Caregiving connects us all. While it’s true that all of us will give or receive care at some point, the reality of how caregiving is experienced is not the same for all families.
Race is a determinant factor that impacts the caregiving experience. Black caregivers, care workers, seniors, and Black people living with disabilities face discrimination and inequities in care, income, work, housing, and so many other areas at higher rates than their white counterparts. Unjustly, Black people have to consider factors that white people will never have to consciously consider when it comes to caregiving.
Our campaign works to change how care is given, received, and valued in this country to ensure that everyone can work and live well, raise and care for their families, and age with dignity. Yet too many Black people are denied the right to live a long life when their lives are cut short by systemic racism that takes the form of racist violence, health disparities rooted in entrenched inequities, and the impacts of generations of trauma.
We acknowledge that the work of Caring Across Generations has not always centered anti-racism, equity, and the experiences of Black people who make up a large part of the Caring Majority; our silence has meant we are complicit in sustaining systems rooted in anti-Black racism.
Going forward, we are committed to building a care infrastructure that honors the human dignity of all people of every race, class, age, ability, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. This means intentionally working to dismantle white supremacy, having a deep anti-racism analysis, being aware of our personal bias and privilege, and centering equity and inclusion in our work and our mission.
We envision and are dedicated to building a future in which all systems of care are truly equitable, honor our individual and collective humanity, and support and uplift the many ways we want to show up for our loved ones and our communities.
We ask you to join us on this journey as we work to improve our understanding of the way racism affects all of our daily lives and dismantle the racist structures that form the base of our care system.
Please join us. You can get started by doing these three things today:
- Please take three minutes to complete our anonymous survey to let us know where you are in this moment. Your responses will help shape our work in the next few weeks.
- Explore how race affects caregiving families with this series from OZY, which prominently features our Director of Policy and Partnerships, Josephine Kalipeni.
- Commit to working with us to have the hard conversations to dismantle racism in our own lives and in our families. There’s no petition or anything to sign — this is something each of us has to do on our own. But here are some tips for how to have those conversations with your family.
With care for our future,
Beth Shipp
Managing Director
Caring Across Generations
