The second event in the COVID-19 reflections series will feature Cameron Webb, senior policy advisor for COVID-19 equity on the White House COVID-19 Response Team, in conversation with Luke Shaefer, faculty director of Poverty Solutions at U-M. Together, they will reflect on the two-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic and will discuss the national response and strategies used to address and mitigate racial disparities.

The Center for Racial Justice is partnering with Poverty Solutions and the National Center for Institutional Diversity to co-host a virtual event series that reflects on the local and state-level policies that have been instrumental in responding to the racialized health and economic disparities stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The series brings together a diverse group of changemakers, including national and local policymakers, journalists, researchers, and community leaders, to (1) meditate on the past and current racial dynamics of COVID-19 in Michigan and Detroit, and to (2) discuss the policies, programs, and practices that have successfully responded to the needs of communities of color disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

The first event was April 1, and the series will end with an event on June 10.