The Mary Black Foundation has announced the creation of the Dr. George Newby, Jr. Health Equity Leadership Award in honor of Dr. George Paul Archie Newby, Jr.

The Foundation has a history of using awards as a way to recognize individuals and organizations in the community, while also increasing awareness about the Foundation and our mission. Past awards include the Dr. Sam O. Black Award, the Mr. and Mrs. Frank Powell Award, and the Community and Business Champion Awards.

As part of its 2020-2022 strategic plan, the Foundation has developed an awards program that promotes and supports health equity. While the Foundation had been focused on health inequities before the COVID pandemic, the events over the last two years clearly exposed the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities that have long impacted our community.

According to SC DHEC, over 60,000 people in Spartanburg County have had COVID and over 1,000 people have died. One of those deaths was a long-time friend and partner of the Mary Black Foundation, Dr. George Newby, Jr.

Dr. Newby, served as the CEO of ReGenesis Health Care for over 15 years, was a professor in Community Health at USC Upstate, and was a public health leader in our community. He dedicated his professional life to “serving the least of these” in seeking accessible healthcare for all. In recognition of his legacy, the Mary Black Foundation has established the Dr. George Newby, Jr. Health Equity Leadership Award. 

The award will carry with it a $25,000 unrestricted grant and will be provided to an outstanding individual or organization working to advance health equity in our community. This individual or organization would have demonstrated commitment to ensuring that all people in Spartanburg County have access to opportunities for health and wellness regardless of who they are or where they live. With this award, the Foundation seeks to honor Dr. Newby, recognize and celebrate others working to carry on his legacy, and encourage more people and organizations to explore how they can advance health equity.

The Award will be given to an individual or organization that demonstrates a commitment to:

• Using data to identify, prioritize, and improve outcomes for those most impacted by health inequities.
• Addressing the social and community context that shapes individuals’ ability to access opportunity, including those outlined in the Foundation’s Health Equity Framework:
  • Accessible, Affordable, and Culturally Relevant Health Care
  • High Quality Education and Employment
  • Safe and Supportive Neighborhoods
• Looking beyond programs and services to the systems changes needed to reduce health inequities.
• Ongoing and authentic engagement of those most impacted by health inequities.