Racism & Public Health
How Structural Racism Harms Black Americans’ Health
Data on systemic inequities reveal the barriers that lead to harder, shorter lives
September 2, 2020
Leadership on Syphilis Studies – for Better and for Worse
A historical recounting of how Johns Hopkins rose to prominence in the 1930s and 1940s as the foremost center of syphilis research, but also played an advisory role in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study which intentionally deceived African-American men.
September 1, 2020
How the Bloomberg School Enforced the Color Line in Admissions—and Then Broke it
A historical recount of how leaders at Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health upheld segregation laws before admitting its first African-American student, Reginald G. James (MPH 1946).
AUGUST 31, 2020
COVID-19, Racism, and Kidney Disease
Kidney disease among Black Americans demonstrates how social injustices contribute to population health problems, according to Tanjala Purnell, PhD, and Deidra Crews, MD.
AUGUST 10, 2020
The Black Men’s Health Project
Black men have an average life expectancy of 72—the shortest lifespan of all groups by race and gender. Roland Thorpe, PhD, intends to change that.
JULY 24, 2020
What Does It Mean to Call Racism a Public Health Issue?
The intersecting crises of COVID-19 and racism means the field of public health must name, define and address racism as a critical public health problem, says Georges Benjamin, MD.
JUNE 25, 2020
Racism and COVID-19
Lisa Cooper, director of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute, explains why the coronavirus pandemic hit Black communities especially hard.
JUNE 24, 2020
The Racism Pandemic: Thoughts from an African Student
“I am a living testimony of what happens when a society breaks down and sacrifices human rights,” writes Ambulai Johnson, a graduate student from Liberia.