TO THE EDITOR:
I read the commentary, “Race in public health,” by one of our undergraduate students, Jaslina Paintal, in the Nov. 9 Daily Tar Heel, with interest. In her article, Ms. Paintal surfaced challenges around discussing race and racism in our classes.
I reached out to Ms. Paintal, and we, together with Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Charletta Sims Evans, will meet next week. Ms. Paintal’s article stimulated a valuable discussion, with many thoughtful comments in the DTH.
Ms. Paintal’s commentary is part of a larger national dialogue about the meaning of race in this country. We must overcome the discomfort some experience when talking about the subject to understand the many meanings of the word and to determine what actions are needed. While race often is treated in research as an independent or moderating variable that may be associated with various disease outcomes, such as hypertension, diabetes and cancer, it should not be reduced to a variable.
In public health, we focus passionately on reducing disparities in health outcomes, and we try to explain the causes and consequences of disparities. When we do so, race may be an important factor. But even then, as Ms. Paintal noted, if we don’t examine the larger context of racism, we may miss deeper explanations and understandings of the health disparities we examine. In class (as in life), we may speak in shorthand to get to the heart of issues quickly. Yet, there are layers of connotations that can only be understood by the sharing of lived experiences and honest conversations. In the end, this is about people. How we talk about race in our classrooms and schools may be as important as the facts we convey.
In this context I applaud Chancellor Carol Folt’s appointment of Dr. G. Rumay Alexander, EdD, RN, FAAN, as her special assistant to the chancellor effective Jan. 1, 2016. Dr. Alexander is director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs in the School of Nursing and also our school’s diversity champion. Next week’s Town Hall is an important opportunity to identify issues that should be addressed on this campus.
Here at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, we have been engaging in this conversation for many years. Last year, our wonderful students led several events framed around Black Lives Matter; people across the school and health sciences schools participated. In 2010, our Diversity and Inclusion Task Force provided a valuable set of recommendations we have used as guideposts since then. While we have made progress on many fronts, we have not come far enough, fast enough. We will be reaching out to faculty, staff and students to develop a strategy for moving forward. We will work together to make the school a convening center for constructive conversations about difficult issues. Steps toward that also are happening in other UNC-Chapel Hill schools.
Discussions and actions on this campus are part of a larger national context. We have the opportunity to confront the issues with honesty, civility, compassion and constructive action. It is important for each of us, in our own ways, to reach out to the people with whom we interact to show that this University is a safe place for honest conversations. With the leadership of people like Carol Folt, Jim Dean, Rumay Alexander, Taffye Clayton and Felicia Washington, our campus community can move from rhetoric to understanding and then, to action.
Prof. Barbara K. Rimer
