I participated in a forum recently entitled, “Courageous
Conversations” which endeavored to get people to start talking about one of the
most uncomfortable topics possible: race.
It was a good, if difficult, discussion, and afterwards it got me
thinking about the subject in the context of the work I do at Casa de Salud.
As we welcome more immigrants and refugees of many
different ethnicities, it is important not to lose sight of the African
American population that remains grossly underserved. This cannot
be a zero-sum game where we bolster services for one group at the expense – or
at least without equal regard – of another.
I’ve written many times that a larger community of immigrants
in the St. Louis region is a key component of the restoration of the city to its halcyon
days as a growing, diverse, and economically flourishing metropolis. It remains crucially important to the entire nation. But that’s
not enough.
My daughter was listening to the “Hamilton” soundtrack the
other day, and a lyric caught my ear: “We’ll never be free until we end
slavery.” Translate that to the context of our country today, and I think the
realization we arrive at is: we’ll never
thrive while there remains a great divide.
Real
diversity and inclusion means that we’re ALL in it together, members of a
caring community. When we get that
right, solutions to many vexing problems will surely follow.
