Racism is a public health crisis
The killing of George Floyd and the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has had on people of color are only the two latest examples of how structural racism can lead to devastating outcomes. Harvard Chan School stands together and is committed to helping fight this longstanding racism. The information and resources below highlight work from members of the Harvard Chan School community aimed at addressing racism and, ultimately, at helping shape a fairer, more just, and healthier world.
A Statement from Dean Michelle A. Williams
Sections:
Op-eds
The COVID-19 pandemic shows why we must—and how we can—end racial injustice in health
Racism is a deadly virus, too: A public health defense of these mass protests
Racism is killing black people. It’s sickening them, too.
Protest, demand change — but, please, put on your mask
Protecting hungry children during the fight for racial justice
News
Perspective: Racism is ‘pernicious, pervasive, cutting short lives’
The legacy of slavery in the U.S. has led to a wide range of health inequalities that have plagued the African American community for years, wrote Michelle Williams, dean of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in…
A black ER doctor reflects on everyday encounters with racism
Khama Ennis, MPH ’02, is chief of emergency medicine at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Massachusetts. As a black doctor, she sees racism every day. Ennis wrote about the bias she encounters from patients in a June 11, 2020…
Ending racial injustice in health
George Floyd’s death has magnified both the urgent need to end racism and, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the urgent need to end the racial injustice of health inequity in America, wrote Howard Koh of Harvard…
Could protests cause COVID-19 spikes? Tough to tell.
If coronavirus infections surge in the wake of protests against police brutality and racism, it won’t necessarily mean that the protests are what’s causing the increase. That’s because the protests have been happening around the same time that…
Racism can erode physical well-being
The chronic stress of experiencing discrimination can gradually erode people’s physical well-being over time, according to Mary Bassett, director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. Bassett was one of several experts…
back to top
In focus
Q&A: COVID-19 pandemic highlights longstanding health inequities in U.S.
Events
Voices in Leadership During Crises: Michelle Williams & Jeffery Sánchez
Mental Health and Wellness for Students of Color: Transitioning to College
