Race & Health

Race & Health Programming Series

The Race & Health series is about envisioning a more just society. We examine the big social, economic and systemic issues that keep people of all races from enjoying a healthy life. We’ll shed light on the historical legacy of these issues and their modern-day challenges and determine how we can, together, create a more equitable and healthy future for all.

Past Events

How Long Will We Wait? The Desegregation of American Hospitals

In 1966 following the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Medicare, the federal government mounted a dramatic, coordinated effort that forced the desegregation of every hospital in America in a matter of months by making it a requirement for Medicare funding. The story of securing equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans is one that continues to unfold, more than 55 years later.

Our event will screen POWER TO HEAL, an hour-long documentary narrated by Danny Glover about the struggle for the desegregation of hospitals. Following the screening, filmmaker Barbara Berney will join a discussion with experts around desegregation efforts in New York City, with a focus on Harlem Hospital. Speakers will also address the ways the legacy of segregation continues to impact American healthcare today, and will discuss forward-thinking strategies to ensure equitable practices.

July 10, 2019
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

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Could Tuskegee Happen Today?

The “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis” was an unethical medical research study conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service on hundreds of African-American men from 1932-1972. Approximately 400 study participants who had syphilis were told they were being treated for “bad blood” and never received the proper treatment for their illness, even after penicillin was widely adopted as a treatment for syphilis in the 1940s. The study failed to inform and protect these men, and has since influenced significant changes in U.S. laws and regulations relating to clinical research. This event shared first-person accounts from survivors of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, combined with expert perspectives and audience discussion, to address the history and legacy of the study and why it remains relevant today.
February 26, 2019
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

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Black Maternal Health: Historical And Reproductive Justice Reckonings

This event looks at the profound health inequities around giving birth, further laid bare by the COVID pandemic. Discussions with experts will include how slavery and the history of reproductive medicine intersect, the impact that medical racism has on Black birthing people from slavery to freedom, engagement in the national reproductive justice movement, and recent efforts to address racial inequities in maternal mortality and morbidity in NYC.

Featured presentations are by historian Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens, author of Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology, and public health activist and scholar Dr. Lynn Roberts, co-editor and contributing author of the anthology, Radical Reproductive Justice: Foundations, Theory, Practice, Critique.

Our moderator will be Chanel L. Porchia-Albert, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Ancient Song Doula Services. Singer/songwriter, actress, poet, educator, and writer Lacresha Berry will provide an artistic performance at the start of the event.