Our Why

Our core values include the following:

• Targeting root causes. As advocated by Dr. King and our founder Dr. Quentin D. Young, we believe the problems of racial and economic injustice in American society cannot be solved without a radical redistribution of political and economic power.
  
• Urgency. Because of structural inequities in society at large, and the health care system in particular, people die or suffer from avoidable illnesses every single day. We do this work because failing to act in the face of this injustice is to be complicit with it.
• Bold thinking. We advance radical ideas, take risks, and work across sectors to disrupt the status quo and transform unjust systems and policies built on an enduring legacy of racism and multiple other interlocking systems of oppression.
  
• Responsive action. We are persistent in our commitment to challenging inequities, and we adapt and change strategies when emerging public health or health system problems require novel approaches. When feedback, evaluation, and self-reflection reveal that we can improve our strategies, we embrace the opportunity for growth.
  
• Community-centered solutions. We strive to begin our work by listening to people who are impacted by health inequities. All people should have the power to influence policies, priorities, and programs that affect their lives. We amplify and build intersectional power with multiple communities and across identity and difference to center communities whose wisdom has traditionally been excluded from decision-making.
  
• Health care is a human right. Everyone is entitled to high quality health care regardless of ability to pay. Health and public health systems should be effective, efficient, patient-centered, culturally responsive, coordinated, community-based and not profit driven.
  
• Informed decision-making. We use multiple perspectives to inform our strategies and positions. These include research, people’s lived experiences, and insights from those who have long been involved in the fight for health justice.
  
• Human rights and human dignity. Our actions and interactions uplift the inherent worth and dignity of all people and that all people have inalienable human rights. We don’t truly have health, justice, and peace until we all have these.
  
• Integrity. Our values are equally observable in our external partnerships as they are within our organization. Our fight for health equity is strongest when we model equitable policies and practices.
  
• Cross-sector collaboration. We work across sectors to take on policy and systemic change to reduce structural inequities and advance health equity.
  
• Intersectional solidarity and power building. We include and recognize the strength and power of people from marginalized social groups within our organization and external partnerships. We work across social group differences to reduce power inequities, and build power together to transform society through social justice and health equity movements.