‘They don’t have to explain a lot’: San Jose clinics push Black health to the forefront

FOR MANY, stepping through the doors of Ujima Adult & Family Services and Roots Community Health feels like a Black oasis.

Portraits of important Black figures — Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Marcus Garvey — greet visitors when they walk through the halls. African symbols such as masks and the Djembe drum hang on the walls. Educational posters about where the African diaspora happened and more are plastered throughout. Inspirational African proverbs like “Unity is strength, division is weakness” remind those who enter of their cultural heritage.