Thread by @BrianCCastrucci

Every #publichealth practitioner needs to see & denounce this. washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/….

When our public health leaders begin to question racism - despite well established evidence - as a driver of poor health, it is an assault from the inside. 1/12

Let's start with the 10 Essential Services of Public Health. Updated in 2020, it centers health equity as a cross cutting responsibility. cdc.gov/publichealthga… 2/12

Greene wants to "create an investigative unit...to “start fresh” on...reasons for high rates of Black maternal and infant mortality." So are why dismissing decades of research? Maybe Greene needs to read White Fragility. This seems to be a pretty good example of that. 3/12

"Greene maintains that racism is a “politically charged” word that will alienate White people..." Forgetting the historical examples of racism & the impacts is nonsense. Red lining, where hospitals are located, environmental racism, this can't be ignored. 4/12

Greene has much to learn. Any white person - if which I am one - must accept that even if we are not racist that the system is. That white privilege means that while all people have struggles, the color of our skin was not one we have to overcome. 5/12

Discussing his former workplace he said, “While...far from perfect, it was an organization where...success was based on...dedication,...abilities &...the quality of their work and the content of their character.” So it's a boot straps argument. You can't win a rigged game. 6/12

Greene said he associates the word racism with overt displays of violence, such as, “fire hoses, police dogs and Alabama sheriffs.” Okay, so you're wrong. We can fix that. Read The Sum of Us by @hmcghee. That may help you understand the universal costs of racism. 7/12

“America’s been dealing with racism as long as I’ve been alive, and it’ll continue dealing with it after I’m gone I suspect, so it’s not a crisis,” he said. So systemic issues are not crises. Are poverty, hunger, homelessness not at crisis level? 8/12

At least 240 governments and agencies, including the Virginia General Assembly, have declared racism a public health crisis along w/ the CDC. But clearly Dr. Greene knows better. I never thought I would see this type of attack on public health from our own leaders. 9/12

If you ask the staff in the VA Dept of Health if they have felt their expertise undermined, they could say, "yes, from our own boss." 10/12

#publichealth practitioners have been bullied, threatened, & harassed. 56% have at least one symptom of PTSD. But now this is coming from inside the health department. If this is the GOP playbook what will be left of our public health system? 11/12

Share this article. Condemn this behavior. Fight for #publichealth practice. Dr. Greene's beliefs make him unfit to lead the department of health. Political agendas should not be prioritized over the health of the public. washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/… 12/12