How Omega Psi Phi Successfully Reached Black Americans During the Pandemic
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many government, healthcare, and private sector entities have grappled with the dual challenges of increasing awareness of how to stop the spread of the virus and decreasing vaccine hesitancy in the Black community. But given these systems’ historic mistreatment of minorities, Black Americans still harbor some lingering mistrust and skepticism of these institutions.
Community-based organizations have stepped in to provide education and guidance. Within the Black community, many faith-based, civic, and service organizations have deep roots, unmatched relevance, and hard-earned trust based on generations of impactful service. In these uncertain times, they are uniquely skilled at communicating to an audience that is understandably wary of the healthcare system and are actively bridging the gap by leveraging their members, their relationships, and their historical roles to increase knowledge and awareness, combat misinformation, and sway opinion.
A model of the value and effectiveness of this type of outreach has been the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. This organization is a member of a group of Black Greek Letter Organizations collectively known as “The Divine Nine.” Many of these fraternities and sororities are over 100 years old and their membership boasts some of the most prominent names in American history, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, Congressman John Lewis, Dr. Charles Drew, Vice President Kamala Harris, and countless other notable figures, spanning across numerous industries and disciplines, including those actively serving as medical and logistical leaders in the nation’s fight against the pandemic.
As a response to the first confirmed case of COVID-19 and the nationwide shutdown in the beginning of last year, individual medical professionals in Omega chapters around the country began sharing their knowledge with fraternity members and their families locally. Two physicians, Dr. Jedan Phillips in New York, and Dr. Keith Boykin in the Washington, D.C. area, decided to combine forces to begin conducting weekly webinars and engaged the national leadership of the organization to begin sharing the information more broadly. Over the last year, Omega Psi Phi has conducted local, regional, and national webinars on COVID-19 hosted by fraternity members who are medical doctors, scientists, researchers, and public health officials.
Additionally, members and administrators leveraged personal and professional connections to acquire and donate PPE to healthcare providers and facilities across the nation. The structure of the organization and the talent within its ranks have allowed the organization to become a valued source of public health information. Local ideas on how to help the community quickly and organically grew into well-coordinated and publicized national campaigns that included presentations from recognized experts in science, medicine, and public health.
Cultural awareness is critical to effective communications. When it comes to healthcare, the relevance of the messenger, the nuance of the message, and the credibility of the source are paramount. Unfortunately, these grassroots channels for outreach into the Black community are often overlooked by communications professionals due to a lack of understanding about their role, capabilities, and mission. Organizations embedded in the community are able to address the intersectionality of social inequities and health disparities through a culturally competent lens with regard to beliefs, lifestyle, tradition, and behavior. This allows them to deliver relevant information that resonates with the community and impacts health outcomes.
Health education and information delivered through these grassroots relationships can address health disparities such as treatments for chronic conditions, as well as awareness of measures and methods to combat poor outcomes for illnesses prevalent in the Black community, such as heart disease, cancers, and kidney disease.
To forge the relationships with fraternities and sororities and build an ecosystem for effective community-based outreach and partnerships, government and non-government health organizations must acknowledge the gap, respect the grassroots connections, and serve as a conduit to extend messaging through communication, endorsement, support, and partnership.
Drawing on Omega Psi Phi’s effective outreach efforts, we suggest incorporating the following steps into your approach:
Broadly communicate your affiliation with the grassroots organization and how the relationship adds to your cultural competence
Clearly endorse the value and relevance of the organization’s role in the community
Demonstrate support for the organization through adequate resourcing, clear strategic alignment, and enhancing/extending outreach
Formalize the relationship with a defined contract to demonstrate commitment