Demystifying Obama’s Health Plan and other topics; screening of THE DEADLIEST DISEASE IN AMERICA

Sept. 28, 2009 - PRLog -- New Haven, CT  – Producer/ Director Crystal Emery’s film, The Deadliest Disease in America will be screened on Monday, October 5, 2009, 5:00pm at the Michael J. Adanti Student Center on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Cresent Street, New Haven, CT.

The 55-minute film will be followed by three participatory workshops: “What racism looks like in health care delivery and why you should report it,” “Empowering Community Organizations Working with Legislators for change,” and “Demystifying President Obama’s Health Care Plan.” The later workshop will clarify known details of the President’s Health Care Plan. Participants will also have an opportunity to express their sentiments about the health plan and learn how to distinguish truth from fiction. Medical professionals, educators, students, community activists and others interested in developing a strategy for change in American healthcare will recognize the capacity within these interactive forums to empower and engage all community members.

The documentary follows four individuals, including the filmmaker, whose personal stories add to the national debate on our country’s healthcare crisis. Emery shares her own experience as an African-American encountering racism while navigating the healthcare system. Emery, whose arms and legs are paralyzed as a result of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a form of Muscular Dystrophy, hopes that sharing these stories will stimulate conversations that move individuals to action.

The film also focuses on three organizations, from New England to Texas, whose innovative strategies help mitigate the crisis. “The ultimate goal of this film is to illuminate disparate treatment based on racial, economic and ethnic differences in order to help achieve a healthcare system that serves all Americans equally,” explains Crystal Emery. Filmmaker Bill Duke asserts, “...a daring and insightful film . . . challenges all of us to demand equal treatment of everyone in the American healthcare system.”

The Deadliest Disease in America is a powerful vehicle for educating and galvanizing stakeholders across the nation. “[This] film synthesizes centuries worth of discrimination that you can’t argue with,” contends Yance Ford, Series Producer for PBS’s POV/American Documentary.

The Deadliest Disease in America is produced by URU The Right to Be, Inc., a nonprofit, community-based organization that focuses its work on the critical need to reduce disparities and achieve greater health equity in the United States.  The film has been endorsed by the Office of Minority Health and has received the Congressional Black Caucus Health BrainTrust Leadership in Journalism award. Hosting this event will be Southern Connecticut State College School of Public Health, The Diversity Leadership Forum, and The New Haven Club of Negro Business and Professional Women Club, Inc.


According to Yale’s Dr. Forrester Lee, “Her film forces medical practitioners to consider how racism has infected the body of medical practice.  We are invited to heal ourselves through contemplation, dialogue and action.  This film is a brave and matchless work that will find a receptive audience everywhere.”  

The evening will end with a Q&A session and dinner.  For more information about The Deadliest Disease in America and to view a trailer of the film, please visit URU’s website at www.urutherighttobe.org.

To RSVP for the event, please send an email to urujuliet@aol.com or call 203-389-7466.
Press should contact, Rashida at urutheright@gmail.com or call 203-530-0778

This project is funded in part by the W.K Kellogg Foundation and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven

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About The Deadliest Disease in America (DDA). The film is produced by URU The Right to Be, Inc., a nonprofit, community-based organization that focuses its work on the critical need to reduce disparities and achieve greater health equity in the United States. The film has been endorsed by the Office of Minority Health and has received the Congressional Black Caucus Health BrainTrust Leadership in Journalism award. Hosting this event will be Southern Connecticut State College School of Public Health, The Diversity Leadership Forum, and The New Haven Club of Negro Business and Professional Women Club, Inc.