Smithsonian Channel Launches Color of Care Doc & Campaign

Smithsonian Channel has unveiled its upcoming The Color of Care documentary and impact campaign, a multiplatform initiative to eliminate racial disparities in the delivery of healthcare in the U.S.

The original documentary chronicles how people of color suffer from systemically substandard healthcare in the U.S. and how Covid-19 exposed the consequences of these inequities. The year-long campaign, meanwhile, aims to reach current and future medical professionals as well as impacted communities and policymakers at all government levels to advance solutions toward health equity.

The Color of Care premieres on May 1 on the Smithsonian Channel in the U.S. and Canada, with premieres in the U.K., Ireland, Canada and across Latin America shortly afterward in early May. The film will also premiere simultaneously, for free, on Smithsonian Channel Selects on Pluto TV in the U.S. The film is produced in partnership by Smithsonian Channel, Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and Yance Ford, who also serves as director.

The Color of Care education campaign will work to prepare current and future doctors, nurses and medical professionals to play an active role in combating systemic racism in the delivery of healthcare, as well as provide others with the necessary tools to address this issue and advocate for and empower patients who experience these inequities. The campaign will feature multiple activations over the coming months, including a digital series highlighting changemakers disrupting the healthcare system, curricular materials for classrooms and a national grassroots screening tour of The Color of Care film.

James Blue, head of Smithsonian Channel, said: “The Covid crisis has exposed gross inequalities in our healthcare system which, if left unaddressed, will again disproportionately impact people of color during the next health emergency. This campaign will work to address these inequalities.”