ThinkWell Stands Against Racism, Injustice, and Inequality

09 June 2020

In these last few months, two dangerous illnesses have taken center stage in our lives. The first sickness, COVID-19, has radically changed the way we live. The second, an ever-present disease, has stepped back into the spotlight – the sickness of racism.

Most of us who have entered the field of global public health have done so partly from outrage with the disparities we see around the world. Access to health care should not be based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. We believe that access to healthcare is a fundamental human right of every person on this planet. Underlying this belief is our fundamental conviction that all people are created equal, and must be treated so.

We stand here today outraged by the senseless, almost normalized, killings of African Americans. We are angered by the systematic discrimination that people of color face. We are infuriated that our health system has not delivered for African American and Latino populations, resulting in dramatically disproportionate COVID-19 infection and death rates in those populations. We are incensed for that young child, bullied and teased for her race, who will grow up believing that no matter how hard she tries, she will never be the ‘same’ as everyone else. We are appalled that, 150 years after the end of slavery, we still face an endless stream of racist killings that is ravaging our African American communities. We believe that the persistence of these injustices represents a vicious attack on America’s core values, and we demand empathetic leadership to defend the free society that we so cherish.

ThinkWell has and always will fight for the dignity, justice and equal treatment for all. We will continue to advocate for systems that are just and inclusive. We will continue to support the countries we work in to implement policies that eliminate disparities. And we pledge to stand with those who are on the frontlines of the battle against bigotry and discrimination.