Local jurisdictions are increasingly declaring that racism is a public health crisis. Taking action to operationalize these declarations, however, requires intentionally advancing a racial justice agenda. In response, Prevention Institute is partnering with the Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) to develop Advancing Racial Justice for Health, a long-term initiative designed to re-envision and strengthen the infrastructure and capacities necessary to shift from declaring racism a “public health crisis” to working with communities to transform jurisdiction-wide systems, policies, practices, and, ultimately, power dynamics. Advancing Racial Justice for Health emphasizes achieving positive health outcomes in Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander, and other communities of color and is initially focused on shaping the practices of BCHC-member health departments which serve 62 million people. The planning phase of this project analyzed post-declaration actions, resources, and capacity needs to better position health departments to partner with and implement the racial justice policy and practice recommendations of grassroots, base-building, and community-based organizations.
Photo by Rolande PG on Unsplash
Generous support for the planning phase of this project was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
For more information, contact La’Quana Williams at laquana@preventioninstitute.org