A doctor's lesson in 2017: 'Equity is a journey, not an outcome'

In this tumultuous year, it’s been possible to wonder whether any progress will be made on racial equity.

But at the end of 2017, Dr. Ben Danielson said he’s seeing a shift in the conversation.

“People are starting to get that equity is a journey, not an outcome,” he said. “That it involves sacrifice and a sharing of power, not just a doling out of privilege.”

Danielson is medical director at the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, which serves low-income families in Seattle's Central District.

Over the decades he’s watched the city’s growth push his patients and their families out of their neighborhoods, even out of the city.

But he said he finds hope in a change in the discussion of equity. He said society can’t just ignore it anymore.

“We all have to contend with creating and sculpting a way to bring equity to life in our work and our lives,” he said. “And I think that’s a big success in this year.

He spoke to KUOW's Race and Equity Team for a year-end series revisiting the people and stories we covered in 2017.