Juneteenth: Reflecting on Racism as a Public Health Issue

June 20, 2022

A message from Dr. Kim Ramsey-White, who joins the Gillings School today as the associate dean for inclusive excellence.

Dr. Kim Ramsey-White

Though the Juneteenth holiday is officially recognized on June 19, this year, Carolina will commemorate it on Monday, June 20. This also happens to be my first day as the associate dean for inclusive excellence at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

The 1865 emancipation of people of African descent who were subject to the heinous practice of chattel slavery has long been celebrated as Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day or Freedom Day. However, very few people knew anything about “Juneteenth” until 1979, when Texas declared it a state holiday. Since then, other states have followed suit.

In June 2021, President Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday. A new executive order in North Carolina now permits state employees to use eight hours of personal observance leave for a significant day of their choice, which could include Juneteenth.

What makes this day significant for me in 2022 is that Juneteenth signifies new beginnings. Today, I will begin a new opportunity to help address the inequities created by centuries of cruel indifference to Brown and Black people in America. It is no secret that our very campus has benefited from structural racism and the labor of enslaved people, and there is still work to be done to address the impact of systemic racism in public health.

By virtue of the 13th Amendment, our country has further exploited Black labor through the criminal legal system, and faculty at Gillings — such as Dr. Dana Rice — are focusing on the continued inequities evident in the disproportionate number of Black men who experience incarceration. Gillings also has faculty — including Drs. Courtney Woods and Amanda Northcross — who examine the environmental injustices that overwhelmingly impact the health of communities of color.

In joining the Gillings School today, I see an opportunity to lead the work of inclusive excellence at a school of public health to uncover, identify and change inequities established because of slavery. It is important to know our collective human history. Racism is a public health issue, and it is imperative that the Gillings School lead the way in creating equitable change.

I also want to acknowledge the role that UNC leadership, including Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, Provost Chris Clemens and Chief Diversity Officer Leah Cox, have had in recognizing this important holiday and supporting the Gillings School’s commitment to inclusive excellence through teaching, research and practice.

I am excited to join the Gillings family and look forward to the transformative work our future holds.

Kim Ramsey-White, PhD
Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health