Health & Racism

Dear Friend,

As individuals, as communities, and as a country we are facing a moment of both immense despair but also immense opportunity. Whether the moment leads to real change will depend on the actions each of us takes in the days, weeks and months ahead.

COVID-19 has illuminated the enormous health disparities in our country, disparities that have their roots in 400 years of systemic racism against Native Americans, African Americans, and Latinx communities. In Sonoma County where Ceres is based, 70% of all COVID-19 cases – and 97% of COVID cases among children and youth – are among Latinx community members. Yet they make up just 27% of the population. Across the country, black Americans are dying from the virus at three times the rate of whites.

Now, on top of the devastation of a pandemic, the African American community has once again suffered from unconscionable violence on the part of police. As Mary Pittman, CEO of the Public Health Institute said eloquently:

“Police violence and racism are a public health crisis: In 2019, police killed 1,099 people in the United States, and Black people were three times more likely to be killed by police than white people. This trauma leaves a profound, lasting legacy—not only on individuals, but on families and entire communities: studies link the trauma of violence and racism to higher rates of chronic stress, long-term impacts to mental health, chronic disease and more.”

Ceres Community Project is committed to working towards a just, equitable and sustainable food and health system, and to fostering respect, kindness, dignity, compassion and generosity in everything we do. As a white-founded and still primarily white-led organization, we are aware of the privilege this bestows. We commit to work with a lens towards equity, diversity and inclusion in our own organization, to listen and learn from those who experience racism directly, and to address systemic racism throughout our communities, institutions, and policies at all levels.

At this moment, we express our profound support for those protesting against systemic racism and the violence being done to people of color in our country. We are committed to witnessing and supporting Black communities as they grieve, and to listening to and supporting communities of color in finding solutions and demanding change.

Action starts with each of us. We urge you to:

• Sign Petitions

• Call your government officials and express your support for the protesters and their right to assemble peacefully, and your support for fundamental change

• Complete the census and encourage others to complete it

• Register to vote and vote; and encourage others to do the same

• Support local and national organizations working to create a just and equitable society for all people

To learn more:

• The Medium: A Detailed List of Anti-Racism Resources

• Sonoma County Library page with definitions important in anti-racism work and links to a few local organizations

• NPR: Protesting Racism Versus Risking COVID-19: 'I Wouldn't Weigh These Crises Separately'

• National Museum of African American History and Culture: Talking About Race

• NY Times: These Books Can Help You Explain Racism and Protest to Your Kids

• Washington Post: Advice on how to avoid spreading or contracting covid if you want to join protest groups.

Warmly,

Cathryn Couch
CEO & Founder