By Ayanna Pressley and Leon McDougle WASHINGTON -- In an op-ed published in the Boston Globe, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and National Medical Association (NMA) President Leon McDougle discussed the vaccine hesitancy among Black Americans--which is rooted in generations of exploitation by the medical community--and the important role that Black scientists and doctors have played in our response to this pandemic. Assuring readers that the vaccines are safe and effective, Pressley and McDougle called on them to get vaccinated as soon as possible, a move that would be instrumental in reducing the death toll in communities of color. The full text of the op-ed is below and can be viewed online here. Boston Globe Op-Ed: COVID-19 Vaccines Can Protect the Black Community and Prevent Further DevastationBy Rep. Ayanna Pressley and NMA President Leon McDougleFebruary 19, 2021 As we celebrate Black History Month amid the coronavirus pandemic that has wreaked disproportionate havoc on the Black community, we must have an honest dialogue about vaccines, the health system, and how our community has been harmed throughout medical history. And that dialogue begins with an enslaved African known as Onesimus. In early 1700s Boston, Onesimus introduced the man who claimed ownership of him to the concept of vaccination, a practice that was common across the African continent. The wisdom he shared saved lives during the 1721 smallpox outbreak and laid the foundation for the medical advancements we rely on today, including the work of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a Black immunologist leading key COVID-19 vaccine developments. But despite the many contributions to medicine by people of color, there is understandable skepticism regarding the COVID-19 vaccine that many of us have wrestled with our entire lives: Can we trust the medical community given the systemic racism and injustices in the medical field? Language is important, so we are deliberate in saying that the onus here is not on the Black community. It was the medical community that violated the trust of Black Americans. Much of this vaccine hesitancy is rooted in the history of exploitation of Black folks. From the infamous "Tuskegee Study," in which Black men were intentionally infected with a deadly disease and then deprived of quality medical care, to the exploitation of Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cancerous cells were taken and experimented on without her knowledge or consent, America's history of medical violence is long and painful. And though these horrors are remembered as the most egregious instances of medical racism, they are hardly the only examples. Black people face worse health outcomes, and we are constantly told about risk factors and disparities that have little to do with personal decisions and everything to do with generations of systemic racism, institutional exclusion, and neglect. The trauma resulting from medical racism has cast a long shadow on the public health community's relationship with Black Americans, and health policies rooted in white supremacy have spurned the trust people of color place in our government and medical system. Earlier this month, Representative Pressley introduced the Anti-Racism in Public Health Act to tackle this issue by declaring structural racism a public health crisis, awarding grants to state and local organizations combatting racism, and by educating the public on antiracist health interventions. The bill acknowledges that the government will never be able to confront racial disparities until it confronts racism. The disparate impacts the pandemic has had on the Black community are well documented. We have experienced a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and we face significant barriers to testing. Nationwide, COVID-19 has killed Black people at more than twice the rate of white people and is now the third leading cause of death for Black Americans. This is why the National Medical Association has monitored the government's public health response from the start of the pandemic and formed its own expert task force to independently vet regulators' decisions about COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. The task force concluded that the vaccines are safe and effective, and they will be instrumental in reducing the death toll in communities of color. Beyond these inequities, Black Americans have been the most hesitant to get vaccinated. Data from the University of Massachusetts Boston shows that 1 in 5 Bostonians is unlikely to get vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine, with nearly half of Black residents surveyed unwilling to get vaccinated. This skepticism -- which has resulted from generations of systemic racism -- is justified and is something we had to overcome when making the decision to get vaccinated ourselves. But after consulting with relatives and health care providers, we both made the decision to pursue vaccinations. The data is clear -- the vaccines are safe, and, without community-wide vaccination, the disease will mutate and intensify. While communities of color have historically been on the receiving end of medical policy violence, the medical community's response to this pandemic is being led by Black scientists and doctors like Dr. Corbett and members of the National Medical Association. This fact alone can't undo the harm caused by generations of medical apartheid, but it does instill an important faith in these vaccines. Just like the Black doctors and researchers behind the vaccine, we all have a role to play in keeping ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities safe. Today we offer with deep responsibility the same recommendation we have given our own family members and closest loved ones: The first chance you have, get the vaccine.

By Ayanna Pressley, Rachael Rollins, Liz Miranda, and Tanisha M. Sullivan Eight decades after the civil rights movement began, Black people are still fighting for basic human and civil rights. Black women especially so. Consider Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was killed in March by Louisville police executing a no-knock warrant while she slept in her home. The target had already been arrested. Yet Taylor was shot five times and no police officer gave her aid. To date, only one officer has been charged, and it was for the bullets he shot that missed Taylor. The city of Louisville has since banned no-knock warrants. But why did it take Taylor's killing for there to be this common-sense policy change? In the aftermath of Taylor's death, as well as the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May, hundreds of thousands took to the streets across the country. The US House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, sweeping legislation that would limit the use of no-knock warrants and make it easier to hold police officers accountable. In Massachusetts, state policy makers signaled a commitment to address police violence and the need to dismantle systems that for too long have exacerbated racial injustice. The police reform bill before Governor Charlie Baker reflects meaningful steps toward reining in violent, excessive force used by police, including police decertification, regulation of facial recognition technology, and requiring officers to intervene if their peers use illegal force. Baker has the opportunity and critical responsibility to implement these changes by signing the bill into law. The bill includes an amendment by one of us, Representative Liz Miranda, who represents one of the most overpoliced sections of Boston. Her amendment requires a heightened level of scrutiny and allows only judges -- not clerk magistrates -- to grant these warrants when there is a credible threat to officer safety without it. The provision also requires that officers confirm that no children or seniors are in the target location. Critics suggest that these common-sense limits might put officers' lives in jeopardy. We would argue that the SWAT-like tactics of no-knock raids pose grave dangers to all involved -- especially unarmed and innocent families behind the doors where those warrants are executed. Public policy should be designed to protect and value the lives of all -- not just some. Indeed, Black lives matter too. The policies addressing excessive force should be significantly informed by those who actually experience such force. For too long, the chorus of voices dominating the discussions on proposed reforms has been overwhelmingly composed of police unions and law enforcement. That is why, in June -- as many were awakening to the brutal reality of violence, terror, and fear that so many Black people experience when encountering law enforcement -- the NAACP Boston Branch convened community members and sister organizations to develop and advance urgent community-informed policing reform priorities. The demand for limits on excessive use of force was resounding. District attorneys -- the chief law enforcement officers in their counties -- handle the overwhelming majority of cases where no-knock warrants are sought by law enforcement. And, like most things involving the criminal legal system, the defendants and communities where no-knock warrants are frequently executed are poor, Black, and brown. These communities already have too many interactions with law enforcement for low-level, nonviolent, non-serious crimes. Each of these interactions can erupt into violence at any moment. That is why in August, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins and several of her Black female colleagues around the country pledged to ban no-knock warrants in their jurisdictions. In 2018, acting under the authority of a no-knock warrant, Boston police entered the wrong apartment, invading the home of the Regis family. It was before sunrise when officers used a battering ram to break down the door, trained guns on and handcuffed Jean and Verlande Regis and their 15-year-old daughter, and then ransacked the home while two younger children watched. As Black women, we know all too well the experiences of the communities that we represent. We understand the need for public safety, but we also know that safety and police accountability go hand-in-hand. We hear the accounts of the victims of all types of violence and crime: gang violence, domestic violence, and -- yes -- police violence. We have a responsibility to serve our community's needs, and our advocacy must be taken seriously. Our collective lived experiences and the experiences of the people we are connected to inform our perspective. The experience of witnessing violence, losing loved ones to violence, fearing for the safety of family members, having "the talk" with our children, or visiting loved ones in carceral facilities has grounded our perspectives in ways that other lawmakers may not appreciate. Because we walk in spaces others do not, our voices should be sought, heard, and heeded. We cannot afford another Breonna Taylor or Regis family, and we cannot afford to allow policing to continue the way that it has. We call on Baker to sign the bill as is without amending the provisions regarding no-knock warrants. The cost of failing to act is far too high. US Representative Ayanna Pressley represents the Massachusetts Seventh Congressional District. Rachael Rollins is district attorney for Suffolk County. Representative Liz Miranda represents the Massachusetts Fifth Suffolk District. Tanisha M. Sullivan is president of the NAACP Boston Branch.

By Rep. Ayanna Pressley With liberty and justice for all." Even as a fifth grader with my hand held over my heart, I knew those emphatic words were an aspiration, not yet an affirmation in America. Growing up the child of an incarcerated parent, I had seen firsthand injustices it would take years to put words to. Today, after months of community uprisings against police violence and systemic racism, our nation is in a moment of reckoning. Across our country, people from all backgrounds have rallied, protested, and voted for long-overdue change. The people demand that we move with urgency to build a more just America. An America where our policies and our budgets affirm that Black Lives Matter. This moment has drawn attention to the injustices perpetuated by our legal system--a system quick to criminalize people and slow to invest in the resources and supports needed to truly build safe and thriving communities. On the heels of their historic election victory, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President--elect Kamala Harris have an opportunity and responsibility to respond to the diverse and multigenerational movement that elected them by fundamentally redefining what justice--and the institutions purported to advance it--look like in America. A year ago, in close partnership with activists, advocates, and those most impacted, I introduced the People's Justice Guarantee, outlining a path toward justice. As this new administration prepares to take office, the People's Justice Guarantee offers a bold and expansive framework to transform our criminal legal system, meet the scale of the crisis before us, and finally make good on America's promise of justice for all. Centering five key principles--shared power, freedom, equality, human dignity, and safety--the People's Justice Guarantee lays out a vision for a more equitable and just nation. A nation where our communities are safe because we take care of everyone, including our most vulnerable and marginalized neighbors. A nation where the legal system centers our collective freedom, rather than our oppression. Where we are focused on our people, not profits. Where those in need are met with compassion, not criminalization. Where our path to justice and healing is driven and informed by community. And where those closest to the pain are closest to the power. Under the current system of mass incarceration, false notions of public safety have meant the brutal criminalization and over-policing of Black, brown, and Indigenous communities. While the officials who designed these racist policies claimed they were doing so in the interest of public safety, it's clear the reality is quite the opposite. The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country on the planet, with Black Americans incarcerated at over five times the rate of white people. Nearly 2 million people with mental illness are arrested annually, and over a million are imprisoned each year for drug possession. Countless others are incarcerated for crimes of poverty. This systemic injustice has ruined lives, torn apart families, and decimated entire communities. Nearly half of all adults living in the United States have experienced incarceration in their family, and more than 5 million children have had a parent in jail or prison during the course of their childhood--myself included. This is why the People's Justice Guarantee calls for a new era of mass decarceration and an end to the for-profit prison industry that has shamefully monetized the practice of inflicting pain, suffering, and destabilization on our Black and brown communities. While dismantling mass incarceration is a critical priority, it must be accompanied by a radical transformation of the way we invest in public safety. Budgets are statements of our values, which is why we must divest from the inherently unjust carceral system and reinvest in programs and services that uplift our communities. Instead of spending over a billion dollars to place police officers in schools--perpetuating the school-to-confinement pathway that disproportionately harms Black and brown students, LGBTQ+ students, and those with disabilities--we should be investing in counselors and other trauma-informed staff to allow students to learn, grow, and thrive. Rather than spend nearly $200 billion to keep people behind bars for decades, we should be providing resources for formerly incarcerated individuals to successfully reenter society. Creating a just legal system is not impossible. It is a matter of political will, plain and simple. And we are seeing that public pressure is driving action. This month, Los Angeles County passed Measure J, becoming one of the first counties to commit to addressing racial injustice by investing in community-based medical and mental health treatment, affordable housing, and jobs. Additionally, over a dozen cities and counties across the country passed ballot initiatives to advance policies that will root out racial inequities in the legal system, including legalizing marijuana and strengthening police accountability. These successful initiatives demonstrate nationwide support and momentum for reforming our criminal legal system. In this moment of reckoning, we must be bold. For too long, we have been told to compromise when it comes to our collective liberation and pursuit of justice. Another world is possible--if we work for it. Together, we have the power to make that world a reality and deliver the People's Justice Guarantee