AIDPH Workshop: Antiracism in Public Health Academia: Are We Centering the Right Voices?

Teaching anti-racist principles to the future public health workforce is critical in advancing racial equity and racial healing. Studies show White people comprise 75% of the U.S. professoriate contributing to continued institutionalized racism in academia. Public health is not immune to this overrepresentation: the most recent estimates conclude the public health workforce is more than 60% White. Given this racial imbalance will not be corrected swiftly, academic institutions should invest in programming that prioritizes antiracism in institutional policy, student curriculum, and broader community impact. Current interventions like diversity workshops or focus on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” serve as merely band-aids to the effects of systemic racism rather than addressing the root cause. Moreover, these programs can have harmful unintended consequences, particularly for Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC). This presentation will argue that public health academia must address racial inequity as part of the institutional infrastructure while actively infusing these principles and values into the public health teaching curriculum. Promising practices implemented by The University of Washington will be shared.

Teaching anti-racist principles to the future public health workforce is critical in advancing racial equity and racial healing. Studies show White people comprise 75% of the U.S. professoriate contributing to continued institutionalized racism in academia. Public health is not immune to this overrepresentation: the most recent estimates conclude the public health workforce is more than 60% White. Given this racial imbalance will not be corrected swiftly, academic institutions should invest in programming that prioritizes antiracism in institutional policy, student curriculum, and broader community impact. Current interventions like diversity workshops or focus on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” serve as merely band-aids to the effects of systemic racism rather than addressing the root cause. Moreover, these programs can have harmful unintended consequences, particularly for Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC). This presentation will argue that public health academia must address racial inequity as part of the institutional infrastructure while actively infusing these principles and values into the public health teaching curriculum. Promising practices implemented by The University of Washington will be shared.