Racism has no place in the sleep community. Here are our commitments.
All of us at Project Sleep are deeply shaken and horrified by the senseless killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, and many other Black lives. The pain and frustration across our nation is very real, and after taking June 1-7 to reflect and listen, it is important for us to speak up and share our commitments with you.
Unequivocally, Project Sleep condemns institutionalized racism, police brutality, and discrimination.
Racism is also a major public health issue and more research is urgently needed to better understand the roles that racism, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status play in impacting sleep, sleep disorders, and health disparities.
As a non-profit organization, Project Sleep is dedicated to improving lives by educating individuals about sleep health and sleep disorders. Further, we are deeply committed to advocating for sleep research, awareness, and equitable healthcare access and coverage for all people living with sleep disorders. In fulfilling our mission, we aim to empower and amplify a diverse set of voices and create a culture celebrating diversity, equality, and inclusion—but more can and will be done.
Project Sleep pledges to:
- Listen and learn, and then act intentionally to help reduce racism, bias, and barriers to healthcare access.
- Highlight sleep research focused on race, racism, and sleep and health disparities, as well as advocate for more research in this area.
- Deliberately work toward increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of our leadership community, including our board of directors and volunteer advocates.
- Elevate powerful and important Black voices of the sleep community.
To our Black friends, patient advocates, experts, researchers, doctors and community members: We see you and stand firmly in solidarity with you today and each day forward. We truly believe that together, we are building a brighter future and Project Sleep is committed to holding ourselves accountable in promoting equality within the sleep community.
– The Project Sleep Team, June 8, 2020
