Health literacy begins with understanding social health in the context of human rights and reparations

The sociological and cultural response to enslavement by Africans induced a culture of survival with resiliency and self effacing aspects. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce the notion that the social health of our communities contain the foundation of our healing. Yet the social health of a people is directly determined by their political, economic and cultural position in society. The primacy of the subordinate character of oppressed nations to the American state and the associated inferior health policies are inescapable. America created two contracts, one formal and written-the constitution- the other informal and unwritten, the Anti-social contract ( Kly, 1989). The (political) anti-social contract against African (and Indigenous) peoples produced an affiliated anti-social health arrangement. Facilitated through structural racism this arrangement has determined public health and limited public health outcomes. However, as political will has not recognized the nature nor consequence of this anti-social contract public health policy formation on the other hand has not understood or recognized the need to illuminate nor eradicate the anti-health arrangement, a crime of omission. It is argued that the lingering effects of Mass Trauma Events (MTE) of genocide and slavery created a Trauma Response, Unresolved Grief and Historical Trauma ( Brave Heart, 1995) and Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (Leary, 2001). These were crimes against humanity and can only be addressed in a human rights framework of reparations that has three components, compensation, restitution and rehabilitation. This presentation will explore how an informed public health advocacy can launch a new era in public health for African people. With the effective use of the United Nations Human Development Index and the aid of the Fordham Institute for Innovation in Social Policy sixteen created social indictors (Miringoff and Miringoff, 1999) public health advocates can ignite a heightened African American Health Freedom Struggle. Finally, the discussion will be tied to the United Nations World Declaration Against Racism and equip advocates to participate in what is known as special measures in human rights terms.