We are collectively releasing a statement on behalf of the Health Advocacy Summit and the Crohn’s and Colitis Young Adults Network. This is about George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. This is also about checking ourselves in our workplace, home environment, and our own assumptions.
Health Advocacy Summit and its program Crohn’s and Colitis Young Adults Network are in strong opposition to the persistent racism and inequity that has and is plaguing our society at every level. We are disheartened by the continuing challenges that Black Americans face within society. We are here and we will speak up at every opportunity to remove systematic barriers that have gone ignored for too long. We as an organization recognize our deficits and will be putting our best effort with our resources to ensure we are reaching the most marginalized within our community. Racism at its core is a public health crisis. We cannot hope for equity in public health or the chronic illness community before racial injustice is proactively addressed.
We are led by the next generation. In that vein, we will not sit on the sidelines on issues that affect those in our community, especially within the medical system. We are envisioning the future we see through our gradual progress within healthcare. We hope that you will do the same to fight for each other, with each other. Black children have a 500 percent higher death rate from asthma compared to white children (epa.gov). Inequities don’t stop here - there are known disparities to access treatment and diagnosis for diabetes, HIV, mental health, just to name a few. Racial bias is apparent within the healthcare system with massive issues with apathy and poor communication from health professionals. We can empower those facing systematic societal barriers by committing ourselves to ensure that we are addressing the most marginalized. In the coming weeks, we will release a health equity statement revealing what we should be doing as community members to better support the most marginalized within healthcare. What we want you to know is that we care and we will do everything we can to support, empower, and rise up when our community needs it the most.
Let’s get uncomfortable and real with ourselves. There is no more important time and we need every one of you to speak out and fight for each other.
In solidarity,
Health Advocacy Summit and Crohn’s and Colitis Young Adults Network