This is more than a blog. It’s a front porch, a research hub, and a microphone for the movement.
At Bridge to Equity Foundation, we write to document, disrupt, and dream. Our posts are part storytelling, part scholarship, and fully committed to equity. Whether it's a reflection from one of our board members, a research summary on rural maternal care, or a behind-the-scenes look at building a nonprofit from the South up, you’ll find honesty, clarity, and purpose here.
We believe knowledge should be accessible, not gatekept. So pull up a chair, read what moves you, and share what you learn. Because when we know better, we do better—and this page is where knowing begins.
Dispatches from the Bridge
Post 001: Why We Built the Bridge to Equity Foundation
by Dr. LJ
Starting a foundation wasn’t just a career move but a necessity.
Because I’ve lived on the margins of medicine, as a patient, a parent, a woman of color, someone living with Multiple Sclerosis since 2001, and as a bisexual, multiethnic mother raising children who also don’t fit the mold.
Too often, my family and I were met with assumptions based on our appearance or how we were perceived. We didn’t fit the boxes systems were built around, and because of that, we were misdiagnosed, misunderstood, or outright overlooked. The diagnoses missed, the questions unasked, the pain not believed, they weren’t just frustrating. They were dangerous.
That’s why the Bridge to Equity Foundation exists.
I’m an educator with a Doctorate in Multicultural and Anti-Racist Medical Education and am on track to complete my MD. I’ve worked on both sides of the stethoscope and seen how often the system fails people who don’t fit the “norm.” But instead of waiting until I had more letters after my name, I decided to act now.
Years ago, my best friend and I made a promise to each other in med school: we would build something that changed the game. Something community-centered, equity-driven, and unapologetically rooted in the South. Today, that vision has taken form.
Bridge to Equity is more than a name. It’s a commitment to redesigning the systems that have harmed so many and building new ones that heal.
🧭 What We’re Doing
At the Bridge to Equity Foundation, we focus on Southern communities because the disparities here are profound, yet so is the resilience. Our work is rooted in four core programs:
Preparedness Program: Mentorship and transition support for first-generation and underrepresented students pursuing medical, nursing, public health, or graduate education.
Community Health Education: Culturally responsive workshops delivered in partnership with local churches, libraries, doulas, small practices, and grassroots orgs across the South.
Curriculum Development & Consulting: Helping schools and nonprofits redesign their training and education through a justice-informed, anti-racist lens.
Community-Rooted Research: Participatory research that centers lived experience, informs public policy, and is shared not just in journals, but in town halls, classrooms, and clinics.
We also support local physicians, nurse practitioners, doulas, and clinics who are overextended and under-resourced, helping extend their reach by offering patient-centered education, research partnerships, and hands-on community engagement.
This is a call to our health and education communities across the South:
If you're a provider in private practice seeking support for your patients
If you're a school or academic program seeking real representation in your curriculum
If you're a student navigating these paths and need mentorship
If you're a data scientist, public health professional, or policy advocate who wants to collaborate
We would appreciate hearing from you.
Bridge to Equity was never meant to be built alone. We are seeking co-builders, co-dreamers, and co-conspirators in this endeavor.
So this is your invitation to cross the bridge with us. Let’s build something that lasts and truly serves.
Post 002: Why We Built the Bridge to Equity Foundation
By Marius Kofi Coleman-Denton
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” These famous words from the great Mahatma Gandhi echo in the deepest parts of my brain, reminding me that to make a positive change in the world, you must first embody that change. This means that one must exemplify the solution necessary to make the change. Now, to change a deeply rooted system is hard. People have become so content with operating and maneuvering within the system that they ignore the problems, even when the difficulties directly affect them. This is true even for systems vital to life, such as the United States healthcare system. As a future healthcare professional of color, it is hard for me to turn a blind eye to the disparities and adverse effects bestowed upon minority communities by the healthcare system. In my opinion, many of these disparities are avoidable. Still, they require significant changes made by the healthcare institutions and the members of the minority communities. We are all in this together, and it is only through our collective action can we increase healthcare equality and equity and improve healthcare outcomes within all racial, ethnic, economic, and sexual communities.
As the American author Starhawk stated, “Systems don’t change easily. Systems try to maintain themselves and seek equilibrium.” These words are so actual, and the healthcare system strives to maintain equilibrium. Many healthcare system employees are content with the healthcare status quo. Many of these providers and healthcare employees are not directly affected by the adverse outcomes within healthcare and, therefore, overlook the need for change. As the child of a medical physician and a dentist, I got to see firsthand the daily struggles that many people face within healthcare, such as the lack of access to healthcare, a lack of options within healthcare, a lack of adequate healthcare, and discrimination within healthcare. These are not just statistics; they are real experiences I and many others have lived through. As a member of a minority community, I’ve also fallen victim to some of these disparities personally. It is a horrible feeling when you hear great stories about a provider’s care from your counterparts of a different race and then realize that the same provider does not medically treat you with the same standards of care. Personally, it filled me with feelings of disappointment, inadequacy, and rage, but even with the negative thoughts, it only motivated and fueled my pursuit of healthcare equality and equity. When I begin to professionally and legally practice medicine, I will strive to protect people from similar feelings by providing exceptional medical treatment to every patient regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, sexual preference, age, and income.
Now, the issues within the healthcare system don’t just belong to the institutions and staff of medicine. The responsibility of changing healthcare also falls on the shoulders of the general public, especially members of minority communities. I believe that not enough emphasis is placed on individual health and healthcare within these communities. Many people do not get concerned with healthcare until it starts to affect their income, and it seems that people don’t desire to seek healthcare until it compromises their employment and financial well-being. We must do better. Money is NOT everything, and money means nothing if you’re not physically or mentally able to reap the benefits from it. We have to start increasing our education on healthcare and exploring our options of access to healthcare. Members of minority communities need to seek healthcare routinely. This allows us to discover all the dysfunctions within our bodies, increase the performance of our bodies, and prevent potential avoidable issues. Meaning we can find our current level of health, take action to improve our health, prevent certain medical afflictions, and prolong our life expectancy. To learn about the options and opportunities of healthcare, there must be a source of knowledge provided to the community.
This is why I cofounded the Bridge to Equity foundation with Dr. L.J., as a means to provide medical knowledge to our communities, guide people on where and how to access medical treatment, and expose and provide opportunities for enhancing their health and lives. We also aim to enlighten the youth about opportunities within healthcare and guide them in achieving their vision of success. My vision is for the Bridge to Equity Foundation to be a positive light within the shaded forest, that is, healthcare, and to be the necessary bridge between the United States healthcare system and the people.