As racial tensions and protests grew in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, AACP’s leaders realized that the Association had done a meaningful amount of work on the diversity and inclusion agenda. Missing from our efforts was purposeful activity and attention to structural racism in health care and society.
In June of 2020, AACP joined 13 other national pharmacy associations in issuing a statement taking a unified stand against structural racism. In October 2020, the same organizations released an updated statement which included examples of concrete actions many organizations have taken over the past several months to address social injustice and racism. In October 2020, AACP CEO Lucinda Maine was a co-author on a commentary on structural racism and pharmacy’s responsibility to address it in education, research and practice, published in November 2020 in three professional journals https://www.ajpe.org/content/ajpe/early/2020/10/06/ajpe8418.full.pdf
Prior to June 2020, AACP had established a small staff working group that was charged with guiding AACP’s D&I activities. The group has been expanded and elevated to a DEIA Committee, and the charge expanded to include diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism (DEIA). The three co-leads each focus on unique targets for our work, including: our leaders and staff; our members, and; our connections to external organizations and activities. The group will present plans for action as a routine component of AACP Board of Directors’ meetings.
The DEIA Committee is moving forward with a variety of action steps to demonstrate AACP’s commitment to enhancing awareness of these issues among AACP staff, members and leadership through ongoing educational programs, forums, and other mechanisms for conversations and reflections. The committee is also working on assessments of member institutions’ D and I activities and needs, exploring and supporting opportunities for research and publications, and compiling resources and best practices to share with members.
Lucinda Maine, CEO
Cindy Ziegler, Associate Director of Governance and Executive Office Operations