In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Black Lives Matter.
We at Avicenna Community Health Center see the years of pain and persecution experienced by the black community and cannot and will not stay silent: Black Lives Matter.
These injustices did not start with George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. Rather these recent murders have finally pushed our country to an inflection point where we must all commit to stand up, educate ourselves, and take proactive steps to be anti-racist.
Avicenna was founded on the principles of serving humanity, one person at a time. We know that if black communities are excluded from the narrative and locked out of access to healthcare in addition to housing, education, safety, and many other rights - then we are all collectively failing.
As the Qur'an states: Oh you who believe, uphold justice and bear witness to God, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your close relatives. Whether the person is rich or poor, God can best take care of both. Refrain from following your own desire, so that you can act justly - if you distort or neglect justice, God is fully aware of what you do (4:135).
We continue to focus our attention on serving the oppressed and vulnerable in our society. We have further made a commitment to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to make sure Avicenna services are known and accessible to our local black community. Additionally, we plan to provide resources to our healthcare providers and volunteers to understand and participate in a dialogue on race within our organization and the greater Champaign-Urbana community. Finally, we have made a donation to the Champaign County Chapter of the NAACP. These are small steps that can hopefully propel us to do better as an organization; we know that this is an ongoing commitment and we are here for the marathon.
We invite our fellow healthcare providers and the community to provide us with suggestions and feedback on how we can continue to assist in the change we all know we desperately need.
In peace and solidarity, Avicenna Community Health Center
Avicenna Community Health Center is a free clinic providing healthcare to the uninsured and underinsured community members of Champaign County.