Each year, the School of Nursing honors the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King with a lecture from a prominent local leader, and on February 10th, Penn Nursing had the honor of hearing Councilwoman At-Large Blondell Reynolds Brown.
A longtime proponent of the safety and well-being of children, quality child care, and expanded business opportunities for minorities and women, Councilwoman Brown has, in the spirit of Dr. King, done much to improve the quality of life for our city's most vulnerable citizens. From persuading the Phillies and Eagles to establish a "Fund for Children" and commit $1 million annually for 30 years to authorizing legislation requiring chain restaurants to provide menu labeling with nutritional and caloric information, she has made an enormous impact on the community at large.
"One of the reasons I ran for office," she said, "is that I realized that if you're not at the table, then you get what you get."
Councilwoman Brown's commitment to justice, equality, and service espouses the values of Dr. King. At Penn Nursing, where our motto is "care to change the world," we, too, embody his vision that, "Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better."
And it is the work and scholarship of our students and faculty that represent our commitment to making the world better. Through our educational curriculum, our students learn the need for cultural competence in direct care. Through Penn Nursing's Center for Health Disparities, faculty members conduct research that will advance knowledge of the determinants of health among racial/ethnic minorities, marginalized, and underserved populations across the life span.
Nursing research is a tool for social justice. As Penn Nurses, we care to change the world through our science because of our shared belief that as nurse practitioners, scholars and scientists, improving the health of others is not a job, but a responsibility.
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