Race Consciousness in Biomedicine, Law, and Social Policy

Dates of Project: 2008 to 2013

Field of Work: Examining race consciousness in biomedicine, law, and social policy.

“In order to conclude that the cause of health disparities is genetic, scientists must first rule out more logical social explanations”—factors such as intense poverty and the unavailability of healthy foods in many black neighborhoods.”—Dorothy Roberts

Issue: In light of recent advances in genomic studies and technologies, it is important to clarify how race-based biomedicine reflects and shapes current political contests over color-blind and race-conscious approaches to racial equality.

Synopsis of the Work: Roberts used empirical and conceptual methods, as well as legal analysis, to examine how race-based biomedicine both reflects and shapes current political contests over color-blind and race-conscious approaches to racial equality.

Evidence from several studies show that racism itself—“lifelong accumulated experiences of racial discrimination”—is an independent risk factor for such negative health consequences as hypertension and very low birthweight.