The Mount Sinai Department of Health Education, with support from The Blavatnik Family Women’s Health Research Institute, hosted its first in-person cohort of the Public Health and Racial Justice Program. Over the course of six weeks in July and August, 15 youth participants, all identifying as girls of color, met daily at The Mount Sinai Hospital to explore a variety of public health issues through a racial justice lens.
The Public Health and Racial Justice Program emphasizes the power and importance of civic engagement, community organizing, and youth activism in addressing the inequities that drive health disparities. The program aims to build skills, foster pride, and nurture community connection so that participants understand themselves as lifelong stakeholders invested in shaping the policies, institutions, and structures that affect the health and well-being of their families and their communities.
“Hearing from both younger people and people who were actively involved in their communities and making a difference was inspiring and presented tangible ways for me to get involved in the community.”
The Public Health and Racial Justice Program was designed and launched in the spring of 2020 as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. Due to pandemic restrictions, the previous four cohorts participated in a part-time version of this program over video conferencing.
With generous support from the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation, and in partnership with The Blavatnik Family Women’s Health Institute, the Department of Health Education was able to significantly expand this summer programming, offering a full-time opportunity with a stipend for participating youth.
More than 80 guest speakers—primarily women of color—from across the Mount Sinai Health System, and from local and national organizations, spoke on a variety of issues, broadening participants’ understanding of the many different pathways one can follow into health equity and social justice work. The program featured union labor organizers, doulas, scientists, clinicians, sexuality educators, grassroots activists, researchers, and leaders from city agencies, including the Bureau of Health Equity Capacity Building at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the New York City Public Advocate Office.
“My favorite part was hearing from the different activists and non-profit workers,” said one participant. “Hearing from both younger people and people who were actively involved in their communities and making a difference was inspiring and presented tangible ways for me to get involved in the community.”
Another participant added, “I loved meeting all the guest speakers and organizations. The most meaningful part was the new relationships I made and learning more about how to help my community.”
Participants completed a culminating project reflective of their summer experience. Each participant selected a public health issue affecting their community, which they documented using a unique photography application. They were then led through a series of semi-structured, dialogue-based activities with staff and peers to support their development of a complementary narrative. This narrative included suggested action steps for those inspired to get involved.
Participants presented their projects at a celebratory symposium on the final day of programming, attended by Mount Sinai staff, community partners, and their family and friends. Their work was featured in a gallery at The Mount Sinai Hospital, and guests were invited to explore.
For many of the participants, spending the summer in a safe space with other girls of color was a profound experience.
“Having that space to be myself and being able to express what I am thinking at the moment. Being vulnerable and having that respect that most of the time adults don’t give to teenagers. I loved the relationships that were built in such a short amount of time.”
“Feeling comfortable and welcomed into this space and meeting all these wonderful and intelligent people who inspire me to embrace who I am.”
“Getting to know other people of color that are around my age and listening to everyone’s different opinions and perspectives.”
For some participants, learning about the relationship between racism and health was new and eye-opening.
“All the things we talked about and learned about in the program were all new information to me so everything surprised me,” said one. “It surprised me that we aren’t taught these things in school but if we want to gain more knowledge on these topics, we have to learn it on our own or from a program like this. I learned a lot about Black maternal health, homelessness, workers’ rights.”
Many of the participants also appreciated learning more about the various career paths that can contribute to health equity.
“At first I thought I knew what career I wanted to be, to become a nurse practitioner. But I met really nice people in the program who talked about their careers and that gave me more options to be open to my opportunities,” said one. “I also thought that many professionals had one path and that they knew they were going to be where they are now but I learned that there is nothing wrong with switching to a different field and it’s all about being happy that you’re doing that job.”
When asked to share their final thoughts on the program, one participant said, “I truly appreciated having the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful program. I learned so much from the positive and caring program leaders/educators, the speakers, and the other girls in the program.”
