Attributed to John R. Raymond, Sr., MD, President and CEO, Medical College of Wisconsin

In this extraordinarily difficult time, we are suffering simultaneously from three inter-related crises. The COVID-19 pandemic is unlike any since the influenza pandemic of 1918. The economic crisis associated with the pandemic is unprecedented in its magnitude and the swiftness with which it developed; perhaps, being comparable only to the Great Depression that began in 1929. The third crisis, that of racism, is deeply embedded in the fabric of our country and the world. It manifests in many negative ways ranging from arbitrary exclusion to indifference to genocide. It should come as no surprise that because of racism, the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis have had disproportionate impacts on people of color, and especially African American and Black people.

At the Medical College of Wisconsin, we have done many things to foster diversity, inclusion and equity, and to unlearn racism, but we recognize that what we have done is simply not enough. We believe that knowledge can change lives.

We must listen. We must learn. We must engage. We must act. We must make a tangible impact. The problems of racism and violence against people of color have been with us for centuries, and we cannot wait any longer for change.

The Medical College of Wisconsin commits to accelerate our journey to being an anti-racist organization as reflected in our listening, our learning, our decisions, our actions, our investments, and our treatment of people and community.