The University Blood Initiative stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and is committed to bringing about a fairer, more equitable future. As such, we are spending this week highlighting the systemic racism, discrimination, and barriers to blood donation Black Americans have historically experienced and continue to face. This is the seventh and final part of our series.
As we conclude our week of reflection and examination, we would like to reaffirm our commitment to Black Lives Matter, anti-racism, and a fight for equality in all aspects of life. Our country needs diverse blood, and the obstacles preventing its donation stem from issues that go far deeper than blood donation. Racism is insidious, and we have only featured one way in which it has shaped the landscape of this country.
This may be the final piece in our series, but it is not the end of our work--systemic racism and our need for diverse blood donors won’t go away just because we’ve finished this campaign. This past week of articles is just our starting point, and we are dedicated to a more equitable, accessible, and inclusive future for blood donation.
Going forward, the University Blood Initiative remains committed to using our platform for education. We will continue to write articles and run campaigns dedicated to highlighting issues in the national healthcare system. We recognize that education is an ongoing process, and we will continue to work on educating ourselves, as well, so that we can use our voices as productively as possible. Change starts with understanding; the most impactful activism requires a concrete sense of where it has begun and where it is going.
A core component of UBI is our commitment to the value of using social media for advocacy, and our belief in our (younger) generation’s capacity to effect change. Keep reading, keep learning, keep fighting. We believe firmly in action items, and we hope you do, too. We’ll keep writing and using our voices for education and advocacy, and we hope you will do the same. We encourage you all to share our work--we certainly will!-- and to continue learning, educating, and advocating for your communities alongside us.
Blood Donation & Race has been a campaign by the University Blood Initiative in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter. Featured articles by Claire Schultz; graphic design by Samir Rajani.