Our Research

Highlighted Research Projects

Antiracism research is revolutionary because it aims to identify, understand, and ultimately dismantle the root cause of racial inequities: structural racism. Our Research Library is a curated collection of published antiracist research by our core team and partners, and the projects below are examples of some of our many ongoing antiracist research projects.

^{Woman in white spaghetti strap dress wearing brown sun hat, via Ben Iwara of Unsplash.} 

Bearing Witness: Understanding Racism in the Black Birthing Experience (Commonwealth Fund)

Bearing Witness is a community-centered research study that aims to identify how structural and institutional racism affect the reproductive health of Black women. It is being conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota (Dr. Rachel Hardeman and Dr. Jaime Slaughter-Acey). This study centers the stories and lived experiences about accessing health care delivery systems over the course of their pregnancy and postpartum period for Black and African American women in Hennepin and Ramsey County. 

Center for Chronic Disease Reduction and Equity Promotion Across Minnesota (NIH—P50)

Chronic disease can be devastating for individuals and costly to health systems, but with appropriate intervention the worst outcomes of chronic disease can be prevented. The Center for Chronic Disease Reduction and Equity Promotion Across Minnesota (C2DREAM), led by the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic, seeks to reduce disparities in cardiovascular diseases and the related chronic conditions of hypertension and obesity experienced by Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities across Minnesota, including immigrants and refugees. 

C2DREAM empowers cross-sector collaboration between researchers, health providers, and community members to address the root causes of health disparities. By confronting the fundamental causes of health, we can have huge positive benefits on community health, wellbeing, and dignity. 

Systems Thinking for Antiracist Research (STAR) Hub (RWJF)

To study the interconnected systems that perpetuate structural racism and to engage affected communities in health policy research, we are creating a multidisciplinary antiracist team of collaborative scholars and experts: The Systems Thinking for Antiracism Research (STAR) Hub. The STAR Hub will play a critical role in researching, identifying, and evaluating ways to create and implement antiracist policy. The five proposed research projects in the STAR Hub will analyze and inform public health and social policies that have the potential to eliminate racial injustice and improve health and well-being.

This page was last updated on Tuesday, 2024 May 07.