The Brown University School of Public Health honored Black History Month! Browse the month's events that were designed to lift and empower the voices of Black leaders devoted to health equity, advocacy, and public health.
Black History Month
News from SPH
Dr. Reed V. Tuckson and the Vocation of Public Health
February Dean’s Conversation event, held in honor of Black History Month, welcomed the distinguished public health veteran, former D.C. Public Health Commissioner and co-founder of the Black Coalition Against COVID.
Community Events & Resources
Celebrate Black History Month in Rhode Island
From the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation
Visit Rhode Island’s comprehensive guide to Black history and culture in Rhode Island.
Book Recommendations for Black History Month
Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health
In honor of Black History Month, members of the Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health share their book recommendations by Black authors that acknowledge, honor, and celebrate the impact of Black Americans in the United States.
Stages of Freedom
10 Westminster Street, Providence
This nonprofit organization features a museum that showcases Rhode Island’s African American history and includes a shop, programs, events, archives, and more.
The John Brown House Museum
Home of the University's namesake, at 52 Power Street in Providence
The stately late-18th century home built by merchant, statesman, and slave trader John Brown showcases chandeliers, fine china, and elaborately carved fireplaces, alongside the much darker history of the family’s prominent role in the Atlantic slave trade.
2024 Black History Month Events
Browse events from the 2024 Black History Month celebration at the School of Public Health and Brown University.
OWIMS Book Club
Thursday, February 1, 2024, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. EST
Virtual Event
Twice as Hard: The Stories of Black Women Who Fought to Become Physicians, from the Civil War to the 21st Century
by Jasmine Brown
Our Storied Health
Monday, February 5, 2024 | 6:00 p.m. EST
Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Martinos Auditorium
The Our Storied Health Film and Media Series presents Mossville: When Great Trees Fall (55 minutes / USA / 2019 / http://www.mossvilleproject.com/), the story of Mossville, Louisiana, a once-thriving community founded by formerly enslaved and free people of color, and an economically flourishing safe haven for generations of African American families. Today, it’s a breeding ground for petrochemical plants and their toxic black clouds. Many residents are forced from their homes, and those that stay suffer from prolonged exposure to contamination and pollution. Amid this chaos and injustice stands one man who refuses to abandon his family’s land - and his community.
A 5:30pm reception will be followed by a 6pm screening, with panel and community discussion to follow.
Part of Brown Arts IGNITE Series.
“Token Black Girl” Book Event with Author
Tuesday, February 6, 2024 | 2:00 p.m. EST
121 South Main Street | Room 901
The School of Public Health - Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion along with the Brown Center for Students of Color and the Sarah Doyle Center are hosting a Black History Month Book event! Join us as we welcome guest speaker and author, Danielle Prescod, to discuss her memoir, Token Black Girl.
Prescod’s memoir addresses the challenges of growing up as a Black woman in a predominantly white community, including the long lasting impact of unrealistic beauty and societal standards placed upon Black women.
Copies of her memoir will be available at the event. Refreshments, Reception, and Book Signing to follow the discussion.
Responsible Use and Measurement of Race in Medicine and Public Health
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Academic Grand Rounds
Wednesday, February 7 | 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. EST
Online event
The Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior welcomes Lorraine T. Dean ScD, associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, for a presentation on the origins of race measurement in the US, methods for collecting and analyzing data on race and racism, and how to be anti-racist in writing about race in scientific studies.
Digital Humanities Salon: Jessica Marie Johnson
Thursday, February 8 | noon - 1:00 p.m. EST
Digital Scholarship Lab in the Rockefeller Library
The DH Salon presents historian of Atlantic slavery and the Atlantic African diaspora Jessica Marie Johnson of Johns Hopkins University. The author of "Wicked Flesh: Black Women, Intimacy, and Freedom in the Atlantic World,” will visit the Digital Scholarship Lab (Room 137) of the Rockefeller Library (w/ lunch!). Or join via Zoom.
Monthly Justice Circle
Wednesday, February 14, 2024 | noon - 1:00 p.m. EST
121 South Main Street
We invite you to participate in our monthly Circle hosted by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This in-person gathering offers a safe space to acknowledge and appreciate our SPH community members’ presence, dignity, and contributions. It’s an opportunity to reflect on the connections that bring us together. All members of the SPH community are welcome to join us. Lunch will be provided.
2024 MLK Jr. Lecture featuring Sherrilyn Ifill
Thursday, February 15 | 4:30 p.m. EST
Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Martinos Auditorium
Sponsored by the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, Brown University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture celebrates the life and legacy of civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. This year’s lecture, titled “Reimagining a New American Democracy,” will feature Sherrilyn Ifill, a civil rights lawyer and former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Emerging Tools for Measuring Structural Racism
Friday, February 16, 2024 | 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. EST
online event
The Department of Pediatrics and the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute Research Fellowship Program welcome Lorraine Dean, ScD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as part of the “Healthy Equity: Research in Practice” speaker series.
Health in Place
Friday, February 23, 2024 | 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. EST
online event
The Department of Pediatrics and the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute Research Fellowship Program welcome Professor Diana Grigsby-Touissant for Health in Place, part of the “Healthy Equity: Research in Practice” speaker series.
A Journey Through America with Jazz
Friday, February 23, 2024 | noon - 1:00 p.m. EST
121 South Main Street
This presentation will use jazz, or Black American Music, as a vehicle to travel throughout North America, moving through generations of cultural influence as we go. Since its beginning, jazz has been the music of and for the people. The more significant part of our journey will start with the people in New Orleans, traveling North through the Mississippi River from Kansas City to Chicago. We’ll then go east toward Philadelphia and New York City and end our journey in Harlem like millions of Black folks during the Great Migration. By centering jazz and its powerful influence on culture, this presentation will shed light on the historical significance of Black Americans and their musical traditions, shaping the music we know today. Brunch will be provided.
Special Performance By:
Marcus Grant | Kweku Aggrey | Noah Campbell | Andrew Wilcox
BHM Dean’s Conversation with Dr. Reed Tuckson
Monday, February 26, 2024 | noon - 1:00 p.m. EST
Hope Club | 6 Benevolent Street
Join the School of Public Health for a Black History Month lunchtime talk by Reed V. Tuckson, M.D., FACP, managing director of Tuckson Health Connections, LLC, a vehicle to advance initiatives that support optimal health and wellbeing. Dean Ashish K. Jha will join him in conversation.
Dr. Tuckson is co-convener of the Coalition For Trust In Health & Science which is dedicated to bringing together the entire health related ecosystem to address mistrust and misinformation. He also continues to advance his work as a co-founder of the Black Coalition Against COVID. Previously, Dr. Tuckson enjoyed a long tenure as executive vice president and chief of medical affairs for UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune 20 Health and Wellbeing company.
A recognized leader in his field, Dr. Tuckson has been appointed to leadership roles at the National Institutes of Health, National Academy of Medicine, numerous federal advisory committees and corporate, non-profit and academic boards.
Co-sponsored by SPH's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Lunch will be provided.
Video coming soon.
Diana Paulin, “Blackness, Autism, and the ‘Neurocolorline’”
Wednesday, February 28 | 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. EST
Cogut Institute, Pembroke Hall, room 305
Join the Cogut Institute for the Humanities for a talk by Diana Paulin addressing the intersecting histories of the Black/white colorline and the divide between neurotypicality and “neurodivergent” bodyminds in the U.S. She will consider how the marginalization, incarceration, and policing of Black bodyminds, starting at least as early as the antebellum period, has contributed to the intergenerational disablement of many members of the Black population that persists in the 21st century.
Black History Month Lunch and Learn
Thursday, February 29 | 11:00 - 12:30 p.m. EST
121 South Main Street | Room 245
Celebrate Black History Month with us at a special lunch event! Dive into an educational presentation on influential figures and pivotal events in African American history. Engage in an open discussion afterward. Join us for this enriching experience!