For too long, Black Americans have long been plagued with healthcare disparities that can mean the difference between life or death. The lack of access to quality healthcare is now front and center in our national political conversation – and NAN will make 2021 be the year of Black Health Equity.
Only when our nation’s most vulnerable receive the same treatment at the same cost and with the same efficiency as the rest of the country, will the American idea be true for all. NAN is committed to addressing the myriad of systemic inequities that rob people of their overall well-being, whether addressing unemployment and low wages that prevent families from accessing healthcare and healthy meals or dealing with poor infrastructure that disproportionately forces people of color to navigate food deserts, air, water, and soil contamination which leave communities more susceptible to illness and at higher risk of mortality.
Chapter Health & Wellness Committees
NAN chapters nationwide remain at the forefront of community health justice taking on initiatives such as leading 12-week NAN’s Health and Hunger Academy courses, hosting ACA open enrollment events, and confronting discriminatory approaches to smoking cessation, among others lead by health and wellness committees.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, NAN chapters and offices across the United States worked to address food insecurity with CARES and World Central Kitchen to provide over 1.5 million meals seven days a week to those in greatest need. As we embark on 2021, NAN will continue to address and elevate the awareness of the glaring health inequities in our community.
Rev. Al Sharpton on Black Health Equity
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Watch Featured Videos
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AHEAD OF NAN MLK DAY RALLY IN WASHINGTON, DC, REV. SHARPTON TO DELIVER SUNDAY SERMON AT HARLEM’S HISTORIC ABYSSINIAN BAPTIST CHURCH
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REV. AL SHARPTON WELCOMES VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS DURING SURPRISE APPEARANCE AT NAN’S MLK BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST AS CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER DELIVERS POWERFUL CALL TO ACTION TO PROTECT DEI
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Reverend Sharpton Receives COVID-19 Vaccine at Harlem Hospital -
Dr. Nunez-Smith talks with NAN’s Kyra Stevenson-Valley about the COVID-19 Vaccine
NAN's Health News
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AHEAD OF NAN MLK DAY RALLY IN WASHINGTON, DC, REV. SHARPTON TO DELIVER SUNDAY SERMON AT HARLEM’S HISTORIC ABYSSINIAN BAPTIST CHURCH
—Jan 19 2025Sermon at Home Church of Rev. Sharpton’s Childhood Hero, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Comes As Civil Rights Leader Continues to Advance Dr. King’s Dream WASHINGTON, DC (January 18, 2025) – Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), will deliver the sermon at The Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem this Sunday, as […]
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REV. AL SHARPTON WELCOMES VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS DURING SURPRISE APPEARANCE AT NAN’S MLK BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST AS CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER DELIVERS POWERFUL CALL TO ACTION TO PROTECT DEI
—Jan 16 2025Rev. Sharpton Address on State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Comes Ahead of NAN’s Major MLK Day Rally in Washington on January 20th WASHINGTON, DC (January 15, 2025) – Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), welcomed Vice President Kamala Harris to the MLK Birthday Breakfast in Washington, D.C. this morning […]
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Rev. Sharpton & Rev. Calvin Butts Convene Meeting Between Dr. Fauci and Nation’s Top Black Clergy
—Dec 18 2020(New York, NY) — In November, a group of nationally renowned Black clergy members announced a historic partnership with United Way of New York City. Led by Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Calvin O. Butts, III, they launched the Choose Healthy Life Black Clergy Action Plan to address COVID-19 and other health disparities in the […]
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NAN Atlanta Chapter Launches COVID-19 Relief Fund
—Nov 16 2020In partnership with Hosea Helps, the Atlanta National Action Network Chapter is sponsoring a COVID-19 Relief Fund. The fund will distribute $150,000 of COVID relief grants for Atlanta residents who were affected by COVID-19 and need assistance with their mortgage, rent, and utility payments. The application deadline is December 31st. Apply online at relief.uwga.org, and […]
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Rev. Al Sharpton & NAN Announce Strict COVID-19 Rules for August 28th “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks” March, Citing Racial Climate as the Urgent Need to Still Mobilize
—Aug 24 2020Reverend Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, along with Attorney Benjamin Crump and the Families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner & others to convene with National Action Network (NAN), NAACP & Others for a March on Washington in Protest of Police Brutality on August 28 (WASHINGTON, DC) — Reverend Al Sharpton and […]
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National Black Faith & Civil Rights Groups Send Letter to Congressional & Senate Leadership to Ensure that State & Local Governments Have the Resources Needed for COVID-19
—May 08 2020Rev. Al Sharpton (NAN), Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson (CNBC), Sherrilyn Ifill (NAACP, LDF), Marc Morial (NUL), Derrick Johnson (NAACP), Melanie Campbell (BWR), Kristen Clarke (Lawyers Committee), Vanita Gupta (LCCHR) & Six Historically Black Religious Leaders Pen Letter to Federal Government Requesting Support Services in Communities of Color (May 7, 2020) — A coalition of […]
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Gwen Carr & NAN Staff Distribute Meals in Harlem
—May 02 2020May 2nd, 2020 — (New York, NY) — Gwen Carr, activist & mother of police chokehold victim Eric Garner, assisted NAN staff in giving out 3,000 meals from the House of Justice. The meal distribution is being conducted under the leadership of Katrina Jefferson and Minister Stephan Marshall, and is part of a larger effort […]
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Watch: NAN Holds Second Virtual Town Hall on COVID-19, the Stimulus & Black Businesses
—Apr 27 2020(New York, NY) — On Sunday, National Action Network debuted its second in a series of virtual town halls. Titled COVID-19: The Stimulus and the Black Community, and moderated by Rev. Sharpton, the town hall gathered Senator Cory Booker, and Academics Dr. Andre Perry and Dr. Khalilah Brown-Dean who fieled questions from the audience about […]
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The State of Healthcare for Black Americans in the Wake of the Pandemic
—Apr 13 2020(New York, NY) — In the wake of a global pandemic, healthcare access for African Americans and other racial minorities is more threatened than ever before. The harsh impact of the coronavirus on these communities is two-fold: They are hit the hardest due to the likelihood that an underserved individual has a pre-existing condition, and […]
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NAN Staff join Rev. Sharpton in Providing Meals During Coronavirus Shutdown
—Apr 11 2020(New York, NY) — NAN staff, under the leadership of Katrina Jefferson and Stephan Marshall, join PONAN Rev. Al Sharpton in giving out 2000 hot and cold Meals at NAN’s House of Justice for those inconvenienced because of the coronavirus shut down. This is an ongoing effort, as part of NAN’s partnership with World Central […]