Penn Program on Race, Science, & Society This fall, PRSS will release a "Decennial Report" to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the program's launch by Director Dorothy Roberts in the fall of 2013. The report highlights the program's accomplishments in furthering its mission, with a focus on the four symposiums organized by PRSS over the past decade.
News
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September 22, 2023
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September 22, 2023
Professor Dorothy Roberts spoke at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference, which took place from September 20th to September 24th in Washington, DC. The focus of her talk was “From Awareness to Action: Unmasking Bias in Academic Medicine.”
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September 22, 2023
UArts, Harrietts and Juvenile Law Center presents a conversation with esteemed author, Jessamine Chan and PRSS Director, Dorothy Roberts about the harms of the family policing system & the power of storytelling as a tool for advocacy. The event will take place on September 27, 4:30-6pm at Dorrance Hamilton Hall in Philadelphia. Click here for more information and to register for the event.
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August 29, 2023
PRSS Director Dorothy Roberts has been honored by the American Sociological Association (ASA) for her book Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families–And How Abolition Can Build a Safer World (Basic Books 2022). The ASA cited the “moral urgency and agenda-setting impact of this exceptional book” in announcing the award.
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August 16, 2023
PRSS Director Dorothy Roberts was on Democracy Now! on August 7th where discussed abortion fights across the U.S., the significance of the Henrietta Lacks settlement for racial justice and bioethics and racial bias racism in facial recognition technology. Click here to view her conversation with Democracy Now! host and journalist Amy Goodman.
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April 27, 2023
The National Academy of Sciences' Committee on the Use of Race, Ethnicity, and Ancestry as Population Descriptors in Genetic and Genomic Research has released its consensus report, Using Population Descriptors in Genetics and Genomics Research: A New Framework for an Evolving Field (2023). Dorothy Roberts, Director of PRSS, and Sarah Tishkoff, a member of the PRSS Faculty Working Group, both served on the committee. The committee is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
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February 23, 2023
PRSS Faculty Fellow Tukufu Zuberi was featured in PBS News Hour episode: Museum works to repatriate artifacts looted from West Africa
Dr. Zuberi is the Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations, and Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on Race, African and African Diaspora populations.
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February 23, 2023
PRSS Visiting Fellow Dr. Christopher D. E. Willoughby's new book, Masters of Health: Racial Science and Slavery in U.S. Medical Schoolswas published by The University of North Carolina Press in 2022. PRSS Director Dorothy Roberts and previous PRSS Postdoctoral Fellow Natalie Shibley both contributed book reviews:
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February 14, 2023
PRSS postdoctoral fellow Hafeeza Anchrum is featured in WHYY's Movers & Maker's special episode, "The Story of Mercy-Douglass Hospital." The episode covers the history of Philadelphia hospitals established by the Black community, which is the focus of Dr. Anchrum's research. The episode will air on WHYY-TV 12 on February 16 at 7:30pm & 11pm. See link for more details: https://whyy.org/episodes/preview-the-story-of-mercy-douglass-hospital/
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January 31, 2023
PRSS Director Dorothy Roberts is featured in the second episode of Hulu's docu-series, "The 1619 Project" which is based on her chapter contribution "Race." See link for information about how to watch the episode: The 1619 Project - Hulu