African American healthcare: Assessing progress and needs through Martin Luther King’s perspective on social justice and equality

Since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death in 1968, the US population has grown substantially, with a marked increase in the percentage of people of color. It is estimated that by 2050, more than half of the American population will be people of color (US Census Bureau, 2008). The United States has the largest per capita expenditure on health care of any nation in the world ($8,233 per capita versus $3,268 average per capita in other developed nations), yet the United States ranks below many developed countries in health care outcomes (Kane, 2012). These statistics, as dramatically shown in Figure 4.1, sparked discussion among students and faculty involved in two University of Virginia programs