Statement from IMPAACT Leadership on Longstanding Racial Injustice
The IMPAACT Network does not tolerate the injustices being directed towards black Americans. Read the statement from Network leadership.
These are difficult times. This week, protests in the streets are giving voice to the pain and anger that have existed for generations among Black Americans and in response to the recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. These senseless deaths are not isolated incidents but rather the result of deep-seated systemic racism that sadly permeates our society. Compounding the current feelings of despair and fury is the knowledge that minority racial and ethnic groups are disproportionately impacted by longstanding economic and healthcare disparities, as most recently evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
These injustices cannot be tolerated. We must all stand together and do our part as individuals, as communities and as a research network to rid our society of discrimination and bigotry in all its forms. We must work to ensure rights to respect, dignity, justice, health, and freedom from fear. This will not happen quickly or easily, but we must take action now. We must do it for our children and generations to come.
Sharon Nachman
IMPAACT Chair
James McIntyre
IMPAACT Vice-Chair