This year, July 4th can be a day to commit or recommit to a vision of America as it should be, a land of opportunity where all can thrive; where all who have been oppressed because of the color of their skin or any other aspect of their identity can pursue their dreams and be treated equitably, with the respect they deserve; where no one must cry out “I can’t breathe.”
Black lives matter. In this moment, with cellphone cameras, surveillance cameras and even police cameras recording events, Black men, like Rayshard Brooks, on June 12; George Floyd, on May 25, and too many others, continue to be killed – no, murdered – in cold blood.
I’m proud that our Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health ASPPH has a new policy that states that we have zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment. As the organization that represents academic public health, our commitment to zero tolerance is important. It also should be a message to any faculty or staff member whose behavior is less than honorable. Zero tolerance means no tolerance.
Consequences of maltreatment at the border are immediate, severe and long-lasting I woke up about 3 o’clock Sunday morning. I just could not stop thinking about what our government is doing to immigrant children at the southern U.S. border. According to a recent interview with Jack Shonkoff, professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard...
What does it mean to celebrate July 4th? Across America, thousands of communities will celebrate today in big and small ways, with local and larger events, holiday fare, parades, music and readings of the Declaration of Independence. Some people may not get past the hot dogs and watermelon, but I hope that many will think,...
Fifty years may seem like an eternity to many readers whose parents hadn’t even been born then. It was a time when homosexuality was illegal, and discrimination was an inherent part of social structures. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) people were subjected to slurs, intimidation and violence. It makes me sick just to think about it.
On Friday, April 12, we learned about a video from a musical performance at a three-day "Conflict over Gaza" conference held on campus in March 2019. We co-sponsored the conference, just as we co-sponsor many campus conferences for which we are not responsible (i.e., don't participate in planning; don't see the speaker list or agenda).
On two of the past three weekends, members of pro-Confederacy groups have visited our campus to continue to protest the toppling and removal of the Confederate soldier monument. I did not write after the first incident because one event, although deplorable, could be an anomaly. When the second event occurred, I felt compelled to respond. Two events could be the beginning of a trend.
I have been moved to tears reading parts of Michelle Obama’s autobiographical book, Becoming. It is uplifting and validating to read the unfolding of her and Barack Obama’s intertwined stories. As she tells it, while much was different about their upbringing and childhoods, they shared a devotion to learning, introspection about their missions in life,...
