Black Lives Matter & Our Commitment to Anti-Racism

My office staff and I are committed to becoming better allies and advocates in the continued fight for racial equality in the U.S. We're writing to let you know how we'll be doing more so that we can provide equitable, excellent care in a society that often creates barriers between Black Americans and access to mental and physical health care.

We recognize that people with non-white skin face unique challenges in America due to racism that has historically been embedded in our economy and culture. Racism is a disease that threatens public and personal health. Like any other disease, we're committed to addressing and correcting it. We support the organizations that have been doing the work to combat it for a long time, including the ACLU, NAACP, and the SPLC.

We've been muted & listening for the last few weeks. In the same way that we spend over 50% of our office visits actively listening and asking questions to determine the next best steps, we believe that our role as allies in the fight for racial equality is to listen and to do what is being asked of us as allies. We're deliberately taking our cues from the experts on change-making and people of color in our community. We are using expert-compiled resources to do our own research to educate ourselves about race and to become anti-racist. Some of the resources that have been helping us navigate include the