The events of the last few weeks have been upsetting and overwhelming. The recent killings of George Floyd in Minnesota, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, and the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the systemic racist policies and inequities facing African Americans in the United States.

The Department of Pediatrics stands in support of our black residents, fellows, students, faculty staff and the entire black community. We are committed to fighting racism and injustice and will continue to work for diversity and inclusion in our department and UAB. As health care providers, we must continue and expand our work to eliminate health disparities in Alabama and the United States. As individuals, we must support each other, examine and amend our own biases, and find ways to eliminate racism and inequities in our society.

As a department, we will work to establish new initiatives to create a more diverse and inclusive environment and to eliminate systemic racism and health disparities.

Silence is not an option. Inaction is not an option.

Click here for the special message Mitch Cohen, M.D., Chair of Pediatrics, and Tamera Coyne-Beasley, M.D., MPH, Vice Chair for Community Engagement shared earlier this week about recent events and systemic racism in the U.S.

Below we have gathered some local organizations and resources to help fight racism and promote diversity. This is not an exhaustive list but we hope that you find some of these organizations and resources informative and helpful.

Organizations

• Birmingham City Office of Social Justice and Racial Equality

• The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute 

• Equal Justice Initiative 

• Southern Poverty Law Center 

• YWCA Central Alabama

Resources

UAB Resources

• UAB Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

  • Diversity Education

• School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion

  • Diversity Toolkit

  • Common Thread

American Academy of Pediatrics Resources

• The Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health

• How to Help Children Build Resilience in Uncertain Times

• Teaching Children Cultural and Racial Pride

• Recommended Reading: Books to Build Character & Teach Your Child Important Values

• Talking to Children about Racism: The Time is Now

• Child Health Disparities: What Can a Clinician Do?

• The Traumatic Impact of Racism and Discrimination on Young People and How to Talk About It

• Raising Youth of Color in a Complex World

Things to Read, Watch and Listen To

• Harvard Business Review

  • Toward A Racially Just Workplace

  • U. S. Businesses Must Take a Meaningful Action Against Racism

• National Civil Rights Museum

  • How to Be an Anti-Racist with Dr. Ibram X Kendi

• New York Times Magazine

  • 1619 Article Series

  • 1619 Podcast

• The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine

  • Racism and Its Harmful Effects on Nondominant Racial–Ethnic Youth and Youth-Serving Providers: A Call to Action for Organizational Change

• The Other America by Dr. Martin Luther King

• Okay, white people, here’s what you can do now by Roy S. Johnson – AL.com

• Emory Emergency Medicine physician shares stories of residents and attendings who have experienced racially biased treatment - video

Toolkits and Reading Lists

• Equal Justice Initiative

  • EJI Reading List

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

  • Health Disparity Resources

• National Museum of African American History and Culture

  • Talking About Race

• Showing Up for Racial Justice

  • Educational Toolkits

• Anti-Racism Project

  • Resources, Articles, Books, Organizations & Implicit Bias Test