What we're reading on health equity: A Summer Reading list from HEI team

posted by Radhika Ramesh

We hope you will be able to dedicate some time to relax and spend time with family and friends after a year of world-shifting events. Our team at Health Equity Initiative has been catching up on reading and listening these past few months, and these are examples of what we are reading or listening to on health, racial and social equity. Happy summer, and stay healthy and safe! 

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
by Isabel Wilkerson

"Amazing book. Never thought of racism in America in these terms...and I am familiar with caste and casteism from my Indian heritage..." - Everold Hosein

"A powerful reminder that systems of power and privilege share similar traits around the world. By connecting readers with people's stories, this book makes a strong argument for standing up against any hierarchy of human value and committing to address bias in our work and personal lives." - Renata Schiavo

Recommended by Everold Hosein, Advisory Council Member and Renata Schiavo, Founder and Board President

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A Peculiar Indifference: The Neglected Toll of Violence on Black America 
by Elliott Currie

"On racial disparities in violence as a cost of marginalization and inequality, this book is the best—and saddest—exploration of so-called 'black on black' violence I have read."

Recommended by Lenore Cooney, Board Member 

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Integrated Schools Podcast

"As I navigate the world of the New York City Department of Education and pre-K for my daughter next fall I've been listening to the Integrated Schools podcast. This episode on standardized testing and school ranking was especially interesting. While it doesn’t discuss health equity directly, I believe it relates in terms of the subtle (or not so subtle) ways in which systemic racism appears in the schools conversation."

Recommended by Julia D. Day, Advisory Council Member

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The Committed
by Viet Thanh Nguyen

"The Committed is a sophisticated and funny novel with a thoroughly modern lens on many things including French-Vietnamese race relations in Paris."

Recommended by Alka Mansukhani, Founding Treasurer & Co-Vice President, Board of Directors