Carl Lavender, Jr.
Chief Equity Officer
Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg
The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg was birthed in a historically confederate state. As in other areas of the country, Florida still grapples with remnants of systemically racist policies from the Jim-Crow south. For instance, in our city—as in many others—data show a correlation between life expectancies and zip codes. Due to zoning shaped by a history of redlining, the life expectancy is 66.5 years in neighborhoods around Campbell Park in South St. Petersburg, while less than three miles away, Vinoy Park and Snell Isle residents have a life expectance of 82 years.
This is the legacy we are driven to overcome. Our foundation seeks to address health disparities, advance population health, and achieve health equity in Pinellas County. Our mission is to end differences in health due to social or structural disadvantages to improve population health. We do this by inspiring and empowering people, ideas, information exchange, organizations, and relationships. For us, 2020 was defined by two watershed moments: the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the day the world learned George Floyd’s name. More than a year later, here is what we have learned.
Accelerated “Readiness”
Systems leaders cannot go back to business as usual. Public opinion and longstanding efforts for social justice are aligned in this moment, and we believe that the community has the collective power to change the narrative around race, demand equitable change within institutions, and vote for policy reform.
People who have been fighting for systems change and working to end racism for decades are observing a new awareness among those who have not been engaged in these efforts before. The foundation has trained hundreds of people in the Courageous Conversations about Race protocol. We’ve seated the Pinellas Race Equity Leadership Council, a group of systems leaders advocating for systems change. Grassroots and grasstops leaders have united via Movement St. Pete to present unified goals to City Council. And the St. Petersburg Food Policy Council was recently approved. I believe that systems leaders have had a moment of clarity regarding race that will allow us to leverage the power and privilege of the community to address our equity goals.
Finding our Bold
Our early COVID-19 response focused on nonprofit response, recovery, and resiliency—and on disease mitigation of the most vulnerable based on race and condition. The foundation’s ability to act was made possible by the bold leadership of our community partners and of our trustees, who allowed us to swiftly reallocate millions of dollars. As a result, our partners had the ability to reprogram dollars to respond to the crisis. We also conducted listening activities, which revealed the emerging needs of nonprofits, businesses, and other partners, and allowed us to connect some residents and small businesses to the financial aid they qualify for and find alternate means of support for others.
Crisis calls for rapid adaptation and was answered without aversion to risk. We felt fortunate to have the support of bold mission driven leaders. We embraced our responsibility to be brave.
“Who Am I?”
With differences in health magnified by race, COVID-19 became more than a public health concern, it became a values clarification. Some people’s lives are valued more than others in our society, and the role of philanthropic institutions like ours is often to hold a mirror up to the community and say, “Is this really who we are and what we want?” Meaningfully addressing our collective values can lead to serious leaps forward in public health, culture, education, art, and economic development. This is tough work, that calls for personal reflection and personal accountability, which in turn drive cultural reflection and cultural accountability. But I believe that—motivated by unified core beliefs—we can move mountains.
Looking Forward
Much has changed in the past year. People are ready. Funders are emboldened. A cultural discussion about values is helping to inspire and influence action. There is accelerated momentum and an opportunity to drive narrative shifts, alter institutional behaviors, and change public policy. Ensuring that all people in our communities meaningfully shape and fully share in a healthy, thriving, resilient place is demonstrably good for all. And this is only possible if we end the injustices of institutionalized racism.
We must. And we will.