Atlanta, G.A., June 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is partnering with The Georgia NAACP, The Center for Popular Democracy and The SNCC Legacy Project to hold a virtual town hall to discuss the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recent COVID-19 Antibody Testing Survey and other public health issues affecting Black communities in the Atlanta area. Public health and social justice thought leaders will share information and insight during the panel discussion. 

Moderated by Nse Ufot, CEO of The New Georgia Project, the town hall will feature Dr. Lynn Paxton, health director, Fulton County Department of Health; Dr. David Satcher, former attorney general, founding director and senior advisor at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine; Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former public health professor, Columbia University Epidemiology Department, Dr. Joseph Bresee, associate director of Global Health Affairs in the CDC Influenza Division and Martin Luther King, III, community and civil rights advocate.

In April, the CDC deployed staffers to predominantly Black communities in Dekalb and Fulton counties to collect blood samples. Without providing prior information, knowledge, or explanation about the survey, residents were concerned considering the legacies of the U.S. health care system’s harm and mistrust that put Black citizens in danger. Even now, Black communities are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Black Georgians make up 83 percent of the state’s COVID-19 hospitalizations and more than 50 percent of the state’s COVID-19 related deaths but comprise only 30 percent of the state’s population. 

The town hall will provide accurate, actionable information from trusted community and health leaders to Georgians’ most at risk of COVID-19. The town hall will address: 

• CDC surveys and community outreach
• Community reaction and concerns regarding health surveys
• Steps to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Opportunities to improve community relations with the medical community 

 

WHO: The New Georgia Project in partnership with the UNCF, Georgia NAACP, The Center for Popular Democracy, SNCC Legacy Project

• Nse Ufot, CEO of The New Georgia Project
• Dr. Lynn Paxton, health director, Fulton County Department of Health
• Dr. David Satcher, former attorney general, founding director and senior advisor at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine
• Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former public health professor, Columbia University Epidemiology Department 
• Dr. Joseph Bresee, associate director of Global Health Affairs, CDC Influenza Division 
• Mr. Martin Luther King, III, community and civil rights advocate

 

WHAT: Virtual town hall to hear from top public health experts and community leaders on the CDC’s recent antibody testing, health issues impacting Black communities

WHEN: Thursday, June 11, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET

WHERE: Virtual via Zoom. RSVP at tinyurl.com/fillingthegap2020

To learn more about the town hall or if you have any questions, please contact Bentley Hudgins at bentley@newgeorgiaproject.org.

 

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About UNCF
UNCF (the United Negro College Fund) is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 17 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” ^® Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNCF.

Monique LeNoir
United Negro College Fund, Inc. (UNCF)
202-810-0231
monique.lenoir@uncf.org