The Gamaliel Foundation, a network of 60 faith-based community organizations in 20 states, led the effort in coordination with Health Care for America Now, a national grassroots campaign to pass health reform legislation this year.

The Gamaliel network represents a total of 1,600 congregations and 250,000 grassroots activists nationwide.

Members of Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope (MICAH) and Cross Lutheran Church represented Milwaukee.

Theresa Thomas-Boyd, Pastor of Matters of The Heart Church and an organizer with Citizen Action of Wisconsin said, “This is nothing new that we need quality health care. We have attempted to change our health care system since the era of Theodore Roosevelt.

“Now is time! We can't wait any longer for health care reform. We have the right president with the right attitude, as well as the right community connections to make this work. People of all cultural backgrounds need to get involved and help lead this effort.”

On Thursday June 25, over 10,000 people representing progressive organizations and labor unions joined with Gamaliel activists to rally for legislation that guarantees quality affordable health care for all.

The massive crowd joined together chanting loudly in call and response style: “What do you want?” “HEALTH CARE!” “When do you want it?” “NOW!” It was an excellent demonstration of solidarity and showed that when people are united their voices will be heard.

As part of the Health Care for America Now coalition, Gamaliel supports four key principles they say should shape any health care legislation: Everyone must have a choice of keeping their private health insurance (if they have it) or joining a new public insurance program; health coverage must be affordable for everyone; there must be equity in health care access for people and communities of color, leading to the elimination of disparities in health outcomes; insurance plans must provide comprehensive benefits that meet a family’s needs, from prevention to chronic care.

Today, more than one in three Americans identifies as African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, which raises the visibility of health issues confronting communities of color and the importance of developing appropriate solutions.

Racial and ethnic disparities continue to plague our nation, from differences in access, quality, and coverage, to gaps in disease rates and health outcomes. The cause of theses disparities are broad and complex, including societal issues like poverty and racism.

One of the most glaring inequities facing people of color is lack of health coverage. Communities if color account for more than half of those living in poverty, which limits access to health coverage and leads to poor health outcomes. The lower one's income, the less likely one is to have health coverage.

Although people of color are just as likely to be employed as non-Hispanic Whites, they are more likely to have jobs that don’t offer group health coverage. This is another reason why Congress needs to establish a new public health insurance plan that is available to everyone, not just the poor. President Obama has said that a new public health insurance plan should be available to everyone, and would help bring down costs and “keep the insurance companies honest.”