Columbia Memorial workers Ruth Snow, left, and Tracy Smart, right, at July unity rally.

At Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, NY on July 20, scores of caregivers and the community came together at a unity rally to condemn racist and inappropriate literature that was posted on a bulletin board by some of the institution’s administrative staff.

“Seeing the racist posting at the hospital I work at every day brought up the most disturbing issues of my childhood during segregation, when rocks were thrown at us and we were spit on—no place felt safe then. After seeing what was on the bulletin board, I didn’t feel safe at work in my own community anymore,” says Columbia PCA Tracy Smart.

Smart and other Columbia members pledged to carry on 1199’s mission of fighting all forms of injustice. “These events should not have happened, and as CEO, I take full responsibility,” said hospital director Jay Calahan.

Read more from the official 1199SEIU magazine ‘Our Life and Times’