By: Isabelle Lian
2020 will surely be a year in history books to come. I can’t help but wonder how the tragedies we experience now will be interpreted by future generations. I hope with all my heart that the lives lost to racial injustice and to the COVID-19 pandemic will force our society to reconsider its values and work towards creating better conditions for all people, especially for the Black community, who have been disproportionately affected by both. It is crucial that we do not think of these as isolated events, but rather the perpetuation of hundreds of years of social inequality that so desperately needs to be addressed by all corners of our society, not just leadership.
Continuing my internship with Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast gives me the opportunity to continue to learn and research ways to be a positive force for change. I’m so grateful to be working with this amazing group once again as we work to address reproductive health. Currently we have a few initiatives planned – hosting panel discussions, strengthening our social media presence to connect the community during the pandemic, and continuing the informative one-pager project. I hope to learn more about the reproductive justice movement as well and cannot wait for the guest speaker lectures that our internship group has planned for the summer.