Building Collective Black Power in Healthcare
Part II
Transcript
Emijah Smith 0:22
Welcome, welcome everyone. My name is Emijah Smith, I'm the chief of staff here at King County Equity Now, and welcome to our Building Collective Black Power in Healthcare. I would like to start with the land acknowledgement. We want to acknowledge the land that we work on for the Salish and the Duwamish tribes, who have tilled this land. For us to be privileged to be here today, I also want to acknowledge the labor of the stolen lives and bodies of people of African descent who were brought here to to the land and build the wealth of this nation.
Today, we're here again to talk about building collective Black power in healthcare. We have a very nice panel for you. We've invited, of course, Isaac Joy, the president of King County Equity Now, we've invited Dr. Danielson, the former medical director of Odessa Brown, we've invited Jackie Vaughn, who is the director of Surge Reproductive Justice, please correct me if I say any titles, incorrect. AyeNay Abye, who's here with Tubman Health, Miss Evelyn Allen with the Black Community Impact Alliance, Sakara Remmu who's with the Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance.
And if I'm forgetting any names, please just forgive me. Because we have a wonderful panel. And we're here again, it's about our collective power. And each person who's going to speak following me will introduce themselves in the best manner that they feel.
King County Equity Now is an organization that really is here to craft and advance pro Black equity solutions to realize the measurable markers of equity for the Black community. In the county of King County, Jr. as well as a statewide, our work is grounded in the theory of racial realism. And the understanding that anti Black racism is the biggest threat to American democracy. And we define success by measuring changes to the material conditions of Black people. And we are charged to eliminating the wealth gap. So without further ado, I'm going to pass the mic on to Mr. Isaac Joy. Thank you.
Isaac Joy 2:44
Thank you Emijah. To reiterate what Emijah just said, we're here to build collective Black power, and our local health system. But we're also here today to address and to speak to Seattle Children's Hospital's systemic anti Black racism, abuse, violence, mistreatment and neglect of Black and brown patients, employee staff and community. Abuse that took place over decades; and what it means for Seattle and the broader healthcare system, that an institution with such documented abuse and violence towards Black and brown bodies, is widely recognized as, quote, one of the nation's best hospitals for the last 25 years, end quote.
And what it means for our society and future, that so many of our trusted local leaders and local elite, billionaires and millionaires, the Russell Wilson's and the Bridges family, and the Nadella family, and so on and so on, are so intimately connected to an institution with such documented violence and abuse towards Black and brown peoples.
One takeaway is that you can inflict tremendous violence and abuse towards Black and brown people in Seattle for decades, knowingly, publicly, and face little to no repercussion or consequence.
In fact, you can inflict tremendous violence and abuse towards Black people in Seattle, and be celebrated as the best in your industry and field.
A second lesson is that white-led institutions cannot be stewards for Black community.
One element of the Seattle Children's Hospital story that is particularly dark, twisted and insidious is the intentional and exploitative nature in which they positioned and marketed themselves as a trusted steward for the Black community.
This includes preying on one of the only Black owned federally qualified health clinics in the Pacific Northwest, as well as initiating billion dollar fundraising efforts with Black children and Black families as the face of such marketing and outreach ploys.
A third takeaway, is that Seattle's healthcare system is broken for Black people. If one of the nation's best hospitals has documented abuse and violence towards Black people, it's no wonder that in the larger Seattle and King County arena, health disparities exist such that Black babies are twice as likely to die for the first baby's first birthday than white babies, or Black residents die of diabetes at three times the rate of white residents, or Black birthing people die three times more than white burden people, or that Black adults are three times more likely to be living in poverty, or nearly half of all Black adults in King County are food insecure. Or we know that Black people in King County contracted COVID at three times the rate of whites.
So it's time to change from the old normal apartheid state we find ourselves in to a new normal route in equity. A new normal where Black people have ownership control and agency over the institutions that serve them. A new normal where Black patients can receive quality health care with dignity and confidence. As such, a collective of community members, organizers and health professionals, we're elevating the immediate first step remedies that must be taken.
Number one, we're calling on all Seattle Children's hospitals donors to redirect funding into Black led Health Solutions that truly serve, and are accountable to the Black community. Please take this reflective moment to sever funding for an institution that abuses, discriminates, mistreats and kills Black people. Instead, invest in critically under resourced local Black health organizations like the Tubman Center for Health and Freedom, African American Health Board, Surge Reproductive Justice and more.
Number two, we're calling on Seattle Children's Hospital to cede Odessa Brown Clinic back to Black community ownership. The Odessa Brown clinic was birthed from amazing Black organizing, fighting against the same health injustices the Seattle Children's hospital is now trying to silence 50 years, 50 plus years later. It's a dishonor to this legacy and to the Black community more generally, for the Seattle Children's Hospital, and institution as demonstrated such anti Black racism, to be a steward of a desert brown clinic.
Number three. We are asking, Seattle Children's Hospital to provide 10 years of operating funds to the Black community towards Odessa Brown clinic site operations.
Number four, we're asking Seattle Children's Hospital to immediately inject funding into local Black led health equity solutions, including $30 million to the Tubman Center for Health and Freedom, $3 million to African American Health Board to bring on leadership and staff, and at least 5% of the Seattle Children's Hospitals endowment to be set aside for Black community health.
And finally, we're calling on Seattle Children's Hospital to immediately fire CEO Jeffrey Sperring and remove board chair Susan Betcher, and release the full findings. Both Jeffery and Susan have demonstrated abysmal leadership, anti Black racism, and have caused irreparable harm to King County's Seattle's Black community. We reject their continuing at Seattle Children's Hospital in any capacity.
And with that, I will pass it on to the next speaker.
AyeNay Abye 8:32
Thank you, Isaac. My name is AyeNay Abye and I'm the CEO of Tubman Health. I want to use this time to acknowledge what is working, and our community has strength. We have legacy organizations. As Isaac pointed out as Odessa Brown. We also have the Black Panther legacy, Seattle legacy committee that fought for Carolyn Downs. We have organizations like pocaan, we have a lot of history in terms of self determination and community driving health solutions.
So when this occurred with children's really over the span of decades, community has highlighted that Children's is a driver to health inequity in our community. We have brought forward the data, the solutions, and Black Community Impact Alliance, one of our great organizations here in the region, put a letter out to Children's leadership to say this is not okay. It is important to serve our families with dignity. And it is time to go back to the roots of why these clinics were established in the first place. And the CEO and leadership of Children's Hospital wrote back to BCIA and said, "Oh, don't worry about it. We've hired a consulting firm. They'll handle it, they're going to do an investigation, we're actually going to build a second clinic for your families."
So we have to call into question. What does it mean? Around institutional accountability? When the person, the institution, when the leadership, when the policies, the procedures, the racism embedded in it, it cannot be reformed. One bit at a time. Our systems are sick. It is making our community sick. And so we must intervene. Because health and freedom is ours. Our people are dying. Our people are here. We're proud in Seattle, and we're ready. The Black health ecosystem of organizations of people, of workers who have been standing up, it is time to join us. So this is an invitation for Children's Hospital. This is an invitation to workers. This is invitation to patients. We're in this together. And so I just want to thank everybody on this conference call this morning. Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe. Thank you.
Sakara Remmu 11:43
Good morning. My name is Sakara Remmu. And I'm here on behalf of the Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance. WA BLM exists to deinstitutionalize Black lives, and to institutionalize our power. We are a mandate of the people to eradicate anti Black racism and all forms of oppression so that Black people, and all people can thrive, we demand nothing less than unconditional protection and liberation, for the whole of Black life. For those of you who are not familiar, we are a nonpartisan statewide coalition, and we are fighting for the protection and liberation of Black lives, and the prosperity of all Washingtonians and the prosperity of all Black people across this nation.
Both sides of the aisle upheld and uphold systems of anti Black oppression. And both are accountable to the demands of the people to create communities where the whole of Black lives is protected and self determined, where the institutions created to oppress us are dismantled, where the physical and mental health of Black people is a priority, where Black people have the same expectation of safety and health that others have, where Black people are not subjected to extra judicial punishment. And where Black children and youth are supported in culture, and health and wellness, in education, and in enterprise.
But I'm also here as a mother. In 2003, my two year old son Khabir Rasaan, was dying of cancer at Seattle Children's Hospital. And when Dr. Davidson resigned, I decided that I had to tell Khabir's story and mine. He died at Seattle Children's in 2005. He was not yet four years old. And death didn't happen overnight. It took its time. It rendered him disfigured, going blind and deaf. And it wasn't enough for four generations of my family to fight and lose to cancer. The treatment we received was at crucial points, inhumane, and we received that treatment solely because Khabir was Black and I'm Black. his ashes and the trauma that remains from the treatment received rests solely at the feet of Seattle Children's not just 17 years ago. Today, parents patients and professionals have suffered because of the racism and white supremacy that Seattle Children's has refused to confront. Again, not just 17 years ago, but every year before and most critically every year since. The findings of the Covington report could not be more explicit. That care of non white patients has and continues to be harmed by the failures of hospital leadership and non white staff are disregarded, rather than upheld and supported as the invaluable assets they are. Seattle Children's attempted to hide these findings and silence the accountability committee. For those who say, Black Lives Matter, here is the platform. We demand community control. And that means we demand control of the assets that are in our communities and are supposed to serve us. The deepest harm perpetuated by white supremacy is this. Without our consent, Black people have been chained to the standards of whiteness, rather than having agency and power to define our own standards of excellence. And yes, Black excellence, and that means our health, a history of systemic racism, ableism, medical violence and the Black within the healthcare system. Combined with denial of universal, affordable, competent, and quality care, has placed access to medical care out of reach for the majority of Black people, yet these assets are in our community.
Additionally, Black women, trans, intersex, and gender nonconforming people are increasingly being denied access to full sexual gender and reproductive autonomy, and that includes our children. We demand nothing less than unconditional liberation from these deadly standards. Our entire health care system must be reorganized to ensure the physical, mental and spiritual health, well being self determination, agency and autonomy of Black people to eliminate profiteering insurance, pharmaceutical and medical equipment industries and to create conditions that will allow healing of our bodies, our minds, our spirits, and of the generational trauma, which contributes to the health of our people today and for generations to come. Under current hospital leadership, Seattle Children's promotes, in its staffing and care, a culture that forces all who enter to embody the values of white supremacy. Therefore, Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance demands, number one: Seattle Children's release the full Covington Report and release the accountability committee members from the current overly broad non disclosure agreements. Number two, the immediate termination of CEO Jeffery Sperring and removal of board chair Susan Betcher. In addition, any member of the board of trustees who voted to withhold the findings of the Covington report should immediately resign. Selection of the new CEO must be community driven. We call on Seattle Children's Hospital to cede ownership of Odessa Brown with 10 years of operating funds. And last but certainly not least, to immediately inject funds of no less than $50 million into Black led health organizations before the 2021 year ends here in Seattle and King County, and $100 million in 22. For all Black lives. Thank you.
Jackie Vaughn 18:27
Good morning, everyone. Thank you so much King County Equity Now, for having myself. I'm here to represent Surge Reproductive Justice. My name is Jackie Vaughn, and I'm the co-director of surge, we're a community based.. right, you're gonna join me, right? We're a community based organization here in southeast Seattle, that works with our community too -- Thank you, baby, can mommy talk for a little bit and then you can talk -- We're a community based organization that works in our community to analyze how institutions such as the Children's Hospital are either oppressing, exploiting or underserved our community. We know that the medical industrial complex is an extension of the state sanctioned violence that we see within the Black community and the anti Black racism that exists within the medical industrial complex is leading to the deaths of our Black birthing people and our babies in our community. And with the work that we do at Surge, we're working in our community to build solutions of how we work within a strategy to build self determination and autonomy for Black led institutions and community care. And so that is why we're here today. With all the organizations that are standing to speak on these demands that King County Equity Now has brought forward that we know that the brilliance and solutions exist in our community, and it's about a reinvestment in a redirection of funds that are currently going to non Black organizations who do not have the best interest of our community. And we want those funds redirected to community led solutions that are led and created by Black folks in our community. So thank you so much for having me today.
Candace Jackson 20:20
Good morning, community. My name is Candace Jackson with the African American Health Board. I just want to echo everything that our fellow community members, organizers, movers and shakers and community who have been fighting on the front lines, for institutional accountability and for better conditions for Black and brown folks. I want to echo everything that was said and full agreement with both sets of demands. And a big thank you to King County Equity Now for hosting this. I think the reason why it's so important for us to be coming together in this space, and in so many other spaces that we are doing work together is because it's it's enough, it's enough, we've had enough from our institutions. You know, the response from Seattle Children's has been has continued to be a slap in the face. And these are institutional tactics that, you know, our communities have been aware of for centuries. And I think that, as we start to come together as as a community, the solutions as as you've heard from Jackie, as you've heard from Sakara, as you've heard from AyeNay, the solutions are there, the African American Health Board, you know, has been around for four years or so. And definitely, you know, our focus has been institutional accountability. And putting that back in the hands of community so often, that accountability happens in spaces where there's only a few people around the table. And the reality is that it's people in our communities who are experiencing these conditions on a day to day basis, who needs to be the one creating and designing solutions and who need to be the one leading the charge on institutional accountability, because we actually know what our institutions need to look like. And in order to do that work, we need our organizations fully funded. It is one of the the greatest tactics to squelch resources, right, so that we don't have the opportunity to get together to talk, to plan, to coordinate with one another. And I think that there has been a lie told in our in our spaces that somehow, we just, we just don't have the answers, and we can't get it together. And I'm here to tell you based on the rooms that I'm in, that is 100% a lie. We're organizing, we're planned. And we definitely have the answers to our health, our wellness and our liberation. So our demand is that our institutions see that power, starting with Children's Hospital. And we'll be looking at other institutions as well, because as we know, this is structural. This is not about just one institution, all of our institutions are functioning in ways that inevitably harm us and have done so and they're designed that way. So we're here to redesign, I think you were going to begin to see Black folks from across the state begin to come together in alignment around this issue. Know that you're going to be hearing a call from those of us that are on this panel today, to come forward to join us. And to begin to think strategically about how what it looks like for us to take our institutions back and how we plan for our wellness and our liberation. Thank you.
Emijah Smith 23:01
Well, hello, everyone. Thank you for our wonderful panelists we have, and I'm just in awe of your leadership. Thank you, I want to just briefly highlight the welcoming of the of the child into the space that was beautiful, because at the end of the day, we know we're doing well when our children are doing well when our babies are doing well. So that was such a perfect timing and touch to our, to our press conference today. And thank you, Jackie, for modeling so well your leadership, and your parenthood and the love that you share, the love that we in our community, embrace and give to our children all the time. But these institutions, that should be welcoming our children welcoming our community in the same form and fashion. Please take note of how Jackie modeled that because when we come into these spaces, particularly healthcare, our families and our children don't feel that same type of energy. So I just want to thank you all for that.
There was a comment that came through that I just want to briefly go kind of address. And it was a comment that came in around the funding requests. So curiosity about the demand for the financial support, does that tie this movement to Seattle Children's, and link us to systemic racism, we reject. And I just want to follow up on that. Redirecting capital funding from anti Black institutions, like Seattle Children's here, is absolutely necessary, it is absolutely necessary. At the end of the day, these systems build wealth off of our bodies, off of our, our deaths, off of our sacrifices, it is absolute, that the funding should be redirected. Because the unmet need in the community is then being filled by the Black community and other communities of color, with little to no resources. And it causes undue, unnecessary, unrest. So these these are funds, it's only received under the false guise of serving Black people and Black community health is ownership of Odessa Brown clinic at all the major fundraising campaigns have been undertaken, it shouldn't have these resources in the first place, and must be redirected. They must be redirected back to the Black community clinics and organizations that actually serve us. Absolutely, as a parent with children who have been served at a Odessa Brown and Children's, as a past employee of Seattle Children's, as a past patient of Odessa Brown and Seattle Children's. I have really walked that walk. And I have seen for myself over the years of how Odessa Brown clinic is treated with resources, even if it's just new furniture. The things that we have to do they use our numbers of poverty or people of color, people being served, to get more grants and get more funding, but little trickles down. And my call of action and disappointment as a community member of a Central District, born and raised here, my call is that do not disrespect the wind behind our backs that brought that clinic there. And in that partnership, you violated the trust there. And so you must correct it. But the correction comes from the leadership of our community. And what the least you can do is redirect your funding there, the least you can do is remove the leadership that we're calling for in our demands. That's the least that you can do. And then we can begin the real work. Because there's so much to do, but you must follow the leadership of Black community, the people who love Odessa brown that was built off the backs of us and we created a space of welcome this we have the model, we know how to do it.
I might take a pause for a moment. Are there any, let's see if there's any other questions that people might have, or if there's any other panelists that might want to share something more. Because we say that we say these things over and over and over, I want to speak to our community directly to the Black community, we have to lock arms and come together on this one. We are an eclectic community, we have different strategies. But on this one, at the end of the day, it's about our children. It is about our children, our children must be well. COVID has opened the lid of the history of abuse and violence on our community in the healthcare system. We must show up strong, we must show up strong to make sure our babies are taken care. Panelists, do you want to raise a hand by chance. I don't see any questions from our audience right now. So okay, we have African American Health Board. Thank you.
Candace Jackson 29:12
I just also want to add that, you know, we're in the middle of a pandemic. And one thing we know about delta is that it is now impacting our babies that much more with co-occurring RSV on top of it. And, you know, it's, it is, it's one of those things where we're seeing you know, I think there's been a cliche of like, Oh, we have co occurring crises well we've been having co occurring crises and and our systems would love us to bucket racial justice and and dismantling white supremacy in one thing, and and then put the COVID response and the education system and the criminal punishment system all in separate buckets for us to work on. But the reality is, all of this stuff is interconnected. And so I would echo the call that Emijah put out, like we really need to lock arms. And, you know, as we begin to fight and think about our health, all of this stuff is so central to it, like the the way Children's functions, the way our community organizations function are so central to us, being able to actualize the liberation that we know is is evident, and we know is present for us. So I just wanted to put that in there. Like this is not some separate thing outside of, you know, what's what's occurring right now? And what's imminent for us in the healthcare space.
Isaac Joy 30:48
Yeah, I just wanted to piggyback off that real quickly, one, just thanking all the panelists for their contributions today. And what folks have been lifting up, but I also wanted to elevate that one of the questions we received was actually from a former staff member, employee, at Seatyle Chidren's Hospital, and just wanted to lift that up, that that comment, as a former social worker, as Seattle Children's Hospital in June, before I got fired for being vocal about all the systemic racism towards children's and families, and myself as a BIPOC staff. And so I just wanted to give that space and power to recognize that one of the techniques that's wielded, often is large institutions wielding their tremendous power and their asymmetric power against the individuals and community and staff and both to try to, to call attention to it. And so hopefully, I would love to do a specific call out to employees and staff at Seattle Children's and just say that, please know that the community stands with you and stands for you that your experience is being heard, and that we're here to try to elevate that. And just calling attention to that dynamic, often that people face real, personal consequences for trying to stand up for justice, including losing their job, losing their livelihood, you know, facing all sorts of turmoil, so just want to lift that up. I'll probably put your name but Marcel, um, thank you for for stating that. And if there are ways that community organizers can help support, or bolster workers that are in those spaces, please reach out to us. We're always trying to support and elevate.
AyeNay Abye 32:41
Thank you, Isaac, and to all the panelists, I just want to, you know, again, say thank you to everybody. The Black health ecosystem requires all of us. And when we're talking about these patterns of industry abuses, we learned that, you know, in the 90s, and 2000s, around tobacco fights, we've learned that already from the food and beverage industry, around childhood obesity, we've seen this within public health for decades, around how industries, they create the problems, and then they're left to their own devices to create the solutions. And so this industry here in which Children's Hospital is a part of, we're saying no more. And so for us, when we talk about history, we're talking about the knee on our neck of oppression. You can't just come to us and say, Oh, we hired Eric Holder. Oh, we did this. We've seen this for decades. And so today, when Candace says enough, when Emijah says enough, when your workers say vote of no confidence when your patients and your families, when Sakara tells you about her family, I need everybody to step into this. So I just want to tell you, thank you for the speakers today. Thank you for everyone who has stepped up. Together, we will do this.
Emijah Smith 34:28
So we have a question, from, I can't see my screen saying post something. We have a question: How is KCEN bringing these demands to Seattle Children's Hospital? Are there plans to leverage press, community partners, etc, to continue to keep this issue in the public eye over the next months? And I was wondering if there's a panelist who would like to, Isaac, would you like to answer that question or if anyone else would like to address a question?
Isaac Joy 35:03
Yeah, I'm happy to start out. So one, we have a few petitions that we just dropped in the chat for folks to stay engaged. Those petitions, I think just with them over the weekend, over 3000 emails have been sent out to different people within the Seattle Children's Hospital ecosystem, including board members and donors. We're also doing things like this. I mean, one of the reasons we wanted to try to hold a collective community conference is to maintain and keep, elevate the story and keep pressure. I think press can do a large part in terms of focusing on this story, and elevating the story, when invited press to be here today. But this is larger than I think one of the, the, you know, exciting components is this is much larger than any one organization or entity. This is multiple folks coming together across, you know, different spaces to mobilize against Seattle Children's and largely for Black Health. And I think one of the things for this conference is there's been a lot of organizing taking place outside of Seattle Children's. So there are a lot of, you know, whether that's Sakara or folks for Tubman, folks for Surge, or folks for African American Health Board, or the num, numerous other Black led local health organizations focusing on trying to build Black health, that their people are organizing and coming up with a solution. So this is there's a larger movement to build thriving Black health that is going to require resourcing and Black health institutions. So this is a larger conversation, a larger campaign that exists more than Seattle Children's, but I think collectively, people here are committed to putting-- continually putting pressure on Seattle Children's continuing holding community conferences continuing to up to demand. And I think in large part, it will also the community response will reflect what Seattle Children's does and the responses demands. Thanks.
Sakara Remmu 37:23
Thank you, Isaac. And for the question. Yes, we are going to continue, I think Emijah put it perfectly. We're all here right now for a reason. We're all here because this is critical. It doesn't get any more critical than this. And so, this is us letting you know that together, together as one, we're going to be helping to lead this overall effort, not just this micro situation. But this macro issue that we're in this together, shoulder to shoulder. It also means making sure that we're providing resources to community because now that this situation has been illuminated so clearly, we need to provide new self advocacy, resources directly to community. So that you know what your rights are, when you're in these institutions, what your rights are for yourself as a patient or for your baby, that is a patient, what you can do to protect the physical, the mental, the spiritual, is something that's happening to you in these institutions, while we are fighting, you know, to take control and to shore up protection for everybody. So, and this isn't even really the beginning, this has been going on for decades, that community has been organizing around this. So this is just another step in getting this done. And we're here today to say that it is a step that we are absolutely taking together.
Emijah Smith 39:33
Well, so thank you all again, the panelists. This is crucial conversation and crucial information. I just want to do a wonderful shout out to those who have attended with great questions. Dr. Danielson had reached out because he is a provider. He's a medical provider. So he was planning to come in when he was able so his attendance at this point it's likely because he still seeing patients. So just wanted to let the public know. Also, this, as has been previous mentioned, this is not the first time we've just been kind of like having some level of grace, you know, work on waiting to see what Children's Hospital was going to say. This process with Seattle Children's did not occur in the way that a community would have preferred. Community engagement from the beginning to the end should have occurred. And the fact that the summary of findings is what we already know, what is truly disappointing. Because this is something these are actually very basic, what I'm sure families would have shared, when they've come into contact with the hospital, or with particular providers, and we're trying to advocate for their family. I just want to share, say to families, I understand in the different institutions when we speak up, and we advocate for our family, for our dignity, and of course, for quality care, quality care with dignity. That we are concerned about the violence of the racism and the retaliation. And I just want children's to understand that even in our silence, it doesn't mean that we are accepting that treatment, we are not accepting those practices. But it's going too far. As noted, under the constraints of COVID. Too many lives have been lost too many babies, babies, infants, children, lives have been lost under the care of medical facilities in hospitals that we are supposed to be trusting, and wanting to have respectful and healthy relationships with. So of course, this will not stop here, didn't start here didn't start even when Odessa Brown began as a clinic started before Odessa Brown, which is the reason why Odessa Brown and the Black community organized for a clinic is the reason why the Black Panthers organized for clinics for sickle cell testing, for things that our community needed. This is why when we were brought here on the shores, this is why. Well, of course, this is not going to end just because of Seattle Children's. But we're going to let you know it's unacceptable.
Somebody needs to take this because it's really heartbreaking what we're dealing with these days. Isaac, may I pass this to you or pass it to you please.
Isaac Joy 42:52
Absolutely. For any other questions. So, with an invitation, you know. Yeah, so I think just looking at the last two questions, was an invitation to extend this invitation to Jeffrey Sperring or Susan Betcher. There was not this specific one. However, I think that at this point, you know, it's clear what community demands are on that front, and expressing leadership as like a baseline. So I think at that point that, that demand and demand for them to be removed is is evident. And hopefully they will respond to that and do the right thing. And then pass this over to another panelist.
Jiquanda Nelson 44:11
Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here today. My name is Jiquanda Nelson, and I am vice president of the African American Health Board. We are one of 15 health, ethnic and cultural health boards here and we serve the entire state of Washington. We wanted to come and stand with each and every organization here today. We are in full agreement and where we see the most heartbreaking pieces of this is that our community members are suffering and they are hurt. And it is our responsibility as leaders, as institutions, as healthcare providers, to keep that with us as we make decisions going forward. I come to you wearing the weight of people within our communities who have had to deal with a pandemic, on top of inequities that already exists in the health care system, and to no avail, having support, justice, equity.
And so we come on behalf of each of those people that we hold dear in our heart, who we know the stories, within our own families, within our own communities, who have said enough is enough. And now is the time. And while we also fully agree that we need our own systems to care for our people, to account for the inequities that have existed in the system, we also recognize that we need the very systems and institutions that are in place right now, to be working, to be fair, to be just. And so we stand in full agreement, we stand in full support. And we are here, we are ready. And the time is now. Thank you.
Emijah Smith 46:34
Well just want to thank everyone for their attendance in their time. I don't see any more questions or new questions for our panel. There was one last comment, I guess it just popped up. It says please let us know if there's anything we can do to support. I just want to highlight and remind folks that there's action opportunities that have been placed in the chat, those action opportunities should also be on the King County Equity Now website.
I think that we want to build, you know, our solidarity and educate our community about what is happening at this time. And so we are looking to definitely be talking more with our health community members and our health community, families, workers, there's just a lot going on. And we want to make sure everybody is brought up to speed with regard to Seattle Children's. And that's, that's the most that we can do to support, we really want to support each other, we want to build our collective power as Black community in this issue, as around as well as the other issues as previous shared by Candace Jackson, that there's intersectionality of these systems that play out together. And healthcare, you can't separate healthcare from, you know, from education or from a different system, they all play out, and we have to be healthy. We have to be healthy in order to do this work, in order to thrive, in order to be the great contributors that we've always been in this in this world. So yes, Your support is definitely needed. And if all it takes is just telling another person about the issue and educating them, and also poured into each other, to speak up, to speak up, because some people they want to do better, and oftentimes, they just don't know how. So we have to help educate. And the burden shouldn't just be on us to make sure, when we're coming in with a child that needs care. We're trying to focus on our child, we're trying to focus on our family member, focus on our-- on our friend, we don't always have the time or the mindset to be educating that system. But it is still we have to do our due diligence when we can. So let's pour into each other, nurture each other, take care of each other as we walk through this journey.
So without further ado, without further ado, I just want to say thank you again for the time, and-- well I keep getting questions!
Can you say something about the mental health and stress that all of all of these inequities create for our communities? I'll touch on it. But I would like to pass that over to the African American Health Board, because it does fall into our overall wellness. And I do believe that the African American Health Board has been doing a great job with their wellness clinics, as well as Tubman Health. So maybe African American health Board or Tubman Health want to address the mental health aspects. And we jump everything. Okay.
Jiquanda Nelson 49:32
Oh, sorry about that. I'll jump in quickly here. So yes, we have been hosting wellness clinics that have been that have extended beyond providing information about COVID-19 testing vaccinations, while also bringing community together we are grounded and rooted in making sure that community is a part of our work and we are led by community. We've also been really intentional on about creating spaces of healing and hope. We've hosted A couple of-- I don't even want to call them sessions, just basis for people to come, and be, and feel, and grieve, and mourn, but also celebrate and recognize the resiliency and strength that we have within our community. And so, while we're doing the hardcore work of, you know, organizing, you know, advocating and educating, we've also been making sure we provide that place of healing and hope because we know the impacts the health implications that come from racism, you know, discrimination, and exclusion that comes not just within healthcare, but then within our society. Oh, I see, Candace is here, I'll pass it to her. Thank you.
Candace Jackson 50:49
Um, that's exactly what you're saying Jiquanda, I just, I got excited because I was like, also, there's some intersections around how we support each other's mental health right now that are so important in the middle of COVID. And I just wanted to remind us, y'all, I love y'all so much. I love Black people so much, we need to be wearing our mask, right like, that's like tight fitting, well fitting. That's my short PSA, please stay out of indoor crowded spaces. But what that also means for our mental health, because joy and being together is so central for us. It means being really thoughtful about like the places that you're in and ways that you're interacting. So what I would say is be intentional about like, rebuilding community and connecting with folks like, even if it is just I know, so many of us have our hands in like multiple different things, and the calls turn into organizing calls or working calls, but really carve out time to connect with each other. Like just on a real life life basis; whether that's phone calls, zooms, walks, like all of those things, we need each other, we are our mental, our best mental health solution. And we know that about us. So I just want to encourage folks in the midst of staying safe with COVID, like let's bond, Let's be together. We need each other. We will be posting some mental health resources on our Facebook page also. And so, you know, understandably, it's not just kind of the day to day but there are some serious things going on with our mental health as a result of white supremacy and systems of oppression. So we will be posting some resources on on, and I believe on multiple of our spots, we have resources for folks around mental health stuff. We love you.
Dr. Ben Danielson 52:40
Oh, Hi everybody. I'm sorry for being so late to this conversation. But after tell you that, I found that my own mental health has been lifted up and improved by having spaces like this to be present in whatever way we can right now with each other in Black community. Think so much about just what it meant to be in space with each other during the Umoja Fest and and Emijah was talking about just what what a role, Seward Park has become in helping us convene and share our joy and her struggles with each other. And I would not have anything to add to the wonderful things that Jiquanda said and Candice said, only that we have to just know that, that our responses to what's happening are appropriate responses are not pathological responses are not signs of something wrong. But if something something right crying out in our bodies, and in our mind and our souls for, for acknowledgement for understanding for recognition. And that is that's the right thing for us to be going through. That's the right thing for us to be expressing. It might be more wrong to be trying to hold that back to keep that in and that-- that if we don't acknowledge that these are the right feelings, then we let someone else tell us that somehow there's something wrong with us. And I reject that idea. Because I care about us. I care about you all. And I just felt like I needed to say that. I'm just honored to be in space with you all, and I'll pass back to Emijah or whoever.
Emijah Smith 54:33
Thank you Dr. Danielson. I did share that you will be arriving a little bit later because of course you are a medical provider with great expertise. And you are serving our community. So thank you for joining when you were able. Well, I'm just want to see the Tubman Health want to share anything about some of the great work you're doing out in the community before we close out
AyeNay Abye 54:59
Thank you, Emijah. Sorry, my computer just crashed. So I stepped off for a couple minutes. I'm back. Literally back right this second, what's your question?
Emijah Smith 55:12
We were sharing a little bit of just about what the great work that's happening in the community, Candace had shared, you know, self sharing with our community that coming together and having that joy and being together is healthy for us. But while we're doing that, to make sure we're wearing our mask, and they were speaking about some of the wellness clinics and opportunities that they were doing, so I also wanted to offer an opportunity to share what you're doing or your suggestions around how do we support each other when we're dealing with all these inequities and the racism coming our way?
AyeNay Abye 55:41
Yeah, thank you. I think like everyone modeled here today, it's about leaning in and supporting each other. Unhealthy systems are so divisive to our communities, not only impacting our bodies and our well being, but it's also impacting our organizations and our institutions. That's the reason why we're in the situation we're in, you know, the fights and the legacy that our community members have led for decades in this region. Why weren't our organization supported and allowed to develop and thrive in healthy ways? It's the same question now, for our bodies. When we're really looking at these dual pandemic, we're looking at the pandemic of COVID-19. But the endemic of institutional racism and the behavior of Seattle racism in particular, it is having negative effects on us. So we launched Frontline Wellness program, which was our initial program to do free acupuncture sessions, to address racism in the body. And that program has been going for the last year, and 100% of our patients are Black. About 37% of those patients are Black and queer. And about 37% are Black, queer, disabled. So for us to really look at the intersections and address our community as a whole is important, because those are the things that have been used to divide us. And so I think, you know, partnering with organizations with everybody on the call, has been beautiful. So whether the CIO clinics with African American health board or with Blaxinate are partnering with pocann, it's really important to think about the solidarity work. And we've been demonstrating that because to Candace's point, the the narrative is that Black organizations can't. And that's far from the truth, we have been doing it, we're continuing to do continuing to do it. And we're also saying now to white institutions, hey, we're not taking it anymore. And it's time to find Community Solutions. And a lot of these organizations that are Black led, the, the key to it is that we take direction from our community. Everything that Tubman is doing, you know, how do we operationalize our mission for health and freedom, and how is that community driven. And so that's actually what we're doing now with our capital campaign as well. And we're looking to build a health clinic that's not just about clinical space, but it's really about a holistic model to address health, health and freedom. And so we just want to say thank you to everybody, who is again, stepped in stepped up. We got what we need, in terms of community assets, it's really time to invest in them. And so thank you to Jackie, thank you to Surge, thank you to African American Health Board. Thank you to Washington Black Lives Matter, and to the many people who couldn't make the call today because they're out there doing the work. So that's all.
Emijah Smith 58:51
Thank you, AyeNay. Thank you very much for definitely highlighting our speakers. I just wanted to say one thing before we totally close out. Jessi, if you can put the camera on me. That's wonderful. I want to just share a shout out to Carolyn Downs who just got a comment that said they would love to be a part of this organizing. And of course, you're totally part of this organizing. How could you not be part of it, you've already been the the organizers and the leaders of Carolyn Downs, the Black leadership has already set the tone and set the space. So if people feel that has not been acknowledged, I want to acknowledge that conversations are definitely happening. And I also just highlighted the Black Panther, Seattle Black Panther Party, who are the winds behind the back and the founders of Carolyn Downs and the great work that they not only done for healthcare, but the great work that they're doing for community overall. So their legacy will always be uplifted. Their legacy-- I'm here because of them. I do because of them Most definitely. But this is not a one time deal. This is a continuation. So of course will be bringing in and partnering more and strengthening our, our Black collective power with them, all the leaders who want to join, who want to join and I hope that will be all that no one will be left out. So without further ado, you all have a wonderful rest of your day. Be well. Peace and blessings. Thank you.
