WEBVTT 00:00:05.495 --> 00:00:08.001 Hello and welcome to Course 2! 00:00:08.041 --> 00:00:13.041 In this course we're going to dig deeper into social justice as it relates to public health. 00:00:13.828 --> 00:00:16.828 We will learn about social justice, social injustice, social movements, 00:00:18.767 --> 00:00:21.878 and how they relate to public health. 00:00:21.918 --> 00:00:25.918 Throughout history social justice movements have been the driving force 00:00:26.166 --> 00:00:29.000 to transform conditions for millions of people. 00:00:29.100 --> 00:00:33.362 In public health we can align our work with social justice 00:00:33.402 --> 00:00:36.546 to confront the root causes of health inequity. 00:00:36.586 --> 00:00:39.428 Social justice is about creating the conditions 00:00:39.468 --> 00:00:42.330 for living in an equitable, just society. 00:00:42.370 --> 00:00:46.370 Where everyone can lead happy, healthy, productive lives. 00:00:46.722 --> 00:00:50.278 It ensures those who have been traditionally harmed by our social structures 00:00:50.318 --> 00:00:52.340 are no longer harmed. 00:00:52.380 --> 00:00:55.900 Social injustice, on the other hand, is the result of 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:59.637 persistent, systematic and cumulative actions and events 00:00:59.677 --> 00:01:03.578 that have inflicted harm upon people and our environment. 00:01:03.618 --> 00:01:07.139 All social injustices share common characteristics, 00:01:07.179 --> 00:01:11.179 like deeply rooted legacies of harm against oppressed groups. 00:01:11.527 --> 00:01:15.253 With concentrated power, resources, and wealth, 00:01:15.293 --> 00:01:18.300 within the hands of dominant groups. 00:01:18.330 --> 00:01:21.975 Put together, these traits lead to a slow violence 00:01:22.015 --> 00:01:24.909 that can harm communities over a long period of time 00:01:24.949 --> 00:01:27.800 and greatly affect public health. 00:01:27.820 --> 00:01:31.730 It's easy to get caught up in focusing on on interpersonal interactions 00:01:31.770 --> 00:01:35.770 or seemingly isolated incidents when we think about social injustice. 00:01:35.942 --> 00:01:39.018 But social justice is never only about individuals, 00:01:39.058 --> 00:01:42.071 or rectifying single incidents. 00:01:42.111 --> 00:01:45.744 It's about transforming conditions for the whole of society. 00:01:45.784 --> 00:01:49.744 As we grow and age many of the ways that we are marginalized 00:01:49.784 --> 00:01:52.105 can change over time. 00:01:52.145 --> 00:01:55.263 When we take collective action to transform our conditions 00:01:55.303 --> 00:01:57.995 we can make sure that all people have the means 00:01:58.035 --> 00:02:02.035 to reach a flourishing existence throughout their lives. 00:02:02.077 --> 00:02:06.077 NACCHO's approach to social justice includes five core principles: 00:02:06.340 --> 00:02:15.120 social and economic equality, interdependence, democracy, liberation and equity. 00:02:15.243 --> 00:02:18.112 First: social and economic equality. 00:02:18.152 --> 00:02:21.500 We believe that everyone should have access to the social 00:02:21.550 --> 00:02:25.735 and economic conditions they need to live full and healthy lives. 00:02:25.775 --> 00:02:28.304 Next: interdependence. 00:02:28.344 --> 00:02:31.290 We believe that everyone has inherent value. 00:02:31.330 --> 00:02:36.330 We each bring our own distinct skills, ideas and cultural practices, 00:02:37.273 --> 00:02:40.460 and we need each other to survive. 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:42.916 Then: democracy. 00:02:42.956 --> 00:02:47.956 We believe that we all should have a say in the decisions that impact our lives. 00:02:47.979 --> 00:02:50.785 Following democracy is liberation. 00:02:50.825 --> 00:02:53.134 We believe that we all deserve the freedoms of 00:02:53.174 --> 00:02:59.174 expression, autonomy, safety, belonging and self-determination. 00:03:00.018 --> 00:03:02.289 And finally equity. 00:03:02.329 --> 00:03:05.121 We believe that we each have unique circumstances, 00:03:05.161 --> 00:03:09.161 so we all deserve to have what we need in order to live flourishing lives. 00:03:09.896 --> 00:03:11.611 As public health practitioners, 00:03:11.651 --> 00:03:15.651 we can use social justice principles to guide our work 00:03:15.863 --> 00:03:19.613 by examining what the conditions are in our communities 00:03:19.653 --> 00:03:23.653 who is being impacted and what we need to envision for social justice. 00:03:25.308 --> 00:03:28.933 But, most importantly, we can use these principles 00:03:28.973 --> 00:03:32.271 to align our work with social justice movements. 00:03:32.311 --> 00:03:35.315 There have been many social justice movements throughout history, 00:03:35.355 --> 00:03:37.084 and some continue today. 00:03:37.124 --> 00:03:40.700 What most have in common is a vision of social justice 00:03:40.750 --> 00:03:43.623 grounded in these principles. 00:03:43.663 --> 00:03:46.700 For example the women's rights movement 00:03:46.750 --> 00:03:49.084 fought for women to have the right to vote. 00:03:49.124 --> 00:03:53.800 The gay liberation, chicano movement, and the movement for black lives 00:03:53.971 --> 00:03:57.396 have fought for their liberation through self-determination. 00:03:57.436 --> 00:04:00.648 And more recently, the harm reduction movement 00:04:00.688 --> 00:04:02.444 has fought for people who use drugs, 00:04:02.484 --> 00:04:06.484 to be able to have what they need to use drugs more safely. 00:04:06.488 --> 00:04:09.800 And public health also has its own story. 00:04:09.850 --> 00:04:11.663 Public health has a long history 00:04:11.703 --> 00:04:15.268 but its formal era began during the 19th century, 00:04:15.308 --> 00:04:21.308 as increasing urbanization, industrialization and large-scale immigration 00:04:21.678 --> 00:04:25.633 transformed American cities and the working conditions of many. 00:04:25.673 --> 00:04:28.457 Mill owners and industrialists took advantage 00:04:28.497 --> 00:04:31.322 of both children and adults as low wage workers 00:04:31.362 --> 00:04:34.897 they could exploit to maximize profits. 00:04:34.937 --> 00:04:37.662 Factories were dangerous places to work. 00:04:37.702 --> 00:04:41.492 And health and safety protections were non-existent. 00:04:41.532 --> 00:04:43.486 Housing was no better. 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:47.800 Manufacturers built substandard tenements with insufficient light and air, 00:04:47.872 --> 00:04:51.216 as well as few toilets and bathing facilities. 00:04:51.256 --> 00:04:54.212 There was overcrowding and poor sanitation. 00:04:54.252 --> 00:04:58.252 These types of conditions gave rise to smallpox, cholera and typhoid. 00:04:59.313 --> 00:05:02.102 So public health joined forces with advocates for 00:05:02.142 --> 00:05:06.142 the poor, workers, scientists, doctors and housing reformers, 00:05:07.808 --> 00:05:11.117 leading to the Sanitary Reform Movement. 00:05:11.157 --> 00:05:15.742 As a collective they sought to address massive social injustices in sanitation, 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:18.700 infectious disease and terrible housing and working conditions. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.799 In the end they would be successful in stopping the rising mortality rates 00:05:24.955 --> 00:05:28.564 in American cities and increasing life expectancy. 00:05:28.604 --> 00:05:32.015 This laid the groundwork for improving public health 00:05:32.055 --> 00:05:35.948 through changes in laws, public policy, and collective action. 00:05:35.988 --> 00:05:37.711 Many things we take for granted, 00:05:37.751 --> 00:05:40.866 like fresh running water and sanitary sewage systems, 00:05:40.906 --> 00:05:44.589 came about through the Sanitary Reform Movement. 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:46.415 Other movements of this time would bring about 00:05:46.455 --> 00:05:51.250 the 40-hour work week, the 8-hour workday, and child labor laws. 00:05:51.356 --> 00:05:55.356 With governmental standards for building construction codified into law, 00:05:55.757 --> 00:05:59.300 safety became paramount. 00:05:59.320 --> 00:06:01.364 The roots of of our work in social justice 00:06:01.404 --> 00:06:03.250 can be seen in these early movements. 00:06:03.300 --> 00:06:05.700 But somewhere along our history, 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:09.316 we got disconnected from our community and social justice partners. 00:06:09.356 --> 00:06:12.200 We became siloed as a field, 00:06:12.250 --> 00:06:15.142 and began to focus more and more on the biological 00:06:15.182 --> 00:06:17.270 and behavioral drivers of health, 00:06:17.310 --> 00:06:21.310 and less on the environmental and structural conditions. 00:06:21.515 --> 00:06:24.615 But our communities didn't stop fighting. 00:06:24.655 --> 00:06:28.655 Across many neighborhoods, community members facing similar challenges 00:06:29.214 --> 00:06:31.990 found each other and got organized. 00:06:32.030 --> 00:06:35.428 But we in public health can be organized too. 00:06:35.468 --> 00:06:38.382 We have a vested interest in recognizing the conditions 00:06:38.422 --> 00:06:41.078 that affect the growth and resilience of our communities 00:06:41.118 --> 00:06:45.022 and working to change those conditions for the better. 00:06:45.062 --> 00:06:48.474 Which means we have a role to play in these movements too. 00:06:48.514 --> 00:06:49.976 The specific strategies we use 00:06:50.016 --> 00:06:52.703 might differ from community to community, 00:06:52.743 --> 00:06:55.367 but we can use our social justice principles 00:06:55.407 --> 00:06:59.002 and develop trusting relationships with community organizers 00:06:59.042 --> 00:07:02.788 to guide us toward effective action. 00:07:02.828 --> 00:07:05.246 There is a lot of work to do, yes. 00:07:05.286 --> 00:07:08.434 But we can't ensure healthy lives for our communities 00:07:08.474 --> 00:07:11.835 if the conditions they live under are unjust. 00:07:11.875 --> 00:07:15.875 So join us in Course 2 to learn more about social justice 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:18.705 and how we in public health can align 00:07:18.745 --> 00:07:21.650 with social justice movements again.