Racial Justice | Penn Today

Race-based hate is out there, but it’s inside of us, too. Here is how to disrupt the pattern

Vice Provost for University Life Mamta Accapadi said people cling to biased beliefs because these ideas help define who they are, and pandemic-related isolation has only intensified polarization. “At the end of the day we have to wonder if we are more interested in learning from a new opportunity or holding on to old ideas that don’t serve us,” she said.

Trial by trauma

Howard Stevenson of the Graduate School of Education spoke about the trauma Black Americans experience when watching footage and reading news coverage of George Floyd’s death amid the Derek Chauvin trial. “Even if this justice happens, we won’t fully get over all of the other injustices,” said Stevenson.

Cartoon montage of a protest, a raised fist, a gun, and a masked African American individual.

In These Times: Black lives and the call for justice

The first two episodes of the Omnia podcast’s second season discuss the Black Lives Matter movement and the lasting impact of slavery and colonialism on the laws and policies that have governed Black lives throughout history.

‘Traveling Black,’ a look at the civil rights movement in motion

“Traveling Black,” a book by Mia Bay of the School of Arts & Sciences, was featured. The work is a history of mobility and resistance in the U.S.

Black NFL players want new advocate in concussion settlement

PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts said algorithms can reflect the biases of their creators. “Technology can be used to promote equality or perpetuate inequality. It depends on who’s in control of it and what data they are putting into the algorithms,” she said.

Who gets to decide what is racism, hate? Atlanta shootings renew debate over white violence, privilege

Anthea Butler of the School of Arts & Sciences commented on how some authorities have hesitated to name the Atlanta spa shootings as a racist attack. “Many of us can see through this racist mess that the police are trying to say isn’t racially motivated,” she wrote. “Let’s be clear. This is terrorism. It’s murder. It’s AAPI hatred and vilification. It is racist.”

Muslim grandparent holding a distressed child.

How anti-immigrant rhetoric affects health care utilization

The dramatic rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric since 2016 was associated with a substantial decline in utilization of health care services by undocumented adults and their children.

If Black lives really matter, we must invest in Black neighborhoods

Eugenia South of the Perelman School of Medicine wrote an op-ed about how simple, low-cost measures like planting trees and cleaning vacant lots can help address the root causes of gun violence in predominately Black neighborhoods.

Race on campus: What does ‘Latinx’ mean?

Nelson Flores of the Graduate School of Education said that instead of debating whether or not an institution should use the word “Latinx,” people should try to understand why the word is used.

In new study, Penn researchers find racial and socioeconomic disparities in heart arrhythmia care

Lauren Eberly of the Leonard Davis Institute was interviewed about a study that found disparities in care for atrial fibrillation, which can lead to heart failure and stroke if left untreated. “We [healthcare professionals] need to redesign our system so that it prioritizes those who have been historically marginalized,” she said. “If we don’t, these disparities will compound and continue to be perpetuated.”

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