Our Pledge to Racial Equality and Justice
As advocates for women and healthcare specialists, we, the faculty of the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics acknowledge the legacy of racism in the United States and its effects on the Black citizens of this nation.
We recognize that implicit bias and systemic barriers, particularly in the health care arena, have contributed and continue to affect access to care and delivery of quality healthcare services to communities of color which have been historically marginalized and not prioritized.
We affirm our commitment to the advocacy for and protection of Black people and families through all stages of life, and we recognize the pivotal role we play in bringing attention to stark disparities in Black maternal and infant mortality and working to correct these inequities.
As we work to dismantle centuries of miscommunication and mistrust between the medical establishment and the Black community, we recognize and are sensitive to the history of abuse and terror visited on this community at the hands of those in whom trust was placed.
We understand that studying this history enables us to better understand and contextualize conversations with our patients to engender their trust.
Through active engagement with our policymakers at the city, state and federal levels, we will continue to engage the community at large and educate decision-makers on the state of health care outcomes for Black people to improve funding for research, facilities, education programs and personnel to begin to correct these inequities, a process which benefits not just Black people and families, but all people and families.
We recognize systemic racism and violence as public health crises which extend beyond healthcare to community policing, education, housing, our financial system and beyond.
We honor our sacred vow to do no harm and will continue to work to safeguard and shield the health and lives of Black persons and families as is consistent with our calling and our training as physicians.
Adopted by Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics Faculty, written by Dr. Kalinda Woods, June 2020