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Protesters march through downtown Sacramento, Calif. in memory of George Floyd, June 1, 2020.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
AdvocacyDemand Equity

Why Global Citizen Won't Stay Silent in the Face of Racial Inequality

In cities across the United States and the world, protesters have taken to the streets in outrage to denounce the death of George Floyd while in police custody. These events mark an inflection point for a nation grappling with a complex and protracted legacy of racial, social, and economic disparities for Black Americans, spanning centuries. The unrest comes at a time of a looming economic recession and rising unemployment amid the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. 

As Global Citizens, we condemn discrimination, exclusion, and marginalization based on race and ethnicity anywhere in the world. An injustice to a Global Citizen anywhere is an injustice to us all. This premise underpins Global Citizen’s mandate to end extreme poverty.

Racial discrimination fuels a range of systemic issues, including unequal access to health care, poverty, and economic disparities, as well as other barriers to reaching one's full potential and living with dignity.

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To address the intersectional inequalities faced across the world, and especially among Black Americans and communities of color, Global Citizen is working to strengthen health systems and access to health care for all who are in need. 

COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color in the United States and globally, and has caused untold health and socioeconomic turmoil. That's why we are campaigning to defeat this deadly virus. We must continue our efforts to ensure the most marginalized communities are not further excluded as we seek solutions and to ensure more lives aren’t needlessly lost.

Without equal access to tests, treatments, and vaccines, we will not be able to end the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore prevent further unnecessary deaths, particularly among marginalized communities, including those in the US who are less resourced, more exposed, and less protected in the fight against COVID-19. 

Everyone, everywhere is entitled to health care and COVID-19 treatments — and everyone, everywhere is also entitled to life, justice, peace, and equality of opportunity. 

Advocacy, grounded in policy and equitable solutions, is central to our movement. In the face of systemic racism and racial injustice, we must stand together and take action, as Global Citizens, today and every day.