At RHAP, we throw ourselves into the work of bringing reproductive health care into primary care practices all over the country. And to keep ourselves motivated and inspired, we’re constantly reading for some perspective. Here’s what we recommend: 

In The New York Times, Panic in Pakistani City After 900 Children Test Positive for H.I.V. –recommended by Silpa Srinivasulu, Research and Evaluation Manager:

“Here is an extremely impoverished community with poor access to quality, affordable health care in a country that is already pretty skeptical about things like vaccines given the history of abuse during global vaccination campaigns, not to mention that country’s relatively oppressive attitudes toward women and girls and LGBTQ populations. All this comes together in an absolutely awful situation with 1,000 kids getting HIV and suffering, and their families have no way of affording medication. This piece made me think about the intersection of gender and poverty, especially as it relates to health care access.” 

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo –recommended by Lisa Maldonado, Executive Director: 

“I am pushing myself to understand how deeply racism shapes our society and my role in perpetuating racism. This book highlights how white fragility upholds racism. Recognizing my own fragility is hard, but important work. It has personal meaning for me, but also translates into the work the Reproductive Health Access Project does. The systems of power in our country (and the world) are unfair and biased, rooted in racism and misogyny. Understanding how these systems work and the role we each play in perpetuating them is a critical step to changing these systems for everyone. The book isn’t difficult or dense. It contains lots of examples and anecdotes to flesh out white fragility in action. I recommend it.”