John M. Auerbach, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, received The Ruth M. Batson Social Justice Award on the morning of April 15, 2008 at Harvard Medical School’s Reflection in Action: Building Healthy Communities™ (RIA) celebration. In front of an audience of hundreds of schoolchildren, the program’s founder, Dr. Joan Y. Reede, Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School, presented the award to Commissioner Auerbach.
The Ruth M. Batson Social Justice Award is given annually to individuals whose actions exemplify a commitment to social justice, civic engagement, the building of community, and the furthering of equity. Cambridge Health Alliance, a community partner and a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate, helped to create this award. The festivities were held at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, Harvard Medical School (HMS), Boston.
By linking the arts with science in a competitive, yet celebratory event, each year Reflection in Action: Building Healthy Communities™ gives 6th-9th graders in Boston and Cambridge a novel and exciting incentive to learn about science and health issues of particular concern to urban families and individuals.
Students draw on their creativity in the visual, written, and performing arts to grapple with health and societal issues that are of particular concern to struggling urban families. Their original rap songs, paintings, poetry, essays, one-act plays, and other artistic forms of expression focus on personal empowerment, access and awareness, and good health habits.
RIA links improvement in individual and community health to engagement in civic action by providing students with the opportunity to participate in city-wide competitions -- these contests culminate in the spring during an all-day celebration of science, creativity, and health at HMS. In the morning, winners in each category (visual, written, and performing arts) are announced and the first-place winners perform their winning entries before a large audience of students, teachers, parents, community members, and Harvard officials.
This year several competition entries spoke of the death of Steven Odum, a popular student of the Timilty Middle School in Dorchester. Students expressed their concern about the psychological impact of loss and violence in poignant written compositions. Dr. Reede noted that judges in this year’s RIA competition often became emotional while reading the entries.
“This year is a particularly important year to offer students thoughtful projects supported by curriculum, their teachers, families, and friends,” Dr. Reede said. “The RIA program has often been a venue in which youth have a chance to not only learn about heart and lung diseases, mental illness, the impact of drugs and violence, but also to find the venue a helpful coping tool, as well as a positive project on which to concentrate.”
Dennis D. Keefe, CEO of Cambridge Health Alliance and Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Cambridge, is an advocate for Dean Reede’s programs. “Dean Reede has inspired many disadvantaged youths to become engaged in health and science through her innovative programs,” Keefe said. “Youths from the City of Cambridge have been participating in her programs for several years, and we welcome continued collaborations to inspire youth to make informed and positive choices about their health and their actions.”
Dr. Jeffrey Flier, Dean of Harvard Medical School, agrees. “Collaborations between Harvard Medical School, affiliated hospitals, schools, and government officials are essential for continuity and support across settings engaged in remedying healthcare disparities and helping inner-city youths,” he said. “We are fortunate that Dean Reede’s programs have such a positive impact on our communities. And I congratulate Commissioner Auerbach, a well-deserved recipient of this year’s Ruth M. Batson Social Justice Award.”
Ruth M. Batson was one of Boston’s best-known figures in education, healthcare, and civil rights. Her outstanding career began with the NAACP Boston Branch. Her most renowned accomplishment occurred in the early 1960s when she led the challenge to the Boston Public School system for educational equality for African American students in Boston and founded Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO).
The first Ruth M. Batson Social Justice Award was given last year to her daughter, Susan Batson, who was on hand this year to celebrate Commissioner Auerbach. She was joined by Claude-Alix Jacob, of Cambridge Health Alliance, who is the Chief Public Health Officer for the City of Cambridge and director of the Cambridge Public Health Department.
