Racism: A Public Health Crisis
April 4-10, 2022 is National Public Health Week.
Join us in celebrating National Public Health Week, an annual initiative of the American Public Health Association (APHA) to shine a light on the many public and private spheres working together to make individuals, families, communities, and our nation healthier, stronger and safer. This year’s theme is “Public Health is Where You Are.”
Each day this week, we’ll be highlighting a community health program or sharing an inspiring story from a community member or partner that aligns with APHA’s theme of the day.
Where we live impacts our communities’ health, and each one of us has a role to play. Together we make health happen.
Racism: A Public Health Crisis
“Racism shapes where and how people live and what resources and opportunities they have. Racism directly affects the physical and mental health of people of color. Yet the communities most impacted by structural racism are often excluded from processes where decisions are made that directly affect their lives. Meaningful community engagement processes, civic engagement strategies such as participatory budgeting and efforts to promote power sharing and power building with communities can ensure that community priorities are centered in decisionmaking. This can also result in more equitable distribution of power and resources, which, when coupled with explicit health equity goals, can improve people's health and well-being.” - American Public Health Association
Downeast Diversity Project
In July 2021, Downeast Diversity Project launched a monthly podcast entitled, “Downeast Diversity: Stories of People and Culture.” The platform provides an opportunity for the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Community in Maine, with a focus on Hancock and Washington counties, to do their own storytelling.
Executive Producer Alyne Cistone Downeast Diversity builds each podcast episode around conversations and interviews that explore some of the challenges of minority experience, ways of finding, creating, and preserving community, and ultimately, how the presence and contributions of diverse peoples and cultures strengthen and enrich Maine.
“Ultimately, the podcast is about listening and learning, asking questions, and recognizing the beauty of diversity in Maine”
By creating a space for Maine’s BIPOC community to share their stories, Cistone hopes that the podcast will serve as a document of a moment of Maine culture in transition: “…From ‘not knowing what we don’t know,’ to understanding that curiosity, empathy, and humility are part of a necessary path for healing and creating inclusive communities. Ultimately, the podcast is about listening and learning, asking questions, and recognizing the beauty of diversity in Maine.”
This is public health.
Click here to listen to previous Downeast Diversity episodes.
New Downeast Diversity episodes can also be heard on WERU Community Radio on the third Tuesday of each month, beginning at 4 p.m. during the News and Public Affairs hour.
Learn more about the Downeast Diversity Project here. Help support this important work - donate today.
Why support public health?
Together we make health happen.
To make a donation, click here or send a check by mail to Healthy Acadia, PO Box 1710, Ellsworth, ME, 04605. Yes, our mailing address has changed!
Looking for new ways to give? Join our Sunrise Monthly Giving Circle, include us in your will, make a gift to our endowment, or hold a fundraiser! For more ways to get involved today, click here or give us a call at 207-667-7171. We love to hear from you!