Important Announcements

Nondiscrimination Policy Update

Boston Medical Center Health System complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency and primary language), religion, culture, physical or mental disabilities, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity and/or expression. BMCHS provides free aids and services to people with disabilities and free language services to people whose primary language is not English.

To read our full Nondiscrimination Statement, click here.

Racial Inequities

Racial Inequities

Noun

Outcomes resulting from systemic racism and injustice, where people of color fare much worse than their White counterparts. We tend to use different terms to describe racial inequities such as “achievement gap” in education, “health disparities” in healthcare, neutralizing the cause of these differences. According to the 2015 Color of Wealth report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, there are significant differences in wealth (assets minus debts) by race in Boston. White people had a median household net worth of $247,000 compared to African Americans having $8. This is a result of unjust policies and systems that historically benefited White people and disadvantaged people of color and continue to do so. 

Source

Adapted from the Center for Social Inclusion and informed by Racial Equity Institute’s Groundwater Approach and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Color of Wealth report

The Glossary for Culture Transformation is a living document to be revised on an annual basis.

Suggested Citation: Office of Equity, Vitality, and Inclusion, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, and Boston University Medical Group. Glossary for Culture Transformation. 2021.

For questions or suggestions, please email wordsmatter@bu.edu