“You need to figure out who’s in it for the long haul.”
In this class, Dr. Gregg Gonsalves spoke to the challenges and nuances of public health activism. What I found particularly interesting was the discussion of the sustainability of these movements. Many efforts that groups like ACT UP make are on the local level, looking to support communities in tangible ways. But what happens when our local efforts are met with continuous push-back? How can we guarantee that our efforts are sustainable?
When I asked these questions, Dr. Gonsalves offered meaningful insight from his involvement with ACT UP. The lessons we learned about local advocacy from the HIV pandemic are applicable to COVID-19, so it is important that we reflect on what we have learned:
- First, we have to create a network of support and care. To do meaningful work, we have to do it together. Burnout impacts everyone, but when we create a team that supports each other, the burnout of one individual does not mean the collapse of an initiative. During the HIV pandemic, people could meet up and express their support for each other in physical and interpersonal ways, be it discussions over a meal or a march. This was not as possible during COVID-19, since seeing each other face-to-face was restricted. Still, we can create a network of care by checking in with each other through phone calls or letters.
- Second, we have to be in it for the long haul. We are not going to see the end of this fight any time soon, but we have to ensure that we will keep going. The social issues that we saw with the HIV pandemic re-emerged with COVID-19 and Monkeypox. But in response to this, activists re-emerged as well. Those in the AIDS generation found themselves working with young folk in the COVID-19 generation, teaching them how to be successful public health advocates.
- Third, we have to find individuals to pass along the torch to. As mentioned before, it is unlikely that any individual solves a crisis by the end of his lifetime in a sustainable matter. We must find people who will make sure that any established efforts are on-going.
Being a true advocate for public health means to support the health of others around us. We have to recognize that health is not individualized– it is crucial to monitor and maintain the health of our communities. This can be done with a dedicated team that is intergenerational and interdisciplinary. Our polarized political landscape has made it difficult for us to form these teams. But at the heart of public health is collaboration, so we must find a middleground and make compromises to support the health of all.
Audrika, I think that this is a really great post. Dr. Gonzales raised really great points about how we can make actionable changes in public health that are sustainable. It seems that the importance of community cannot be understated in every level of public health, both in the leaders who are “calling the shots,” and the community receiving guidelines needs to remember that the decisions that they make will affect their entire community. Do you think that enough people–especially in America–are keeping their community in mind for any public health measures to truly work, going forward?
It’s great that you summarized those points in those order – it makes it that much more apparent that activism is a united effort, not just a “one individual” break-through as the great man paradigm would love to suggest. This unified effort perspective not only more accurately reflects the reality of great historic movements such as the civil rights movements (not simply a purely Martin Luther King Jr effort but of the many, one of whom was him), but it also empowers more individuals to take action, trusting that their effort contributes to the cause just as much as any one else.
I could not agree more with this post. Comparing the HIV/AIDS and Covid-19 pandemics has made me even more resolute in the importance of human connectivity. Advocacy groups like ACT UP and individuals who cared physically and politically for those affected are the reason antivirals were created, safe sex practices became the norm, and any progress was made at all.
What is so difficult about the Covid-19 pandemic for me, is that social media seemed to hamper human connection in a time when it should have done the opposite. Did having access to so much information, so many personal stories of tragedy create more cognitive dissonance than connection? I think this is our greatest challenge to address in order to move forward.
Great job motivating a ROBUST conversation Audrika!