FORWARD

Central to public health—and the Columbia Mailman School’s mission—is ensuring equal access to conditions that ensure health and well-being for all. There is extensive evidence that a history of cumulative systemic disadvantage has resulted in significant harm, racialized disparities, and poor health for Black, Latinx, Indigenous and other marginalized people in the US and throughout the world. We have a fundamental duty as public health educators, researchers scientists and practitioners to contribute to the dismantling of systemic racism that exists throughout the United States that allows this toxic situation to fester.

We recognize that we are falling short of our mission, especially as the U.S. history of racism is embedded within the field of public health and within our academic institutions. Even with Columbia Mailman’s long-standing dedication and leadership in advancing scientific understanding of the drivers of health inequity, applying this understanding to improving health for all, and making it a cornerstone of our students’ education; we recognize the need for a deeper commitment to undo systemic racism, first within our own institution and then beyond the walls of our School. 

Forging a Path FORWARD

After members of the Black and Latinx Student Caucus (BLSC) called for the Columbia Mailman School to grapple with and dismantle issues of institutional racism at the Mailman School and Columbia University overall, Dean Linda Fried and the School's senior leadership team launched Columbia Public Health FORWARD.

Columbia Public Health is committed to meeting the needs of diverse identities while building an inclusive community to thrive together. FORWARD is a vehicle to accelerate the transformation of our School into an antiracist, multicultural, and fully inclusive institution in all aspects of its culture and operations. FORWARD members include a diverse community of students, faculty, staff, and alumni. FORWARD’s commitment to combat othering and oppression is inclusive of the many ways that make human beings diverse, including but not limited to, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, culture, age, disability, language, and country of origin.