Hi,
John,
Today is Juneteeth.
It’s a celebration of the day when the last enslaved people were freed (more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation).
It’s also now a federal holiday — the first one added since Martin Luther King, Jr. day in 1983.
There are glimmers of progress around us, but at the same time we’re also witnessing an escalation of racist violence in the United States (not to mention the recent extremist insurrection on Capitol Hill) and grappling with the pandemic’s disparate and lingering impact on communities of color.
That’s why systemic racism is top of mind this Juneteenth.
Science is catching up to the truth Black communities have known for generations: that experiencing racism harms your health, making people sicker and even shortening their lives.
Structural racism heaps environmental, economic, and social risks on communities of color, as white neighborhoods (as close as just one zip code over) enjoy health-sustaining assets … from better schools, to clean water and air, to safe streets and parks and playgrounds.
We need look no farther than the Black maternal and infant health crisis. In short: racism hurts moms and babies.
You know the statistic: Black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die of pregnancy complications than non-Hispanic white women.
 But did you know Shalon Irving? Shalon thrived on so many levels: a “CDC epidemiologist who earned a dual doctorate in sociology and gerontology; an accomplished author and talented chef; skilled photographer and inveterate world traveler; loving daughter and ecstatic mother-to-be.” And yet, despite all her success and self awareness, she suffered complications from high blood pressure and died three weeks after giving birth. Our health care system (fatally) failed her.
Make no mistake: this is emblematic of how the experience of being Black in the United States undermines health regardless of socioeconomic status.
Leading experts and advocates underscore that it is RACISM, not race, that drives these inequities. That’s because race is a social construct; there is no gene or cluster of genes that belong to any racial group. What damages one’s long-term health is living in a country rife with structural and interpersonal racism.
This must change. And at the National Partnership, we will continue fighting every single day for health and economic justice — for equality and equity — for ALL.
We hope you will continue to walk alongside us and support amazing organizations on the front lines — like Black Mamas Matter Alliance, National Birth Equity Collaborative, In Our Own Voice, SisterSong, MomsRising, and so many others — as we demand that Congress prioritizes the urgent needs of communities of color.
Despite the challenges ahead, our shared commitment to change is truly worth celebrating today.
In solidarity,
— the National Partnership Team
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