Minority Populations

commentary

Public Health's Failure to Communicate with Communities of Color

Misinformation thrived during the pandemic, exacerbating health inequities. To meet its core mission, the public health field needs to engage more actively, particularly in communities it has historically failed to equitably protect.

Joie D. Acosta

essay

The Impact of Racism on Patient Safety

Minoritized patients are at high risk of experiencing what the medical field calls “patient safety events.” But the way the U.S. health care system tracks patient safety too often makes their experiences invisible. Better reporting would allow hospitals and other providers to identify disparities in care, and to address them.

commentary

Resolutions and Optimism from the Santa Monica Community Going into the New Year

Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy director Rhianna Rogers reflects on her 2022 resolution: Draw together folks from different cultural perspectives to speak with and learn from one another, and work together to find ways to make the world better for all.

Rhianna C. Rogers

essay

China's Disappeared Uyghurs: What Satellite Images Reveal

At least one million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have vanished into a sprawling network of camps and prisons in China's far west. Satellite images show brightly lit compounds, wall after wall of barbed wire, and a sudden rush to build what appear to be fortified preschools.

commentary

Upcoming Summit an Opportunity for Japan to Reconsider Whether to Join Rest of G-7 in Sanctioning China Over Genocide

Japan has been lukewarm in its response to global condemnation of China's crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang. What options might President Biden have to encourage Japan to reconsider its position as he hosts his first in-person summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga?

Scott W. Harold

blog

RAND Staff Member Helps Get Masks to Communities in Need

Jessica Arana, a designer at RAND, volunteers with the Auntie Sewing Squad, a mask-making effort started by comedian Kristina Wong. Arana first donated to the effort but soon became an organizer focused on minority, immigrant, farmworker, and low-income communities.

blog

Unemployment Insurance, Domestic Extremists, Housing Insecurity: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on what the pandemic has revealed about America's unemployment system, why stopping domestic extremism will be difficult, how housing insecurity may affect sleep, and more.

commentary

Public Health Reasons to Tune Into TV's 'Dear White People'

The Netflix series Dear White People shows how sexual decisionmaking can be influenced by race, status, and the power dynamics within a relationship. Public health programs and policies could be better tailored to account for this complexity.

Sarah MacCarthy

commentary

State Competition, Not Sectarianism, Key Driver of Middle East Politics

Sectarianism is real and dangerous in the Middle East, but the region is more complicated. The next leaders in Iran and Saudi Arabia, under pressure from youthful populations and worsening economic challenges, may no longer see value in a costly sectarian agenda.

Dalia Dassa Kaye

commentary

To Increase Diversity in Tech, We Need to Rethink What 'Tech' Is

Rethinking what defines today's tech jobs, along with greater investment in public-private partnerships, could go a long way toward bridging the diversity gap.

Diana Gehlhaus

q&a

RAND Experts Q&A on the Fighting in Kunduz

The Taliban battled its way into the center of Kunduz this week, with media reports saying it seized control of the northern Afghanistan city at least for a time. A trio of RAND experts participated in a Q&A on the situation and its significance.

blog

Many Americans Are Confused About the Affordable Care Act

In a nationally representative sample of more than 6,000 Americans, researchers found an acute lack of understanding among low-income people regarding finances in general, and health reform and health insurance in particular.

commentary

Using the Power of Communities to Beat Depression

Under-resourced communities of color have limited access to programs that could improve recognition and treatment of depression. RAND and UCLA investigators applied an engagement model to determine how to better serve these communities.

Kenneth B. Wells, Loretta Jones

commentary

Is Turkey Rethinking the Syrian Kurd Issue?

An autonomous Kurdish region that remains an integral part of Syria, even one dominated by the PYD (the Democratic Union, the largest and best organized Kurdish opposition party), would be far less dangerous than one dominated by forces affiliated with al Qaeda.

F. Stephen Larrabee

commentary

Reading the Tea Leaves in Iraq

The United States should not be too quick to write off Iraq based on recent violent trends, says Jason Campbell. After all, if there is anything that should be remembered from years past it's that the Iraqi populace can endure astonishing levels of violence and still maintain confidence in the survival of the state.

Jason H. Campbell @JasonHCampbell

commentary

Obama's Burmese Gamble

A year ago, the United States and Myanmar (Burma) did not even have ambassadors in each other's capitals. In May, President Thein Sein became the first leader from Myanmar to visit the White House in nearly a half-century. Has Obama's administration been too quick to embrace what was one of the world's most repressive regimes?

Jonah Blank

commentary

Saved by the Diaspora

If Alawites and Sunnis living abroad can stand united against the Assad regime, so can their counterparts inside Syria. By setting an example of coexistence, they can mitigate the fears of Alawites in Syria that deserting Assad would facilitate the rise of an anti-Alawite Sunni regime.

Wasif Syed

commentary

Iran's Forgotten Ethnic Minorities

Non-Persian ethnic minorities make up roughly 40 to 50 percent of Iran's population. Marginalized from society, they may choose a path of political apathy. On the other hand, Tehran's refusal to acknowledge minority rights may lead to future ethnic insurgencies and uprisings.

Alireza Nader, Robert Stewart

commentary

Path to a Pashtun Rebellion in Afghanistan

The discussion of American troop numbers misunderstands the subtle nuances of fighting a war in areas inhabited by fiercely independent Pashtun tribes, whose culture and traditions are under severe threat from the Taliban, writes Seth Jones.

Seth G. Jones

commentary

France's Muslim Minority

Published commentary by RAND staff: France's Muslim Minority appearing in United Press International.

Robert A. Levine

commentary

Majority Rule That Respects Minorities

Published commentary by RAND staff.

James Dobbins