Defenders of Human Rights

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. {Preamble to the Constitution}

America has been reawakened to its lack of awareness that many in our communities are deprived of basic Human Rights. The right to vote, the right to live free, the right to equal justice, still remains a vision rather than a reality. Leaders like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, and Frederick Douglas spent their lives trying to make real the promises of our Constitution to “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” The hope espoused by King, “that a man be judged not by the color of his skin, but the content of their character,” is still not a lived reality in 2020.

I am grateful that the work of these great leaders, and many others, is being continued through the efforts of the Black Lives Matters Movement and other advocates for Social Justice. President Kennedy said, “The torch has been passed to a new generation.” it is my hope that this new generation will continue to place before the eyes of all America, the changes needed to recognize and dismantle the innate injustice that exists in our society and institutions.

Tomorrow we celebrate Juneteenth, a special day for our African Americans brothers and sisters, and indeed all Americans. On June 19, 1865, it was publicly announced in Texas that the Civil War had ended and those enslaved were Emancipated. It was indeed great news – yet a century and a half later, much work needs to be done.

Two recent actions by the Supreme Court this week, give me hope that our country may begin to have a heightened sense of the injustice that needs to be remedied. For many years, almost one million immigrants have lived with fear of deportation. Many have already been separated from their families by an unjust and inhumane Immigration Policy. Through a Supreme Court decision, the Dreamers that have benefitted from DACA, an Obama-era Executive Order, will now be free from the fear and anxiety of deportation.  

Another Supreme Court decision this week, provides some security and protection for our LBGTQ friends. Up to now, there were no federal protections preventing LBGTQ persons from being dismissed by their employer merely because of their sexual orientation. This step towards equality is indeed the result of the efforts of many LBGTQ individuals down the years, often experiencing abuse, physical and emotional, and at times have given their lives in the interest of this fight for recognition.

Unity not only provides health care to our patients; we also strive to improve their lives and assist them with challenges they face in their communities. Unity is a defender of Human Rights, and we are committed to ongoing advocacy to create a more just and equitable society. Nowhere is this advocacy more evident than promoting the health of our communities. Unity embraces health care as a Human Right, and will continue its fight to achieve it.