114 www.blackeoejournal.com Black EOE Journal

HEALTH

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amed one of The Roots 100 Most Influential African Americans in 2019, Raniyah Copeland is an opinion leader and seasoned advocate leading the charge to end HIV in Black communities. She has worked her way up through the ranks at Black AIDS Institute (BAI), serv- ing as the institutions Training and Capacity Building Coordinator, Manager, and Director of Programs, before taking charge as president and CEO in 2019. In her previous role as Director of Programs, she was the organizations chief HIV preven- tion and treatment expert. In that role, she managed all HIV treatment, prevention, and community mobilization training and engage- ment programs, including the Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN), the African American HIV University (AAHU), and the Greater Than AIDS campaign. The Black EOE Journal had the chance to sit down with Copeland and ask her thoughts on the CDCs recent statement regarding racism as a threat to public health and what more can be done about it: Black EOE Journal : Why is the CDC's statement on racism seen as a threat to public health so important and how does it (will it), practically (hopefully), create any sort of meaningful change in this country? Copeland: CDCs statement about racism being a serious public health threat is an important milestone for several reasons. For starters, it is simply the first time the nations largest, governmental, public health agency has even acknowledged what Black Americans have known for over 400 years. This shows the importance of mobilizing our vote to elect an administration that is working towards racial equity. Second, racist systems and policies are at the root of almost all health inequities faced by people of color. By high- lighting racism as a structural and systemic issue that drives poor health outcomes among Black Americans, the government accepts that our health is not just our individual responsibil- ity and merely an outcome of bad choices. Third, this statement opens the door to examine specific ways in which public health program-

Is Racism a Threat to Public Health? We Asked Raniyah Copeland

By Tawanah Reeves-Ligon

PHOTO CREDIT: MEGAN KELLEY

Raniyah Copeland