Published
2020-06-07
Issue
Section
Editor Introduction
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Copyright (c) 2020 Maria Bertrand
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Position Statement from the PHR Editorial Board
Maria Bertrand
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Abstract
To our readers,
The recent murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Dion Johnson, and Tony McDade have yet again exposed the systemic injustices that Black people experience on a daily basis. We are outraged and hurt, and yet not surprised that this has happened. The Public Health Review Editorial Board stands with Black communities and recognizes that racism is a public health crisis that has been allowed to persist for too long.
Many academic journals were founded on racist educational practices and have either actively excluded marginalized voices or used them to racist ends. Our vision is to make health equity possible for everyone in every community, including BIPOC communities. Our mission is to provide a platform for the discovery, development, and dissemination of high-quality information regarding important public health issues and topics that will ultimately advance and responsibly inform public health research, policy, and practice. This means listening to BIPOC voices and highlighting the health inequities they face.
We acknowledge that we have fallen short of achieving our vision and mission. We will take an active stance to use our platform to include and disseminate expertise that centers marginalized communities. We seek to foster relationships with student organizations for coalition building to develop anti-racist practices and publish content aligning with health equity. We encourage other organizations to do the same. Our 2021 Editorial Board application will include an explicit question asking applicants how they have worked to promote health equity. We pledge to compose a more racially diverse 2021 Editorial Board that has a demonstrated commitment to our vision and mission. Please respond to this email if you have feedback about any of these goals or our journal more broadly.
All of these goals align with the demands listed in the attached letter to Dean Finnegan. We endorse this letter and ask you to sign the accompanying petition.
Best,
Public Health Review Editorial Board
Madison Anderson, Sarah Bennis, Maria Bertrand, Abigail Fink, Madeline Geitz, Angela Han, Cole Hanson, Danielle Hinz, Hannah Kinzer, Talia Wiggen
