Dr. David Satcher, the 16th surgeon general of the United States, spoke at the Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast today at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
About 600 people attended today's Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
By CINDY STAUFFER
Lancaster
Updated Oct 03, 2008 11:06
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. championed justice and equality in civil rights.
But he also supported another cause.
Equality in health care.
Today, 600 people who gathered for a breakfast in King's honor in Lancaster heard what the great man had to say on that topic.
"Of all injustices known to man, perhaps the inequality in health care is the most shocking and most inhumane," King said.
Those words were shared by Dr. David Satcher, the 16th surgeon general of the United States.
Satcher spoke at the Crispus Attucks Community Center's 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
Equal access to health care is not a political or a social justice issue, Satcher said.
"It is a matter of life and death," he said.
Consider that African-Americans have a shorter life expectancy than whites. They have a higher death rate due to causes such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. More African-American babies die in their first year of life than white babies.
To change things, people must take responsibility for their own health, said Satcher, a man who rose in the darkness to go jogging in the 14-degree weather before today's breakfast.
Satcher advocated what he called the Surgeon General's prescription for the nation: more physical activity, a better diet, the avoidance of tobacco, drugs and excess alcohol, responsible sexual behavior and better mental health.
Americans also need to take responsibility for their own communities, ensuring families have access to good nutrition, education and jobs.
And government needs to take responsibility for good health as well, he said.
"Anyone who is running for president ought to have something to say about health," Satcher said.
Our nation spends more on health care per person than any other, yet has 47 million people who do not have health insurance. Universal access to care is needed, he said.
Let us work to continue King's dreams, he urged.
Satcher quoted Benjamin Mays, who was president of Morehouse College when Satcher was a student there.
"It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is sin."
"On this day," Satcher said, "Let us never be guilty of low aim."
At the breakfast, several awards recognized community members.
William Griscom, Thaddeus Stevens College president, received the Crispus Attucks Legacy Award, which honors someone who demonstrates exceptional support for the center.
The Essence of Humanity Awards, recognizing a spirit of caring in the face of adversity, went to Freda Hall Stewart, who lost her son to violence, and Emily Marbury, who founded a business that provides home health care to the ill and dying.
The Ruby M. Payne Cook Awards, for those who serve the center and surrounding community, went to Erick R. Lukacs, a city mounted police officer, and Ebenezer Baptist Church.
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