This interdisciplinary roundtable will explore urban and environmental inequalities, specifically the way in which urban built environments create illness in the past and present. Spatial segregation and unequal, discriminatory housing policies have long confined non-white communities to districts with poor housing stock and limited access to public health resources. The roundtable will consider racism, government responses to health threats, and public health activism in both twentieth century activism against lead paint and new concerns over housing and health threats created by COVID-19. The roundtable will also consider how the health risks of poor housing in the past can illustrate historical roots of seemingly new challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic for urban Black communities.

Speakers:

Dr. Taylor Desloge, Washington University

Dr. Johanna Fernandez, Baruch College, CUNY

Dr. Robert Gioielli, University of Cincinnati

Comment:

Dr. Mindy Fullilove, The New School

Moderator:

Dr. Kara Schlichting, Queens College, CUNY

Thursday, April 22 2:30 to 4 PM Eastern.

This event was organized in partnership between Edmund Russell, ASEH president, and the Urban History Association.

How to register: All attendees must register in advance.

Visit https://www.urbanhistory.org/event-4205224 to sign up. Attendees will receive the Zoom link once they register.

Please direct any questions about this event to Hope Shannon, UHA Executive Director, at hshannon@urbanhistory.org.