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National Hispanic Heritage Month

Photo credit: Detail of Hispanic Heritage Select Photos, by David Valdez.

September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic American Heritage Month.

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.

We celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American champions who have inspired others to achieve success. Discover documents, exhibits, films, blog posts and more from the National Archives and Presidential Libraries that highlight Hispanic culture.

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West Oakland Health Council is committed to supporting social and racial justice for the Asian community.

The West Oakland Health Council stands firm with our Asian community in fighting the recent attacks on the Asian community. We believe that an attack on one group is an attack on all groups. All of us at the West Oakland Health Council unite against racism and the horrific attack that target the Asian community. We condemn the violence; we condemn the hate and we condemn the hostility in any shape, form, or fashion. We support our Asian community in standing up, speaking out, and making it clear that we will not tolerate hate. #StopAsianHate!

Gun Violence: Public Health Emergency in Alameda County

Oakland community leaders call on Alameda County to declare gun violence a public health emergency

Black and brown community leaders are calling on Alameda County to officially declare gun violence a public health emergency and commit $100 million of newly available federal pandemic relief funding to help communities directly impacted by gun violence.

“State of emergency!” a crowd of about three dozen residents and activists repeatedly chanted at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater on Thursday morning. Leaders in attendance represented local organizations such as LIVE FREE, Roots Community Health Center, Fund Peace, Faith In Action East Bay, and Californians for Safety and Justice.

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July is Minority Mental Health Month

Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental health conditions do not discriminate based on race, color, gender or identity. Anyone can experience the challenges of mental illness regardless of their background. However, background and identity can make access to mental health treatment much more difficult. Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 2008 to start changing this.

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COVID-19 Vaccine: What White Conservatives Can Learn from Black Americans

“In November 2020, news broke about the successful development of the first vaccines against COVID-19 and people began to debate whether or not they would be inoculated. As Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the leaders of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) sought to distribute information to diminish fears about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy, and most importantly, its crucial necessity in halting the pandemic; virulent misinformation about the virus and the safety of the injection was spreading rapidly across social media. In the United States alone, COVID-19 has killed nearly 600,000 and sickened more than 33,340,000.
One group that was understandably hesitant about receiving the vaccine was Black Americans. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in December 2020, 52% of Black Americans said they would take a wait-and-see approach to the vaccine with only 20% saying that they wanted to be vaccinated as soon as possible. In comparison, skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine was lower in white (36%) and Latino populations (43%). This was particularly concerning since according to the CDC, Black Americans were 2.9 times more likely to require hospitalization for COVID-19 and 1.9 times more likely to die from the disease than white Americans….”

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Community-Academic Partnerships to Address Covid-19 Inequities: Lessons from the San Francisco Bay Area

“A coalition of Bay Area community organizations, academic institutions, and public health departments collaborated to provide high-risk populations with Covid-19 testing and vaccination, and also took the opportunity to connect them with other essential services….”

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Men’s Health Month

June is Men’s Health Month, a national observance used to raise awareness about health care for men and focus on encouraging boys, men, and their families to practice and implement healthy living decisions, such as exercising and eating healthy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, men in the United States, on average, die 5 years earlier than women and die at higher rates from the three leading causes of death, heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injuries. During Men’s Health Month, we encourage men to take control of their health, and for families to teach young boys healthy habits throughout childhood.

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