Today our nation hit a tragic milestone as we surpassed 500,000 COVID-19 deaths. Many of us have lost family members, friends and loved ones during this pandemic, often without the chance to properly say goodbye. We’ve witnessed healthcare workers and essential personnel rise to the clarion call to serve above and beyond the call of duty in order to help their fellow neighbor. The pandemic has shone a spotlight on the many health inequities endured by the Black community and while the past year forced many into self-isolation, the silence also presented an opportunity to find our collective voices and stand against social injustices.

There is no way to undo the pain that the American people have endured over the past year. However, together we can survive this current crisis and make sure that we are stronger on the other side. We have to remember the lessons we learned and the truths that were revealed. We must seize this moment to usher forward a new society where equity and justice are ensured for all people. We must rebuild our communal infrastructure to ensure that a crisis this lethal can never again inflict devastation of this magnitude. When the new era has dawned, we will, of course, mourn of our losses, but we will also realize that what we have rebuilt was better than what we had before.

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Media Contact: Alonda Thomas, alonda.thomas@howard.edu