Dear Friends of the Center for Equity, Justice, and the Human Spirit: 

I hope this email finds you well today and I hope you enjoyed last week’s guest writer Mr. William Snowden, Esq., Director of the Vera Institute of Justice in New Orleans. Will’s writing urged us to remember that life and death lay in the power of the tongue; that is, he reminded us to be mindful of the words we use when speaking of other human beings. Even more, Will illuminated the plight of incarcerated persons during this global pandemic and the obligation of the prison system to treat these human beings with the dignity and respect they deserve as people, first. 

Today is Earth Day. The 50th anniversary of Earth Day to be exact. A great deal has occurred in the last 50 years: the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency; the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts; the passage of other major environmental laws, which includes the monumental 2016 Paris Agreement signed by virtually every nation (and recently revoked by our own) to combat climate change. Yet, there is so much work still to be done to repair Mother Earth and realize environmental justice for the marginalized and disenfranchised all over the globe. 

 As Earth Day goes digital this year, we hope that you will join others around the globe in the fight against the climate crisis and building a society rooted in environmental justice. 

This is our life. This is not a dress rehearsal, but the real show. As far as I know, we will not come this way again in this form, in this body, at this period of human and planetary history. This means that we have work to do in the here and now, immediately, and in ways large and small. 

Be well. 
Be still. 
Trust in the Infinite. 
Remember our shared humanity. 
Be community.
Be of good courage.

Please take care of yourselves and each other, 

DRM 

David W. Robinson-Morris, Ph.D. 
Director, The Center for Equity, Justice, and the Human Spirit

P.S. The Center for Equity, Justice, and the Human Spirit in partnership with the Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education (CMHHDRE) in the College of Pharmacy at Xavier will host a virtual panel discussion on COVID-19 and the Black Community on April 29. If you’d like to virtually attend or know others who would like to virtually attend, please have them subscribe below.