Richmond Memorial Health Foundation’s 2018 Equity + Health Fellows came together to achieve a healthier, more equitable region by changing conditions that adversely impact people in Richmond. Through their individual and collective activism, they work to make Richmond a community where people have a voice, a sense of belonging, good health, safe and affordable homes, and transportation options. They want people in the region to acknowledge historical racism and seek greater justice and equity between those who can afford to live here and those who can’t. They want neighborhoods with safe and welcoming gathering spaces that put us all on equal footing and allow us to be who we are.
Each leader entered the fellowship ready to learn more about racial equity, the built environment and best practices to improve our communities. What they encountered were deep and engaging conversations with one another about the connective ways our work addressed systemic concerns of health, power and race. They discovered the powerful ways their passions brought them to the work of being grassroots leaders in our community.