These are terrible times. A pandemic is sweeping across the globe, leaving death and economic disruption in its wake. Over the past few months, the safe, stable, nurturing environments children need to thrive have been caught up in the COVID-19 maelstrom, unraveling children's worlds and destroying their daily routines.
Although the threat of COVID-19 is acute, the maelstrom driving its impact across our Commonwealth and our nation is not. It is a longstanding, malevolent force. Two years ago, in my first President's Message, I noted "today, political and social unrest have led to a serious weakening of our social fabric. Children, the most vulnerable among us, are paying the price for that weakened support." In the intervening years, although we have advocated for health and human rights and worked to improve child, family, and community wellbeing, these chronic social problems remain entrenched-even worse. In composing my Winter President's Message this past November, before COVID-19 came to light, I wrote "Time to hunker down, bundle up, and hold out until the renewal that Spring always brings is upon us. We know this cycle well, but lately, as our country continues to be gripped by scandal, corruption, abuses of power, systemic and systematic discrimination, violence, and seething distrust, the need to hunker down and survive what lies ahead is growing in intensity."
Little did I realize how intense things would become or that Spring would bring not renewal, but the rise of worse threats than COVID-19. Crueler, more insidious, more powerful, and more destructive than COVID-19 are the chronic threats of the racism, discrimination, and systemic violence that pervade this country. Just as we were reaching for optimism and hope that the worst of COVID-19 was behind us, the February 23 killing of Ahmaud Arbery by white vigilantes came to light as his killers were arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault. Eighteen days later, George Floyd was brutally murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis as his fellow officers stood by.
These outrageous acts of violence have rightly galvanized our nation. Protests are occurring across the country as people demand justice and speak out against the longstanding inequities -- in our criminal justice system, in economic opportunity, in education, in housing, in simply being -- that racism creates. These inequities and the violence that often accompanies them harm health all along the life course, from preconception onward.
As a social determinant of health, racism is a public health issue. So is COVID-19. Nature produced COVID-19. Man produced the systemic and pervasive racism that lives on in American society. Humanity must respond to both. There will be no vaccine for racism. No miracle of medical science to fix these deep seated, difficult, and painful issues. While we work to care for children in our offices, we must also work together to change our social, political, and economic systems to create a just society where all our children can feel safe and secure.
The fear and the pain that COVID-19 has wrought is but an echo of that which racism has wrought in the lives of Black Americans. MCAAP, an organization whose mission is to promote the optimal physical, mental, and social health of all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults condemns racism in all its myriad forms. Like you, MCAAP is outraged and saddened. We will continue to work for change, to advocate for policies and practices that advance social justice and promote equity, and speak out against racism and discrimination. We acknowledge that you, our members, are desperately working to toward these same ends, each in your own way. We know that many of you want to do more.
Below are some ways you can act. If you have ideas about how the Chapter can act or how the Chapter can aid and support you, please reach out to us. Change must happen. We can no longer hunker down.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Goodman, MD, MBA, FAAP
MCAAP President
