Advocacy
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The Georgia Primary Care Association (GPCA), and its community health center members, sincerely share the pain and anger of the all too common horror of police brutality and systemic racism suffered by our African American community, even during an unprecedented global pandemic. The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, like so many before them, only continues to fuel a deep injustice toward African Americans, which has ignited widespread protests and demonstrations, not only across our country but across the globe.

Long-term structural inequalities and disparities are evident among our African Americans and other people of color in every data statistic observed by community health centers. These well-known social disparities have attributed to less accumulated wealth, greater lack of access to education, housing and healthcare, and less safety in their own homes. For over four decades, our community health center members have stood on the front lines of their communities to bring greater access to primary care, create economic opportunity for minority populations, form educational partnerships, and transform how healthcare is delivered to all, regardless of ethnicity, orientation, age, or insurance status. We have provided healthcare for many patients that have experienced tremendous trauma due to social injustice such as racial profiling and police brutality.

This is a time to stand in solidarity with our African American community. To our community health centers' African American staff, patients, and board members, we stand with you in demanding better and are committed to working with you to make meaningful changes. We appeal to policymakers to use equal actions of fairness and opportunity with their constituents. We must find ways to bridge gaps, listen, and empathize, even when it is uncomfortable. And we must demand more from our leaders, holding them accountable by voting and pushing to reform the laws and institutions of our democracy. GPCA and its community health center members will continue to strive for better access to primary care that is more diverse and inclusive, while also expanding our influence and impact in promoting social justice for all.