Racism, Power, And Health Equity: The Case Of Tenant Organizing

Racial disparities in health are among the most disconcerting forms of inequity in the United States. Divergent health outcomes between Americans racialized as White and those racialized as Black, Latinx, and Indigenous do not stem from biological or genetic differences. To the contrary, "race" comes to have concrete consequences through social, economic, and political systems. Yet the political contours of health equity remain especially understudied. This article places the politics of health equity in the foreground through the lens of housing, a critical determinant of health. Drawing on in-depth qualitative evidence rooted in the experiences of tenants who confront health-threatening housing conditions, I examine how people within racially and economically marginalized communities organize to build political power in response to those conditions. By charting how tenants navigate state and local political processes, I demonstrate the possibilities for organized tenants to wield power in ways that help advance health equity in the face of structural racism.