Planting Seeds of Equity
Dr. Oni Blackstock’s Call to Action at Continuum 2025
Blogpost from Dr. José M. Zuniga (10 June 2025)
Dr. Oni Blackstock, Founder and Executive Director of Health Justice, delivered a keynote address today at IAPAC’s Continuum 2025 conference that was much more than a speech – it was a blueprint for collective liberation from health inequities. She wove historical narrative, strategic insight, and a resonant call to action, urging us all to operationalize health equity as a daily practice, not as an abstract goal that we merely aspire to attain.
Referencing the Great Migration and Puerto Rico’s diaspora as metaphors for movement and resilience, Dr. Blackstock reminded us that health equity is not new terrain. “We are seeds of resistance,” she said, evoking generations of struggle and progress rooted in Black, Brown, and queer communities across the United States and globally. Her message was that we must honor the past by fighting for justice in the present and dismantling the structural barriers that perpetuate HIV inequities.
A central theme of her address was the Race Forward Framework for Action – organize, normalize, operationalize, and visualize – which she adapted to the HIV context. Each dimension serves as both a compass for moving beyond performative health equity. In this time of rising backlash against equity efforts, Dr. Blackstock did not ignore the headwinds. Instead, she reminded us that “talking about equity may slow things down,” as some fear, but not talking about it ensures continued harm.
Importantly, she connected local and global realities, affirming that the U.S. is not unique in its inequities. From urban health disparities in the South Bronx to under-resourced clinics in Nairobi or São Paulo, the same forces of marginalization are at work and must be named, challenged, and replaced with justice-driven systems. Her words echoed far beyond the Caribe Hilton ballroom in San Juan: “Your power is relative, but it is real,” she said, quoting Audre Lorde. This was a fitting reminder that while none of us holds all the power, together we hold enough to end HIV – justly and equitably – for all.
Access Dr. Blackstock’s presentation: Continuum 2025 – Keynote Address – Dr. Oni Blackstock
Dr. José M. Zuniga is President/CEO of IAPAC and the Fast-Track Cities Institute, and he served as the co-chair of the Adherence (now Continuum) conference from 2010-2015.
