Racial Bias in Harm Reduction
White supremacy and racial bias are ingrained in how drugs and drug use are viewed in the United States; these biases persist within public health, public policy, and education.
As a national online and mail-based platform, NEXT recognizes our unique position in the harm reduction field. We aim to leverage our platform to reduce health inequity, center Black and brown communities, and fight white supremacy within the movement.
Since being founded in 2017, NEXT has been building and refining our racial equity strategy. Below is NEXT’s BIPOC workplan (BIPOC is an acronym for Black, Indigenous and people of color).
Our work plan encompasses both internal and external strategies for promoting racial equity in our work.This BIPOC Work Plan is an ever-evolving and collaborative effort. It is open for comment and welcomes feedback from the community, participants, and peers. Through this work plan, NEXT Distro aims to be a co-conspirator in dismantling systemic racism within the harm reduction movement and creating a more just and inclusive environment for all those we serve.
support and follow groups that are doing the work to uplift BIPOC Communities:
Prison Policy Initiative: prisonpolicy.org and @prisonpolicy
Anti Police Terror Project: antipoliceterrorproject.org and @antipoliceterrorproject
Movement For Family Power: movementforfamilypower.org and @movementforfamilypower
VOCAL: vocal-ny.org and @vocalnewyork
1hoodmedia: 1hood.org and @1hoodmedia
Sisters PGH: sisterspgh.org and @sisterspgh412
CEPA: decolonizepr.com and @descolonizapr
Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle: lbsbaltimore.com and @lbsbaltimore
Red Canary Song: redcanarysong.net and @RedCanarySong
CAT-911.org Community Action Teams: cat-911.org and @cat911team
Survived and Punished: survivedandpunished.org and @survivedpunished