Photograph of a Corie Mattie banner reading
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Tommy and Codie Oliver

Racism Harms Health.

What is racism?

“Racism is a system of dominance, power, and privilege based on the belief that one racial group is better than others” (Harrell, 2000) Even though there is no biological basis for race, racism causes real biological harms, which these web pages describe.

“Racism is rooted in the historical oppression of people defined by the dominant group as inferior, deviant, or undesirable”(Harrell, 2000). Racism manifests in different ways across the globe. In the U.S., racism is rooted in our nation’s history of genocide and slavery. The social construct of race is powerful in part because white supremacists, white nationalists, and other groups actively work to maintain the racial hierarchy. These racist attitudes have infiltrated our laws and policies and, for centuries, unfairly diminished social and physical environments for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities (Jones 2002, Krieger et al., 1993) and kept power and privilege in the hands of white people and institutions (Harrell 2000, Wyatt 2003).

“The dominant group creates its own societal privilege by maintaining structures, ideology, values, and behavior that exclude nondominant-group members from power, esteem, status, and/or equal access to society’s resources” (Harrell, 2000). In other words, racism is produced and reproduced in our social structures, institutions, interpersonal interactions, and the culture surrounding us.

Racism is pervasive in society. It is experienced across one’s lifetime, causes chronic stress, and intersects with other systems of oppression, such as sexism, heterosexism, and ableism. The result has been an unfair and sustained assault on the health of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color.

Why we created this website:

Racism is rooted in our country’s founding but is still present in our social systems, like education, food, labor, housing, and healthcare. Where we live determines the type and conditions of our work, the kinds of foods we have access to, and whether communities are targeted by law enforcement and punitive sentencing.

We can unknowingly reinforce racial hierarchies just by interacting with those systems. That’s why we are actively working to dismantle racism in our own institution at Berkeley Public Health. The following pages provide evidence to help public health scientists and community members answer the question “How is racism operating here?” (Jones, 2002), and how is racism affecting health? We share seminal work and the latest research documenting how racism manifests within and across vital social institutions, including education, healthcare, housing, and neighborhood conditions, and the criminal legal system. We also describe the implications for population health and health inequities. We hope that this information will spark reflection and conversation and inspire action.

We want to thank the many students and faculty who developed the content on these pages and the web developers who brought that content to the web format.

Sources cited on this page:

  • Harrell SP. (2000) A multidimensional conceptualization of racism-related stress: implications for the well-being of people of color. The American journal of orthopsychiatry. 70: 42-57. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2000-13882-005.
  • Jones, C. P. (2002). Confronting institutionalized racism. Phylon (1960-), 50(1-2): 7-22. https://doi.org/10.2307/4149999.
  • Krieger N, Rowley DL, Herman AA, Avery B, Phillips MT.  Racism, Sexism, and Social Class: Implications for Studies of Health, Disease, and Well-being. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 9, Issue 6, Supplement, November–December 1993, Pages 82-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(18)30666-4
  • Wyatt SB, Williams DR, Calvin R, Henderson FC, Walker ER, Winters K. Racism and cardiovascular disease in African Americans. Am J Med Sci. 2003 Jun;325(6):315-31. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12811228/ 

Other studies on racism and health:

Racism, Neighborhoods, and Health Inequities

Racism, Neighborhoods, and Health Inequities

Where you live predicts lifelong health but structural racism determines who lives where, and the condition of those places, shaping health outcomes and health inequities.
Racism, The Healthcare System, and Health Inequities

Racism, The Healthcare System, and Health Inequities

the health care system encompasses access to care and the quality of that care, which together shape health.
Racism, Work, and Health Inequities

Racism, Work, and Health Inequities

The type of work you do can predict lifelong health. Structural racism determines the conditions of work, shaping health outcomes and leading to health inequities.
Racism, Policing, and Health Inequities

Racism, Policing, and Health Inequities

Systemic racism embedded in policing has disproportionately harmed the health of Black and Brown people throughout their lifespans and across generations.
Racism, Food Systems, and Health Inequities

Racism, Food Systems, and Health Inequities

What people eat determines a variety of health outcomes and structural racism limits the type and quality of food people have access to, which creates racial health inequities.
Racism, Education, and Health Inequities

Racism, Education, and Health Inequities

Education profoundly influences health throughout the lifespan. Yet structural racism shapes access to education, quality of education, and students’ daily experiences in schools.