four rural voters support permanent legislation mandating paid sick and paid family leave programs.

Kamala Harris is the first woman, Black, Asian American vice president-elect! I have chills.

Here at the National Partnership we know that democracy can get messy, and that it can take time. Every vote counts so it is vital that our nation takes the time to count every vote.

“Poderosos” is a Spanish word often used in the Latinx community to describe our power and strength. It is a word that characterizes our resilience in a country where we often experience discrimination and alienation.

Most sexual assault is never reported,often because survivors distrust or fear the police, or believe that the police can’t or won’t do anything to help.

Today is the Strike For Black Lives, a historic day where we unite to fight for a world where Black lives are valued and Black workers can build economic power. Thousands of workers are striking and demanding justice today.

Reproductive rights and reproductive health services historically center around cisgender women — but these services are also needed by transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals as well. Access to quality health care has long been out of reach for many LGBTQ people due to medical bias and discrimination.

When I came out as queer, as a freshman in high school, I did not understand how diverse, complex, and historical the LGBTQ+ community was. I came out in the months in which Obergefell v. Hodges was argued in front of the Supreme Court, and LGBTQ+ equality was becoming a mainstream discussion in the United States.

Last week, the United States celebrated a massive victory for LGBTQ people: a Supreme Court decision that determined LGBTQ people are protected under federal law against employment discrimination. Before the ruling, seventeen states had no laws against employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, and eleven states had laws that only partially protected some employees. The court’s decision marks such a sweeping victory that it rivals same-sex marriage legalization in the benefit it will have to LGBTQ people in the United States.

What is Juneteenth and why should you celebrate?

Earlier this month, the National Partnership participated in #BlackoutTuesday, interrupting our business as usual to amplify other voices instead of our own. We believed it was a good and important thing to do. And we did it with sincerity and humility. In hindsight, we also did it without fully understanding the meaning of our words.

This year’s Pride Month comes at a time of national and global unrest. In April and May, Pride parades, festivals and other celebrations nationwide set for June were cancelled due to COVID-19 social distancing measures.

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month presents an opportunity to reflect on the rich history and contributions that my community has made to our country and consider what kind of a world we are creating for future generations

The wage gap is just one of many examples of the burden women of color bear by living in a white supremacist and patriarchal society.

Trump administration actions have degraded the country's health care safety net placing vulnerable communities at risk.