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Miss a day? Emails from previous weeks are available for review on our Racial Equity Challenge landing page .
WEEK 4: PUBLIC HEALTH
Today's topic: Racism & Toxic Stress
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Welcome to the last week of the 21 Day Racial Equity and Social Justice challenge. People of color suffer worse health outcomes than white people, even when controlling for income and other factors. Learn why these disparities aren't about race, but racism. Today we are talking about the impact of toxic stress caused by daily exposure to discrimination on the health of people of color.
WE CHALLENGE YOU TO TAKE...
Watch this TED Talk about how research has found that higher levels of discrimination are associated with a broad range of negative health outcomes such as obesity, high blood pressure, breast cancer, heart disease, and early death.
Listen to this podcast about the effect of chronic stress from frequent racist encounters on the health outcomes of people of color. The article also features a case study on how a large scale ICE raid in Iowa impacted the health of pregnant Latinx women across the state.
Read this article about how the mental burdens of bias, trauma, and family hardship lead to unequal life outcomes for girls and women and girls and women of color in particular.
ACT | PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK
Level I: Many neighborhoods in the Twin Cities are now food and supply deserts after local stores were destroyed or temporarily closed due to damage sustained during recent protests. These closures disproportionately impact communities of Black, Indigenous and other people of color and negatively affect the health of residents who struggle to obtain food and basic supplies.. Consider picking up and donating extra groceries or supplies the next time you shop and use this map as a resource to find where urgent needs exist and drop-off locations near you.
Level II: The U.S. is the only developed country in the world that does not offer paid time off to new parents, resulting in one in four new mothers here going back to work within two weeks of giving birth—while caring for a newborn and recovering from the physical and mental strains of delivery. Contact your legislators and your company’s human resources department to advocate for policies that support new parents.
Level III: Write to your local elected officials and urge them to declare racism a public health crisis. If you live in Hennepin County, which passed a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis late last month, thank your representative for passing this resolution and advocate for implementation of policies that improve the health outcomes for people of color.
Please join our work to eliminate racism, empower women and strengthen families and communities. Your contribution will support our racial justice initiatives and invest in the success of adults and youth overcoming disparities in housing, employment and educational achievement. Thank you for helping us continue to provide life-changing services.
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