The Section on Public Health and Preventive Medicine at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia strongly denounces undue force and violence against any and all members of our community.
We stand against systemic policies and practices that support one group to the detriment of another.
We abhor acts of violence against Black people and other people of color. In this time of national outrage, we are deeply troubled by the inhumanity, racism and hatred made evident with the unnecessary, recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, to name a few.
As leaders, teachers, researchers, physicians, and advocates for public health, we know the impact of racism on the health, wellness, and prosperity of our city and our community. As The Birthplace of American Medicine®, the lessons steeped in The College of Physicians of Philadelphia of our collective history in medicine have taught us how fundamentally racist practices have been woven through our past, and how continued disparities and biases have both an acute and long standing impact on health. We acknowledge that the health of Black and Brown communities has suffered most.
As a Section and as a community of leaders that span government, academia, local and community organizations and individuals, we stand together and commit to increase awareness of racial bias, to bring a scientific approach to addressing systemic racism and institutionalized disparities, and to examine history – our own, our city’s and our nation’s - to understand how best to take steps forward to health equity in medicine and towards a future of social justice and prosperity.
Finally, we acknowledge the pain that Black physicians and scientists have endured throughout their lives and throughout history. We commit to advocating for increasing the representation of Black people in sciences, medicine, and public health to the betterment of the professions and to our community as a whole.
We ask and encourage all Section members and our community as a whole to make their voices heard through the powers of democracy. Please VOTE.