A renowned expert in the field of health equity and an alumna of the School of Public Health, Jalonne L. White-Newsome will deliver the 30th annual Health Sciences 2020 MLK Lecture.
White-Newsome
White-Newsome, a senior program officer at The Kresge Foundation and a researcher on climate, health and equity, will speak at 1 p.m. Jan. 20 in Dow Auditorium at U-M Hospital’s Towsley Center for Continuing Medical Education.
White-Newsome said her speech will “focus on the intersection of climate change, health and racial equity” while complementing the 2020 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium’s central theme of “The (Mis)Education of US.”
“It will highlight how it is up to all of us to acknowledge our ‘mis-education,’ to re-educate ourselves, to re-commit to our communities and to re-invent the policies, institutions and actions that will help everyone — regardless of your race, class, color, creed, sexual identity or socioeconomic status — have the quality and quantity of life they deserve,” White-Newsome said.
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At The Kresge Foundation, White-Newsome is responsible for the Environment Program’s grant portfolio on Climate Resilient and Equitable Water Systems.
White-Newsome’s background and expertise in health equity and climate issues — and also because of Public Health’s involvement in this year’s upcoming Earth Day at 50 events — made her an ideal choice for the MLK Lecture, said Michael Kasiborski, Public Health director of brand management and internal communication.
“We wanted to see if we could highlight climate and its effect on human health in a few different ways. This would be an appropriate place, knowing Dr. King was a man of action who fought against injustice, so we thought we could meld these two things happening on campus,” Kasiborski said.
