Two years later: Reflecting on the national response to COVID-19's racial disparities

The second event in our COVID-19 reflections series will feature Dr. Cameron Webb, senior policy advisor for COVID-19 Equity on the White House COVID-19 Response Team, in conversation with Dr. Luke Shaefer, the director of Poverty Solutions. Together, they will reflect on the two-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic and will discuss the national response and strategies used to address and mitigate racial disparities.

From the speaker's bios

Dr. Cameron Webb currently serves as senior policy advisor for Equity on the White House COVID-19 Response Team. Previously, Dr. Webb was an assistant professor of medicine and public health sciences, and director of health policy and equity at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. A general internist, Dr. Webb has worked clinically in the University's COVID unit since the beginning of the pandemic. Additionally, he is the founding director of UVA's Health Equity, Law and Policy Research (HELPR) Laboratory and is a core faculty member at the university's Equity Center, an initiative for the redress of inequity through community-engaged scholarship. Prior to joining the faculty at UVA, Dr. Webb spent a year as a 2016 White House Fellow in the Obama-Biden administration's Office of Cabinet Affairs, where he served on the My Brother's Keeper task force and the White House health care team. A born and raised Virginian, Dr. Webb received his BAfrom the University of Virginia, his MD from Wake Forest School of Medicine, and his JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

About the series

This semester, the Center for Racial Justice is organizing a virtual event series that reflects on the local- and state-level policies that have been instrumental in responding to the racialized health and economic disparities stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The series brings together a diverse group of changemakers, including national and local policymakers, journalists, researchers, and community leaders, to (1) meditate on the past and current racial dynamics of COVID-19 in Michigan and Detroit, and to (2) discuss the policies, programs, and practices that have successfully responded to the needs of communities of color disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Events will be held on April 1, May 6, and June 10.

Led by Dr. Celeste Watkins-Hayes, the Center for Racial Justice is dedicated to education, research, and action in pursuit of racial justice. One of the center’s goals is to harness public policy as a tool of racial equity and to spotlight the voices of changemakers who are doing this critical work. The National Center for Institutional Diversity, as well as Poverty Solutions, led by Dr. Luke Shaefer, are co-sponsors of this event.

Faculty Expert

Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes

Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy; Director, Center for Racial Justice; Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; Professor of Sociology; Research and Community Impact Fellow, Anti-Racism Collaborative

Watkins-Hayes is an internationally-recognized scholar and expert on HIV/AIDS; urban poverty; social policy; and racial, class, and gender inequality. Her work illuminates social problems of great interest to scholars, communities, and policymakers. She works at the intersection of sociology, African American Studies, and public policy. Her work analyzes the impact of the HIV epidemic on women and the growth of the HIV safety net.

Faculty Expert

Luke Shaefer

Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy; Director, Poverty Solutions; Professor of Social Work

Shaefer serves as the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary, presidential initiative at U-M that seeks to partner communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty.

• covid-19
• Celeste Watkins-Hayes
• Luke Shaefer
• Cameron Webb
• covid-19 impact
• racial disparity