Cornell Center for Health Equity Statement on Institutional Racism and the Killing of George Floyd

We at the Cornell Center for Health Equity condemn the horrific and grievous killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police. This latest injustice is part of a long line of previous and currently unfolding practices of institutional racism. We recognize those practices—in all their forms—as enduring and ongoing threats to public health. As leaders of an institution charged with achieving health equity, we stand in opposition to racism and in solidarity with those who are demanding transformational change. We affirm that #BlackLivesMatter. In the face of social, economic, and political systems that enduringly devalue Black lives, we assert our responsibility to advance solutions to end systemic racism in all of its nefarious forms. We pledge to enact such responsibility through research, education, engagement, advocacy, and all other available channels. As COVID-19 disproportionately devastates Black communities and the scourge of racism razes the landscape of American life, we at the Cornell Center for Health Equity move forward in full commitment to confronting and fighting against these enduring and intolerable injustices.