Antiracism and the Pursuit of Social Justice

Abstract

In the field of public health, it is well recognized that addressing the social conditions and structures that influence health (the social determinants of health) is a primary approach to achieving health equity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021; Ford & Airhihenbuwa, 2018). We have long discussed racism and discrimination as key determinants of health. For example, prior actions of police officers who killed unarmed Black men and women sparked widespread national and international action and solidarity for social justice related to racism. In addition, COVID-19 has starkly demonstrated how individuals subjected to systemic racism are at disproportionate risk based on structured inequalities at the intersections of race, ethnicity, and social class (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). As public health professionals, including SOPHE (Society for Public Health Education), we have reaffirmed the importance of ensuring our students have curricular offerings on race and understanding racism as determinants of health. As a catalyst for expanding pedagogical practice, Pedagogy in Health Promotion is honored to present this collection of articles that address pedagogical concepts and practices explicitly focusing on antiracism and its impact on health and the pursuit of social justice. Racial injustice pervades our global society, and the work of dismantling it extends across disciplines. We are proud to share submissions offering numerous perspectives in the field of public health beginning with student perspectives. We appreciate that some of our authors in this special issue are public health students, showcasing them as co-collaborators in their learning and problem solving on the topics of racism, antiracism, and social justice (Djulus et al., 2021; McSorley et al., 2021). These students are agents of change modeling the way for public health faculty, practitioners, and other students to address racism as a public health problem. In response to their examples, we encourage undergraduate and graduate public health students to democratize their classroom learning experiences and work to end racism in public health education. The following articles describe pedagogical practices to incorporate concepts related to race, racism, social justice, and oppression within the classroom. The article by Mincey (2021) explains innovative ways to discuss implicit bias with undergraduate public health students. Implicit bias may be uncomfortable to talk about in a large classroom setting, but the techniques described will enable students to examine their own beliefs in an interactive discourse. The techniques will also provide the opportunity to explore factors in society that lead to inequities in health care services delivery (Mincey, 2021). Lightfoot and colleagues (2021) then look at Public Health Critical Race Praxis (PHCRP), in combination with an arts-based approach, to explore racial identity among public health trainees. This unique pedagogical process involves the use of photography to create dual portraits, one that depicts the way the trainee may see themselves, and the other photo is a depiction of how they may be seen by others in a country that is divided by race and racism (Lightfoot et al., 2021). The article by Rich (2021) reminds us that facts and stories to teach and learn about health, race, and social justice are underutilized tools. The research study by Chowdhury and Madden (2021) examines the concept of scientific racism and how pre–health professions students may be influenced by the belief that racial hierarchies may be explained by biological differences and underlying social constructs that contribute to disease and poor-quality care. The next article by Carlos 1054402 PHPXXX10.1177/23733799211054402Pedagogy in Health PromotionBentley et al. research-article2021