The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy at the University of New Mexico has created a new national institute for the Study of “Race” and Social Justice. Led by co-directors Laura E. Gómez, UNM School of Law and American Studies; and Nancy López, sociology, the institute was established to find ways to measure “race” and ways people impose a racial interpretation. A goal of the institute is to develop strategies to address and eliminate race-based inequality.
Gómez and López place “race” in quotes to underscore its nature as a socially constructed category of social status in historical contexts.
Despite the fact that “race” isn’t rooted in biology, racial inequality persists and often remains at the root of socio-economic inequality, health disparities and other measurements of social stratification in the United States.
“Racism is a major factor in determining one’s health in our society, as it translates into persistent stress, associated illness and prolonged suffering or premature death,” said Robert Valdez, executive director of the RWJF Center. “Over the centuries, American Indians, African Americans, and Latinos have suffered from severe racism in various forms, and they experience the poorest health status as a result.”
The mission of the Institute for the Study of “Race” and Social Justice is to establish empirical, theoretical and methodological clarity about “race” that draws on cutting-edge thinking from multiple disciplines and diverse traditions. Among the major goals of the institute is to understand the complexity of “race” and the ways people perceive and respond to races in their socio-historical context and particular social spheres.
The Institute for the Study of “Race” and Social Justice is one of several initiatives within the RWJF Center addressing pressing social and economic issues affecting the health and well-being of all Americans,” Valdez said. The institute will bring together scholars spanning the social and health sciences. Institute scholars will collaborate with policymakers at the national, tribal, state, county and local levels to share expertise and promote social justice in education, criminal justice and health care.
During the first year, the co-directors will organize a study group to discuss the scientific study of race. The institute also plans to organize two conferences and publications: “Does ’Race’ Still Matter in New Mexico?” and “Best Practices for Conceptualizing and Researching ’Race.’”
The RWJF Center for Health Policy is the only health policy center dedicated to increasing the number of leaders from Latino and American Indian communities to help shape the future of our nation's health and health care. A collaboration of the University of New Mexico and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the RWJF Center for Health Policy focuses on inserting the voices of Latino, American Indian and other underrepresented groups into the most pressing health policy debates today.
For additional information visit: RWJF Center for Health Policy or contact (505) 277-0130 and or e-mail: rwjf@unm.edu.
For additional information about the Institute for the Study of “Race” and Social Justice contact Nancy López, nlopez@unm.edu, (505) 277-3101 and Laura Gómez, lgomez@unm.edu (505) 277-2113.
Media Contacts: RWJF, Victor E. Cornejo (505) 276-9342; e-mail: victor@cornejocommunications.com or UNM, Carolyn Gonzales (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Posted by scarr at January 29, 2009 10:11 AM