Radical Curriculum: Breaking Bad Political Economics of Neoliberalism and #BlackLivesMatter to Public Health

Neoliberalism has been the predominant political and economic agenda for several decades, worsening inequities along lines of race and class. In the U.S., ruling classes have utilized racist state-sanctioned violence and mass incarceration to drive wedges among groups of working and impoverished people, while joining neoconservatives to advance empire abroad, further concentrating wealth and power. Generally, U.S. public health workers and students are ill-prepared to identify and confront both the facets and entirety of neoliberalism.

To effectively combat neoliberalism, and other racist and classist ideas and practices, we must rebuild and redevelop public health curriculum and practice. To that end, Radical Public Health (RPH) was formed to organize discussions and forums for public health students, faculty, workers, and activists to better understand roots of injustices, discuss means for advancing justice, and revolutionize public health curriculum. This year, RPH partnered with Minority Students for the Advancement of Public Health (MSAPH) to organize both a teach-in and die-in regarding eliminating state-sanctioned violence, mass incarceration, and over-policing, which disproportionately impact Black, Brown, and poor communities. RPH has also fielded several information requests from other public health students regarding establishment of similar groups on other campuses.

Curriculum change and community building within the public health learning and practice communities help public health students understand broader dimensions through which public health theory, research, and practice may contribute to the elimination of racist, classist, and sexist policies and practices. Building such power within public health practice communities is necessary for advancing health equity in all communities.