This week, following several new examples of how racism and white supremacy continue to threaten the health and wellbeing of millions across our country, the Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness issued the following statement:
Racism and white supremacy and the trauma they induce are public health issues. In the past ten days our nation has witnessed examples of structural racism playing out in nearly every news cycle, from allegations of forced medical procedures impacting the reproductive health of vulnerable immigrants in federal custody to the recent miscarriage of justice following the murder of Breonna Taylor at the hands of law enforcement.
These latest examples of injustice come at a time when the President has issued an executive order to prevent federal agencies and contractors from learning the truth about our country’s history and the grave implications of continued racism and white supremacy. These implications are made clear as we mark over 200,000 deaths from COVID-19, and Black Americans continue to experience the highest mortality rates from coronavirus —more than twice the rate for whites.
Now more than ever it is essential for us to live up to our commitments to become an anti-racist organization and do our part to deliver on the promise of America. As we have stated before, we cannot ensure the health and wellbeing of all until white supremacy and the racist structures that support it are dismantled, and equity is achieved for all people and across all sectors, including health, criminal justice, economic opportunity, and education. Failure to act now will jeopardize the health and welfare of our nation for decades to come.