On Monday, April 24, 2023, author Linda Villarosa will discuss her new book, Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation. In her new book, Villarosa exposes the persistent racism in the U.S health-care system.
Villarosa pays particular attention to environmental racism, challenging programs that attribute illnesses in Black communities to individual patients’ habits while ignoring the refinery next door. For an introduction to her work, read “Pollution Is Killing Black Americans. This Community Fought Back.”
Here are some of the reviews it has received:
Villarosa’s empathic and sharp-sighted journalism is as astute as it is groundbreaking, as brilliant as it is timely. Let the conversations begin! — Jacqueline Woodson, New York Times bestselling author of Red at the Bone
It’s no secret that Black people are subject to the cumulative effects of systemic racism. But Linda Villarosa’s Under the Skin walks us through the inevitable consequences of living in a racist country on our bodies, our environments, and our healthcare system. The cultural manifestations of the physical and psychological traumas affecting Black People alter or distort all our lives. Those of us who understand that structural violence has physical ramifications will be in debt to Under the Skin. I am grateful for the arrival of this book. It is a relief to have the truth of racialized trauma exposed in such cogent, undeniable writing and with such genius analysis. This is journalism at its finest. If you read one book this year, let it be this one. — Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen: An American Lyric
In Under the Skin, Linda Villarosa has written a book that will transform how you understand the relationship between race and medicine, one that makes clear the connection between our history and our health. This is a book filled with indispensable research, but also filled with humanity. Villarosa tells us important stories, and also becomes part of the story herself. I’m so glad this book exists, I will be thinking about it for a long time. — Clint Smith, New York Times bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed
Villarosa will be in conversation with Rethinking Schools editor and high school teacher Jesse Hagopian.
These online classes with people’s historians are held at least once a month (generally on Mondays) at 4:00 pm PT / 7:00 pm ET for 90 minutes. In each session, the historian is interviewed by a teacher and breakout rooms allow participants to meet each other in small groups, discuss the content, and share teaching ideas. We designed the sessions for teachers and other school staff. Parents, students, and others are also welcome to participate.
