Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, Public Health, Students

Amazing moment in solidarity

February 29, 2016

Minority Health Conference

37th (!!!) annual Gillings School Minority Health Conference

Our students did it again: they surpassed all previous records of attendance and participation for the 37th annual Minority Health Conference. More than 800 people participated in person at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, with nearly 2,000 more virtual participants at three partner conferences and 48 different group viewing sites, including in Canada and Mexico.

Presented by the School’s Minority Student Caucus, it’s the longest-running student-led health conference in the U.S. Every year, teams of Gillings students agree to serve on the planning committee, which includes eight subcommittees, and they do it all. In the process, they reach out across the School, University, surrounding communities and far beyond.

Below are photos of some planning committee members and of the crowd before the opening session Friday morning.

DSC_8546 - MHC planning cte - 2016mhc crowd in center hall 2016-02-26

This year’s theme, “In Solidarity: The Role of Public Health in Social Justice,” was especially appropriate and poignant in light of the goals for the Black Lives Matter movement, the Flint water crisis (which is really a public health crisis) and a presidential campaign in which many candidates have been noticeably  silent about issues of inequity and social justice. Unlike presidential candidates, our students do not lack vision or the willingness to confront social ills in this country.

Keynote speaker—words that matter

crystallee_crain-mhc 2016The first keynote speaker, Crystallee Crain, PhD, professor, advocate and activist, made us think about so many things, including fairness, social justice and even whether minority continues to be a viable word in America today. It’s impossible to listen to her without questioning many of one’s assumptions about race and justice. That Dr. Crain grew up in Flint, Michigan—a city that has come to symbolize the many ways that injustice harms the poor and exacts its price on the young and the unborn—made her remarks that much more poignant. Dr. Crain’s talk was moving, awesome and at some points even painfully sad. (To view the webcast, click here.)

Kudos to our students for having the courage to examine difficult topics with the goal of constructive action. Barbara


Comments

John

03/20/2016

Thanks for sharing this article with us.I must say thanks to all the students for Supporting the cause and Gathering in huge numbers.

Bradley

03/01/2016

I would like to congratulate the organizers of this conference because they got it right with the theme of the conference: “In Solidarity: The Role of Public Health in Social Justice” . The theme couldn't have been better especially at this time when issues of public health, inequity and social justice don't seem to matter to the current leaders and those campaigning for the next government. Thanks also to the students for coming out in big numbers and supporting the cause. Indeed unlike the presidential candidates the students have the vision, willingness and dedication to improve public health. Our leaders and those campaigning for office should learn from these students.

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The views expressed in this blog are Barbara Rimer’s alone and do not represent the views and policies of The University of North Carolina or the Gillings School.