Through schools and businesses, Akom, Associate Professor of Africana Studies at San Francisco State University, works to engage low-income youth and communities to address the health-wealth gap. In the “toxic triangle” – from Berkeley to Oakland and across to Bayview-Hunters Point – life expectancy is 10-15 years shorter for African Americans, Latinos and Indigenous Peoples than for wealthier residents in the Bay Area. It’s not an achievement gap but an opportunity gap, and it stems from institutional privilege for whites.

This speech was given at the 2013 Indigenous Forum, co-produced with the Cultural Conservatory, at the National Bioneers Conference.