What has — and has not changed — in the US when it comes to policy about race?

The focus on racial injustice in the US – particularly the effect of race on criminal justice — has been in the public spotlight following the tragic deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner on Staten Island, and Tamir Rice in Cleveland during encounters with law enforcement.

While these inequities play out in numerous areas, health and well-being is one sector in which minority groups are dramatically and disproportionally affected. This Forum event examined how disparities within the law and the criminal justice system negatively affect health in members of minority groups — as well as how the role of race interacts with neighborhood environments, educational and employment opportunities, public policy, and other factors to lead to poorer health in minority populations.

Got a question or follow the conversation with the hashtag #HealthandRace.

Phillip Martin, Moderator
Senior Investigative Reporter, WGBH, and Former National Race and Culture Reporter.

Participants:

Jim Doyle
Health Care Lawyer and Former Governor and Attorney General of Wisconsin

Felton Earls
Professor of Human Behavior and Development, Emeritus, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Professor of Social Medicine, Emeritus, Harvard Medical School

David Harris
Managing Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School

Nancy Krieger
Professor of Social Epidemiology, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

David Williams
Professor of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health