We, the students of Emory University School of Medicine (EUSOM) stand together, outraged by the continuous acts of violence and overt racism against our Black and Brown communities.

While we, as medical students, have been attaining the knowledge and skills to save lives from disease, we have had to witness the senseless murders of African-Americans by those who abuse the social status that America has afforded them time and time again. While learning to save lives, we have had to beat back images of being shot point-blank by white vigilantes and police officers. While our friends and colleagues attempt to address the stress that accompanies being members of minority groups in medicine, we have had to manage the distress of seeing motionless Black bodies on news outlets.

At all times, there exist overwhelming racial disparities in our society, including sentencing in the justice system, imprisonment rates, and quality of healthcare provided. These disparities are the result of socialization and systemic inequality that consistently reinforces a false inferiority of Black people and incorrectly places responsibility upon our communities to correct the racism and biases that lead to the fear-based assassination of African-Americans. The headlines repeat themselves because the stereotypes that surround members of the Black community persist. That is why the criminal justice system disregards the duty “to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation and the peaceful against violence or disorder...”  As future physicians, we are called to provide equal care to patients regardless of their skin color. When missteps occur, physicians are held financially and legally responsible for medical errors through extensive litigation. The criminal justice system has not been held to the same standard.

As future healthcare providers, we stand against the disease of racism and acts of violence against Black communities that have underwritten the growth of this nation. We vehemently oppose the obtrusion of injustice at the hands of those who deem us to be “other” and “thugs.” It is our responsibility to acknowledge and actively address racism as a public health crisis, and we must work to be actively anti-racist in all aspects of our lives. In this time of shared suffering and solidarity, we must speak out and advocate for safety and justice.

In the spirit of solidarity, we see an opportunity to push our idealism into action. We invite individuals and organizations within the student body at Emory University School of Medicine to stand with the Emory Student National Medical Association in support of policy that will be presented to the Board of Commissioners in Fulton and Dekalb Counties. We propose that these counties declare racism a public health crisis. We move to present this statement to Emory University School of Medicine administration, institutional leadership, physicians within the Emory Healthcare network, and members of the Atlanta community at-large. We invite each individual in support of this resolution to declare their solidarity with a signature. Our goal is to garner 500 signatures by June 19, 2020, a day commemorating the emancipation of Black men and women grossly commodified within the institution of American slavery. Upon achieving the indicated number of signatures, Emory SNMA student representatives will present a Resolution to Declare Racism a Public Health Crisis to the Fulton and DeKalb County Board of Commissioners. 

As we follow data highlighting the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the Black community, it is abundantly clear that racial disparities not only put communities at higher risk for tragedy in the setting of a pandemic, but underlying health conditions in our communities consistently progress to a devastating extent of pathology with a lack of healthcare resources to address them. We ask that you consider supporting this initiative with your signature while referencing data on racial disparities in health outcomes to further understand the complexities and urgency of dismantling racial injustice in our nation. As future healthcare professionals, we believe it is vitally important that our governing bodies recognize the impact of racism on the health and wellbeing of Black communities on the location and national level.