“It was an experience that we could never have imagined…”

That's been a consistent refrain in and around our country since the early days of this COVID-19 pandemic. "I could never have imagined living through COVID.”  “I could never have imagined the number of lives that would be lost.” “I could never have imagined the toll this pandemic would take on Black lives."

And yet, the writing was on the wall. As our world has become increasingly global, the spread of disease has become more likely, and the effects were bound to hit the most under-resourced communities the hardest. Add to that the role that social determinants play in the health of our communities, and we have to ask, “how could we not have seen this coming?”

There’s an old saying that “when white folks catch a cold, Black folks get pneumonia.”  It’s often shared in the context of economic health, but in the time of COVID, it is even more resonant. And so this season, we’re digging in to how COVID-19 has affected us; how it’s affected our communities, our relationships, our understanding of the world around us, and of each other.

Along for our journey this season is the brilliant Natalie S. Burke, founder of CommonHealth ACTION and a true equity evangelist. Together, Carrie and Natalie will dig in to issues of public health through the lens of communication, connection, and of course, equity. We’ll explore how COVID has changed us, and where we go from here.

This is going to be a season of perspective-shifting conversations that will touch on faith, media, the economic recovery, and the role of philanthropy. We start this week with a big picture conversation with Natalie.

You won’t want to miss this one.

• (00:00) - Welcome to Mission Forward