2019 bright spots in health equity and public health

Local, state, national, and international victories for health, safety, and wellbeing

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” At Prevention Institute, we know that everyone’s health, safety, and wellbeing depend on that justice, and we don’t take getting there for granted. We know it will take all of us, together, demanding justice, in order for us to succeed.

That’s why we’re so inspired by the many organizations and individuals who spent 2019 demanding justice so that fewer lives would be harmed and more people, particularly those with less power, would have the opportunity for health, safety, and wellbeing.

As we move into 2020, we hope you’ll gather inspiration from the success stories below and be reminded that you’re part of a movement for change. These are just a sampling of the bright spots from 2019 that caught our eye, and we look forward to hearing about other examples you’ve come across. For more details about the successes described below, read our bright spots blog. Happy holidays, and we wish you all health, safety, and wellbeing in the new year!

Local Successes - Local victories prioritized ensuring health-promoting conditions in the places where we live, work, play, and learn.

Cleveland forced rental units to become lead-safe: Partners in Cleveland successfully advocated for legislation to prevent lead poisoning, particularly among the city’s most vulnerable residents. The legislation requires all rental units to be certified by the city as “lead-safe” by 2023.

Los Angeles opened a countywide Office of Violence Prevention: In April, Los Angeles opened its first Office of Violence Prevention, which received an initial funding allocation of $6 million from the LA County Board of Supervisors.

Community organizers won $22 million per year for parks in LA’s park-poor neighborhoods: In March, the LA County Board of Supervisors approved funding guidelines for the Safe, Clean Neighborhood Parks and Beaches Measure, which will allocate $22 million per year to eliminate park inequities in park-poor, low-income Latino and Black neighborhoods.

State successes - Changes in state policy showed the importance of addressing fundamental threats to health like housing instability, police violence, water safety, and racism.

Rent control went mainstream: Three states passed statewide tenant protection bills in 2019: Oregon’s governor signed a bill that caps rent increases and bans no-cause evictions. New York adopted a law that the National Low Income Housing Coalition says is “the strongest law protecting tenants in the state’s history.” California’s legislature passed AB 1842, which limits rent increases and prevents landlords from evicting tenants without just cause. 

California water fund was a victory for health equity: California lawmakers established the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, which will pay for improvements to the state’s drinking water system. The fund could provide communities with at least $1.4 billion over the next 11 years. Communities of color are the most likely to go without access to safe, clean affordable drinking water.

Wisconsin cities declared racism a public health emergency: In May, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, became the first US city to declare racism a public health crisis. In October, the city of Madison followed suit. The declaration, which was initially adopted by the Wisconsin Public Health Association, notes that more than 100 studies have linked racism to worse health outcomes.

California passed new standards to prevent police shootings: A new California law raised the bar for police use of deadly force, encouraging officers to de-escalate conflicts and seeking to hold officers who use deadly force in inappropriate situations accountable. It will be one of the strictest police-use-of-force laws in the country.

National successes - Efforts at the national level reflected our values of inclusion, equity, and interdependence.

Advocates kept a citizenship question off the 2020 Census: In 2018, the US Census Bureau proposed adding a question about citizenship status to the 2020 Census. This proposal had the potential to create a serious census undercount of immigrants and people of color. But, immigrant rights, civil rights, legal advocacy, public health, and other organizes fought back—and won. In July, the Trump administration dropped its efforts.

Foundations launched the nation’s first gender justice fund: Recognizing that policy change alone will not change harmful norms related to gender, California and national foundations have come together to launch the Culture Change Fund. The Fund’s goal is to “create broad public support for a new way of thinking that puts gender, racial, and economic justice at the heart of the solution to any systemic problems.”

Congress approved funding for gun violence research: Congressional leaders announced that for the first time in nearly 20 years, they would allocate funding for gun violence prevention research, with $25 million to be split between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. With these funds, the CDC will now be able to begin assessing strategies to prevent gun violence, just as it does with other public health crises.

Courts ruled in favor of immigrants: A preliminary nationwide injunction blocked the implementation of a new “public charge” policy that would deny legal residency to immigrants deemed likely to rely on health-supporting government programs such as food assistance, healthcare, and housing assistance, among others. To support the efforts to safeguard millions of immigrant families, get involved with the Protecting Immigrant Families campaign.

International successes - International advocacy reminded us we’re part of a global community in which youth are leading the way toward our shared destiny.

Youth around the world demanded climate action: In September, a record 7.6 million people took to the streets as part of the global climate strike. In 185 countries, people walked out of their schools, offices, and homes to demand action on the climate crisis. In December, thousands of climate activists—led by youth from around the globe—were in Madrid protesting at the UN climate conference.

#MeToo movement went global: Over the past month, thousands of women around the world and their allies demanded an end to violence against women as part of the 16 Days Campaign. They called on their countries to ratify the International Labour Organization’s new Violence and Harassment Convention, which is the first time that violence and harassment would be included in International labor standards.