2011 AMCHP and Family Voices National Conference ... - HRSA
2011 AMCHP and Family Voices National Conference ... - HRSA
2011 AMCHP and Family Voices National Conference ... - HRSA
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<strong>2011</strong> <strong>AMCHP</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Voices</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Conference</strong>: Welcome Plenary <strong>and</strong><br />
MacQueen Memorial Lecture<br />
02/13/<strong>2011</strong> Omni Shoreham, Washington, D.C.<br />
But I mean to really see our communities as a source of healing. Not the<br />
only source, but as a source of healing. A piece of the puzzle. An<br />
essential part that needs to be there. Because it is about the babies, it's<br />
about the mommies, it's about putting families back together, it's about the<br />
community, it's about bringing in new investors, new stakeholders. It's<br />
about learning from other places. I cannot leave without saying Cuba is<br />
the best place in the whole world for black babies to be born. Cuba is the<br />
best place in the whole world for black babies to be born. When you think<br />
that Cuba is an isl<strong>and</strong> that is 66% African descent with an overall infant<br />
mortality rate less than the United States, it's phenomenal. But because of<br />
the politics of it all, we in the United States are not allowed to even go <strong>and</strong><br />
ask the question, what are you doing that you have a place where a black<br />
baby is more likely to be born <strong>and</strong> live than any other country in the<br />
world? But I do want to applaud us for taking advantage of the<br />
scholarships that Cuba gave the United States for 500 students to get a free<br />
medical education in Cuba if they agreed to come back <strong>and</strong> serve in<br />
underserved areas. This is Honduras, <strong>and</strong> New Orleans, have to give a<br />
shout out to New Orleans because the people have resilience. This is<br />
Malawi, it helps us underst<strong>and</strong> our motto is evidence-based, can be<br />
replicated <strong>and</strong> innovative. And finally, I leave you with a quote -- not a<br />
quote but -- we're called The Underground Railroad for New Life. And<br />
Harriet had a theory. Her theory was that everyone had to be involved to<br />
get from slavery to freedom. And she realized that some people could<br />
take a whole group of people from Tennessee to Canada. And some<br />
people could only take the message from one plantation to the next. And<br />
some people could only be asked to keep quiet <strong>and</strong> don't say nothing. But<br />
the point was, that everybody knew that they had a role to play. And at<br />
the end they could feel like I did something to help us get to freedom.<br />
What I'm challenging you to do, because you really are the powerful ones,