On behalf of the National Urban League’s board of trustees, I am proud to present this year’s edition of the State of Black America®: The New Normal: Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive.

Lilly’s purpose is to discover, develop and deliver new medicines to make life better for people around the world. It’s complex work that requires people with diverse skills and perspectives who challenge each other to be the best we can be every day.

More than a year has passed since COVID-19 began to ravage our healthcare system, devastate our economy, and lay bare how systemic racism has contributed to the suffering of communities of color.

When I was growing up in Chicago in the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a towering figure in my life. In fact, my childhood address was just a few miles from where Dr. King and his family temporarily relocated in 1965 to lead a civil rights charge in our city.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted preexisting economic, social, and health inequities in the United States and has exposed the nation’s deficient public health and health care infrastructure.