Description:

The panel will focus on the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted long-standing racial disparities in US society. The panelist will discuss the racial disparities that have made communities of color more vulnerable to the pandemic. They will also talk about the ways that the racial divisions in our politics limited the federal government’s ability to adequately address these racial disparities. The panelists will consider how some of our leaders actually fomented racism against communities of color by sending racialized messages about the origins of the virus to the American public. Finally, the panelists will help us to consider ways that we can address these disparities through antiracist politics.

The Anti-Racism in Thought and Action Lecture and Discussion Series 

Two members of the Change Makers Review Committee, Steven Adams and Stefanie Hicks, have partnered with Alvin Tillery in the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy to curate the Anti-Racism in Thought and Action Lecture and Discussion Series during the 2020-21 academic year. Scholars from a variety of disciplines will share research that provides transformative insights about the multiple crises of race we navigate in the United States. Each lecture will be followed by an interactive discussion or activity to catalyze meaningful reflection and action directed toward creating an anti-racist campus. The Office of Human Resources is sponsoring this series and invite all Northwestern Faculty and Staff to participate. 

Panelists:

Professor Melissa A Simon, MD, MPH, is the founding director of the Center for Health Equity Transformation and the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative, and Vice Chair for Research, Obstetrics and Gynecology at Feinberg School of Medicine.

Kim Yi Dionne, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Political Science at UC Riverside. Professor Yi Dionne studies health interventions, politics, and public opinion—primarily in African countries.

Fulya Felicity Türkmen is a PhD candidate at UC Riverside. Her research focuses on citizenship, human rights, and the ethics of immigrations.

Maneesh Arora, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Political Science department at Wellesley College. His research focuses on race and ethnicity politics, public opinion, campaigns and elections, and experimental and survey methodology.