Do you know what significance April 26 has in America? I will give you three hints! It is not Easter, that was in March! It is not Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was on the 7th – and it is not Earth Day. That’s today!

Have you given up guessing? It is Stand Against Racism Day – a national movement of the YWCA that centers on the elimination of racism by raising awareness of how it plagues all of our lives!

In the YWCA of Seattle | King County | Snohomish County, Women’s Health Outreach is a small program that links women of all cultures and gender identities with health education and services. In 2012, we provided 538 women with mammograms and educated over 12,000 women on breast cancer awareness.

After the passage of the Affordable Care Act, our department – which also includes Healthy Birth Outcomes, BABES Network, Health Care Access, and Community Mental Health – began reflecting on and examining our services and how we deliver them in hopes of viewing prevention and the services we offer through different lenses.  Focus groups were held with clients we serve. Surveys were conducted and studied. Trainings and some soul searching took place.

During this time of reflection and dialogue, the concepts of racism, its impact, and health disparities continued to appear. I think about racism and everything that goes along with it, and systemic racism, and how it all leads to poor health in our communities. As our department at the YWCA explores ways to prevent disease and to help women heal, we understand more and more that the seemingly insurmountable task of eliminating racism will bring us closer to health and wellness as individuals, as communities, and as a society.

Therefore, my colleagues and I are taking as many opportunities possible to help people live healthier lives and this includes examining racism to eliminate racism!

Here is how you can join us!

• Visit www.ywcaworks.org to take the pledge and join the movement on Friday, April 26.
• Respond to this blog with ways we can all eliminate racism and help people heal!
• Share your stories of discrimination regarding health with us!