Black Lives Matter
Eradicating systemic racism has been at the core of Unity Care’s work since our founding in 1993.
As an African American led agency we witness and experience the constant trauma inflicted upon communities of color every day by people in institutions that don’t value Black and Brown lives.
We stand with the millions of people here and around the world who are outraged and calling for justice in the murder of George Floyd and all Black brothers and sisters who have been traumatized, marginalized and killed because of our country’s legacy of racism and discrimination.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its hugely disproportionate impact on the Black community, Unity Care has partnered with the Black Leadership Kitchen Cabinet to launch a new initiative, COVID-19 BLACK.
This Bay Area Community Health Initiative will increase awareness and education about COVID-19 and work to protect and improve health and well-being in the Black community.
This urgent initiative is consistent with Unity Care’s long-standing focus on educating and training system partners to engage with communities of color more effectively. Our acclaimed Transcultural Engagement Model enables us to develop trusting relationships that are critical to working with communities of color.
In July of 2020 we launched COVID-19 BLACK, which provides a platform for members of the African ancestry community to shape a narrative of their own experiences and leverages the community’s strengths to take a stand against COVID-19. Check out the COVID-19 BLACK website.
Take Action Today!
In the wake of recent events, many people are asking what they can do to end racism in their own communities and institutions. Here are some ways you can get involved. If you would like more information about a specific action or need help finding resources, please email us at countmein@unitycare.org.
We are still expanding this list, so we encourage you to check back occasionally for more information and tools.
- Educate yourself about institutional racism and the African American experience. Here’s a few books to read: Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow,” Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy,” Douglas A. Blackmon’s “Slavery by Another Name,” Richard Rothstein’s “The Color of Law” and André Chapman’s “Roses in Concrete — Giving Foster Children the Future they Deserve”.
- Expand and diversify your network of Black friends. Actively engage them to learn about the impacts of the recent events and their personal journey.
- Have courageous conversations with your children and grandchildren and teach them about institutional racism and its impact on the Black community.
- Join a community and/or work group that is focused on diversity and inclusion.
- Take a family pledge to stand up and speak out publicly against racism, bigotry, and hatred.
- Invest in the Black community through Black-led non-profit agencies that exist to support the advancement of Black lives and people of color.
- Join the Board of Directors of non-profits who fight every day against social and economic injustices of our formal systems.
- Stand up for injustices when you hear, see, and are made aware – do not be silent. Take action!
- Join or create Community Oversight Boards to examine the policies and practices of our local government and law enforcement systems that perpetuate systemic racism.
- Get engaged in local, state, and federal elections and demand those who you vote for have a “Black Lives Matter” agenda.
- Vote in every election and stand up against hate and bigotry.
- Demand the reinstitution of consent decrees by the DOJ on police departments and municipal governments across this country that have demonstrated patterns of racism towards and mistreatment of people of color.
- Make a public financial commitment to funding the work ahead.
- Create safe spaces for healthy dialog within your places of employment to give Black employees an opportunity to express their feelings and non-Black staff a safe and supportive environment in which to learn how they can be part of the solution.
- Community trauma is at an all-time high, impacting everyone. When hosting Zoom meetings give space for check-in opportunities before jumping into the work.
- Revisit and rewrite your organizational values to incorporate a new tomorrow ensuring fair and equitable treatment of Black employees and the Black community, and an inclusive environment for all.
- Develop a training series hosting courageous conversations on the legacy of discrimination with engaged community experts.
- Develop a “Black Lives Matter” initiative that examines company policies and practices that perpetuate implicit biases, leading to a lack of Black leadership in the Board, C-suite, and management teams.
- Make significant investments in the Black community through Black-led non-profit agencies that exist to support the advancement of Black lives and people of color.
- Encourage your staff to donate by offering matching donations to those who are donating to social justice and Black-led non-profit agencies.
- Create Corporate / Community Oversight Boards to examine the policies and practices of our local government and law enforcement systems that perpetuate systemic racism.
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