Chapter statement of racial injustice
Events over the recent days shine a light on the continued problem of racism and racial injustice that continue to exist in our society. The Delaware Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics supports the movement to end racism, and asks our members to work with us to end racial disparities that impact the health and wellness of Delaware’s children, families and communities. We invite you to demonstrate your support at 1:00 p.m. today, and to continue that support for the days, months, and years ahead, until our society supports people of all races equally.
 
  • The Delaware AAP opposes racism and recognizes the health impact of racial disparities. We recognize the structural racism embedded within our society, which promotes racial inequities in not just health and access to health care, but education, employment and justice disparities as well.
 
  • The Delaware AAP recognizes that racism and discrimination impact the physical, mental and behavioral health of children of all ages, and that as pediatricians and health care leaders, we must work to change institutions and cultures that foster racism and racial injustice.
 
  • The Chapter commits to working to end racial inequities and injustices that impact not only child health, but our community as a whole. Minority groups often have worse health outcomes related directly to racial disparities and we must continue to work to change this reality. We commit to supporting our members to work at the practice, local, state and federal level, to end racism and eliminate its impact on health.
 
  • To show our support for the movement to end racism, and recognize the life of George Floyd and all impacted by racism, we invite you to join others in the medical community today, Friday 6/5/2020, at 1:00 p.m., and observe a moment of silence or kneel for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
 
  • Wear your white coat to show that as a medical community, we oppose racism and strive to come together to end racial injustice. Share your support for this important movement on social media with hashtags #whitecoats4blacklives, #WC4BL, and #blacklivesmatter. Tag @DelawareAAP so we can collect posts by Chapter members or email your pics to [email protected].
 
  • Read AAP’s response to the nation’s recent events and find resources for both members and parents to use.

Let us continue to support and uplift one another and remain steadfast advocates on behalf of the children and families we serve.