We Will Not Stay Silent

The Center for Innovation in Global Health stands firmly against all racism, discrimination and police brutality.

Update March 25th, 2021 –

We are heartbroken to hear about the murders of Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Hyun Jung Grant, Soon Chung Park, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Delaina Ashley Yaun, and Paul Andre Michels that took place in Atlanta on March 16, 2021.

Seven of the eight victims were women and six were of Asian descent. We cannot ignore the broader context in which the shootings took place. In 2020, Stop AAPI Hate (new window) (new window) reported hate incidents targeting Asian Americans rose by nearly 150%, with Asian American women twice as likely to be targeted. The rise in anti-Asian American hate crimes is a direct result of the presence of white supremacy and systemic racism in America and must be dismantled. We stand in solidarity with the Asian and Asian American community, and those continually affected by racist violence and hate, as we work toward ensuring a more healthy and just society.

July 2020

Let us state in no uncertain terms: Black Lives Matter.

We are outraged and devasted by the Black lives and other lives taken by police and racist violence. The lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Tony McDade, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Jonathan Ferrell, Philandro Castile, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, Natasha McKenna, Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Tanisha Anderson, Elijah McClain, and too many more. We will not be silent about the structural injustices that took these individuals from us.

As a Center dedicated to addressing global health’s toughest challenges, we know that racism must be dismantled in order to achieve equitable health outcomes. We all must be anti-racists. That means we must work actively to recognize and address the systemic racism present in our country and abroad. We will continue to elevate racial equity and social justice in our work and in our organization, joining the call for true leadership from our government and an end to the unjust structural policies that keep Black and Brown populations disadvantaged.

We know that the first step in overcoming systemic racism is to understand that it is a problem. We must start by examining ourselves. We are proud to be part of a university, Georgetown, that has taken actions, particularly in recent years, to address past and current injustices, and we are committed to doing more.

We are committed to interrogating our position of power and approach to our work in other nations; and to learning, listening, reflecting and responding to how racial injustices and colonial approaches have been institutionalized in global health.

We are committed to elevating and following the voices and expertise of the communities with which we seek to work, who are disproportionately affected by injustices around the world; and to advancing community-driven solutions that build more equitable and ethical health systems.

As we work toward ensuring a more just and healthy society, we will redouble our efforts for equity and stand in solidarity with those calling for lasting change.