From the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky:
Racism kills every day. The horrific deaths of African Americans in the past weeks are brutal reminders that individual, institutional and structural racism have deadly consequences.
Sometimes the consequences are immediate. They garner national headlines that spur outrage and protest. The vast majority of the time, they take lives without a massive public display of grief and demands for change.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the persistent and pervasive racial and ethnic health inequities that are a direct result of racism in America. A racism that is inherent in systems and policies governing housing, jobs, education and health care in our country. A racism that leads to higher rates of coronavirus exposure, greater risk of complications, and less access to medical treatment for African Americans.
If we are not its victims, we cannot fully understand the costs of racism. But as humans, we can listen, empathize, and learn. And we can demand change, both in ourselves, and in the structures that perpetuate inequities as a result of racism.
The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky is focused, at its very core, on addressing the unmet health needs of Kentuckians by developing and influencing policy, improving access to care, reducing health risks and disparities, and promoting health equity. Our vision is a Commonwealth where every individual and community reach their highest levels of health.
Racism is a systemic barrier hindering that vision. We condemn it. We grieve with those who are suffering its consequences this week, and every week. And we are committed to doing our part to raise the voices of those who suffer and bringing about systemic change.
On June 12 at 10 a.m. (ET), the Foundation will host another webinar on health equity in its educational Health for a Change training series. This time, the 90-minute webinar will focus on COVID-19 inequities in Kentucky. It is one of several webinars in the Foundation’s Health for a Change series that focus on health disparities in Kentucky, and outline policies that can improve the health and health outcomes of all residents of the Commonwealth.
Meanwhile, we recognize that now is a time for listening, and not for silence. We stand with the African American community in Kentucky and in America, and against racism in all its forms.
