The first installment of Loud & Clear: Voicing Our Rights to Care is in one week, kicking off in Winston-Salem on March 31!
In preparation, we interviewed the speakers and facilitators of these critical advocacy events. This interview is with Unbroken Chains author and researcher Melissa Ditmore. She will be hosting the conversation ‘Only Rights Can Stop the Wrongs: Using our rights to ensure access to healthcare for marginalized communities.”
What first drew you into health justice advocacy, and how has your understanding of this work evolved over time?
Reproductive health drew me in. That included seeing the birth control clinic in my part of New York City close and worrying will others will go. Learning the way sex-ed was taught in Texas while I was teaching lessons about HIV in New York Public Schools. Threats to healthcare access, including abortion—especially my grandmother telling me about people she knew who died from botched abortions before it was legal. Now, it’s seeing the lack of healthcare and obstacles to vaccines to prevent disease. We should not have people dying from measles today, but we do—and we did not for over fifty years. This is backwards.
In your view, what are the biggest barriers to healthcare access for marginalized communities in North Carolina and the broader South right now?
Many other states expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, but this was not done in most of the South. North Carolina expanded Medicaid only at the end of 2023, and most of the southeast has not. This makes the states in the Southeast—which have the most need demonstrated by HIV and maternal and child health—are left out, harming the poorest of the poor in these states—the poorest states in the country—out of political fealty.
Was there a moment in your life or work when you realized access to healthcare is fundamentally about power? What happened?
This really demonstrates how policy reflects values, and how the value of people in the South has been sacrificed to ideology—which is to say power. We are seeing it again with the war on women’s health, and also on family planning: the right to make one’s medical decisions with your doctor, not politicians. Political involvement and the lack of investment in health is very much about control rather than the budget, as demonstrated by the military over-funding and schools or health not being funded.
What does sustainable advocacy look like in 2026? How do we build power without burning out? What keeps you committed to this work, even when progress feels slow?
Experiencing health care in other places is enlightening. I worked in Asia and spent time in Europe. Even in developing countries, health care can be very good for local people and for visitors. It’s not as if Thailand and Europe do not invest in border security and military, but they also invest in education and health, and it shows in the level of care available to citizens and what things cost for visitors. Our government’s priorities are not in line with those of American people. American people’s values are not reflected in our government’s policies.
Melissa Ditmore is one of four brilliant facilitators and speakers bringing Loud & Clear to life! We’re starting off in Winston-Salem on March 31. Then, we’re bringing these critical advocate events to Asheville (May 5) and Columbia, SC (May 12). It’s time for us all to unite and activate in one movement for healthcare justice!
Learn more about Loud & Clear: Voicing Our Right to care and register today!
