Harold Freeman
Harold Freeman is a former American Cancer Society President and a surgeon at Harlem Hospital. He is also the author of a ground-breaking study that discovered "Black men in Harlem lived fewer years than their counterparts in the impoverished country of Bangladesh." Freeman is an outspoken supporter of Black community health and a believer in looking past the surface issues of poverty and education to the underlying systemic racism in the American healthcare system. He feels that confronting institutional racism at the foundation of the problem is the only way to truly address the health disparities encountered by Black Americans.
Harold is highly respected in the medical community and is often called upon to speak on issues related to race and health. His work has been featured in The New England Journal of Medicine, The New York Times Magazine, and other prominent publications. Freeman is a strong believer in the power of education and self-advocacy and often encourages those he interacts with to look deeper and think differently.
Linda Villarosa
Villarosa is the book's author and protagonist. She is motivated by a desire to aid her community and to bring attention to systemic disparities and racism in healthcare. Her character evolution is amazing as she begins as a naive believer in self-help and education as answers to healthcare inequality and ends up as a determined champion for structural change. She is unafraid to face prejudice in the healthcare system, to speak truth to power, and to question established views.
She serves as a beacon of hope for other Black people, demonstrating how to struggle for justice and equality. She is a thoughtful and experienced journalist with a keen understanding of the power of storytelling to inspire change. Linda is an example of the power of personal growth, having gone from an individualistic approach to one that emphasizes the need for systemic change.
Simone Landrum
She is a genuine woman whose story is being utilized to highlight the systemic racism that exists in the American healthcare system. Landrum is a single mother and a nurse who was not given the care she need during her pregnancy. She was treated as if her agony was unimportant and when she had to be admitted to the hospital owing to problems, she was not given her room. She eventually gave birth to a stillborn child and nearly died as a result of the medical malpractice she endured.
Landrum is a strong, resolute woman who was unfazed by the racism she endured. She was determined to fight for justice and recognition of the discrimination she experienced in the healthcare system. Despite the dehumanizing treatment she received, she still had the courage to speak out and make sure her story was heard.
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo is the former governor of New York who signed the 2020 executive order allowing doulas in delivery rooms. Cuomo is seen as a champion of the Black maternal health problem and a leader in confronting the institutional racism ingrained in the healthcare system. He is largely credited with leading the bill's passage in reaction to a New York Times Magazine piece by Linda Villarosa highlighting racial gaps in maternal health care.
Cuomo was recognized for his dedication to improving the lives of black women and babies as well as for leveraging his position of power to effect change. He was also lauded for his willingness to listen to and understand the issue and for understanding that the issue was not simply about individual choice but about structural racism. It is clear from his actions that Cuomo is dedicated to making positive changes in the healthcare system and is committed to fighting systemic racism.
June Jordan
June Jordan is a civil rights and black power activist who penned the preface to "Body and Soul: The Black Women's Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-Being." Villarosa describes her as having been involved in the civil rights and black power movements, giving her a thorough grasp of how systemic racism and healthcare discrimination affected black people.
Jordan also slammed the notion that racism in America was "dying out," reminding Villarosa that when something dies, it does not fade away but fights furiously to survive. Jordan was a Black rights activist who actively attempted to draw attention to and combat structural racism. Through her work in the civil rights and black power movements, she was able to help bring attention to the issues that Black people faced in the medical field and beyond.
