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Common approaches to medical and public health pedagogy that are grounded in the biomedical model and social determinants of health theory often fail to address structural racism as a root cause of health inequities.1 Structural racism refers to how societies foster discrimination through inequitable systems.2 These pedagogical approaches tend to promote reductionist views of disease, suggest that social determinants of health are immutable, and neglect the role of White power and privilege in driving unfair differences in health outcomes.1 Critical theoretical frameworks for public health education are needed to enhance understanding of how the field may be failing to address and eliminate health inequities and that contextualize health within power structures that marginalize and oppress.1 With its emphasis on the evolving practice of interrogating the roles of race and racism in society, critical race theory (CRT) is an important framework for informing how and what we teach the next generation of public health leaders to eradicate health inequities and drive social change.3
Striking racial disparities in rates of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality,4 recent surges in cases of police brutality against people of color, and public debate over teaching about racism have brought renewed attention to CRT. Generated by scholars of color in the 1980s, CRT promotes the development of solutions in research, policy, and practice that bridge gaps in the conditions in which people live and work to eliminate health disparities.5 CRT is focused on understanding complex racial concepts and "challenging power differentials."5(pS34) Attempts to integrate CRT into K-12 and college curricula have prompted hostile backlash from lawmakers, educators, and parents. At least 35 states have passed into law or imposed restrictions on teaching about race and racism, arguing that these concepts deviate from our country's founding principles of liberty and equality.6,7
Despite this divisiveness, as public health educators, we must support and lead the movement to train our students and ourselves to recognize and counter systems of oppression, including those that exist within and outside of academic public health. We present three teaching recommendations for public health faculty: (1) underscore an authentic commitment to antiracism and health equity in course materials, (2) account for intersectionality, and (3) engage in critical self-reflexivity. The key tenets of CRT provide an optimal foundation for operationalizing these three...