A discipline of consequence: Collaborating with community health workers against systemic oppression

Community Health Workers (CHWs) are community-embedded counterparts to applied medical anthropologists, allies in our mutual pursuit of social justice. In the current US climate of major policy changes that impact healthcare, safety net food services, and immigration practices, applied anthropologists can work alongside CHWs to respond and engage through everyday activism, accompaniment and participatory action research. To ensure that decisions about policies and programs include community voice, the authors call for action from current applied anthropologists and the preparation of students through curriculum enhancements using experiential strategies like those of CHW training. They share examples from Upstate New York, South Carolina and Washington, D.C.