Dear Faithful Families Community –
George Floyd’s final words, “I can’t breathe,” are resounding in communities throughout the United States. The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many other Black people in our country – in the midst of a pandemic that has disproportionately impacted people of color – have sparked righteous outrage, grief, and countless other emotions. We at Faithful Families join in that grief and outrage, and we join with others who are calling out the racist systems and structures that continue to plague our society.
As the American Public Health Association, and many other public health organizations have stated, racism is a public health crisis. And as a public health program, we want you to know that our team is committed to working with you to ensure that our program advances core principles of justice and equity in all that we do. Echoing so many others, we say to you resoundingly: Black Lives Matter.
And as we start our virtual walking challenge next week, we are reminded that walking, running, and even playing aren’t always safe for Black people and people of color. As we walk with you, our team carries this knowledge with us and commits to working with you to create change in our community and world. Racial justice must be at the core of our work to advocate for safe places to be active.
To that end, we wanted to start by providing some resources and tools – things that we are reading and listening to right now – in the hopes that we can work together in the coming days, weeks, months, and years to advance health equity and justice for all. One concrete action we will be taking in the coming weeks is to amplify the voices of Black scholars, practitioners, and communities on our social media feeds and resource lists. If you have resources or work you would like us to share, please let us know by emailing Annie at amhardis@ncsu.edu.
We are grateful to be on that journey with you. More soon.
In solidarity,
Annie, Kim, and Julia
Public Health Resources:
Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, and Health
Jennifer Jee-Lyn García and Mienah Zulfacar Sharif, 2015:
Black Lives Matter: A Commentary on Racism and Public Health, American Journal of Public Health
https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302706
APHA Press, Racism: Science & Tools for the Public Health Professional
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Resources on Race, Racism and Health
America Walks statement on Ahmaud Arbery
Clemson researchers help lead national discussion on race and play
AJPH Supplement 2020 Documenting and Addressing the Health Impacts of Carceral Systems
