Disrupting Environmental Racism
February 13, 2024As founder and Executive Director of the Environmental Noxiousness, Racial Inequities and Community Health (ENRICH) Project, Dr. Ingrid Waldron works alongside African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaw communities to disrupt environmental racism as a necessary part of the environmental justice movement. In this episode, Ingrid positions environmental racism as an urgent health equity issue and highlights how the ENRICH project builds community power through meaningful partnerships, research and collective action. Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed, a former Medical Officer of Health, then reflects on how public health can better respond to communities whose health is affected by systemic racism.
Guests
Dr. Ingrid Waldron is Professor and HOPE Chair in Peace and Health in the Global Peace and Social Justice Program at McMaster University, the Founder and Executive Director of the Environmental Noxiousness, Racial Inequities and Community Health Project, and the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Canadian Coalition for Environmental and Climate Justice. Her research focuses on the health and mental health impacts of social inequalities and discrimination in Black, Indigenous, and other racialized communities, including mental illness, dementia, environmental racism and climate change inequities, and COVID-19. Her research and advocacy, as well as her 2018 book There’s Something in the Water: Environmental Racism in Indigenous and Black Communities and her 2020 Netflix documentary of the same name have played a pivotal role in creating awareness about and addressing environmental racism.
Website
Reflective guest Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed is the Associate Dean of Serving and Engaging Society for Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Medicine, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology. She is a public health specialist physician with 18 years experience, having served as the former Medical Officer of Health for the Halifax area and Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health for Nova Scotia. She also sits as chair or member of several national population health councils and boards, and was appointed to CIHR’s Advisory Board for the Institute of Population and Public Health in 2023. Gaynor is a passionate advocate for high-quality public health services and for anti-oppressive health care in Canada.
Episode Credits
Production for this episode was led by Pemma Muzumdar and Rebecca Cheff, with contributions from host Bernice Yanful and Carolina Jimenez (NCCDH). The Mind the Disruption project team is led by Rebecca Cheff, with technical production and original music by Chris Perry. Promotion by Caralyn Vossen (NCCDH). Artwork by comet art + design.
Sound credits: Clips used from There’s Something In The Water trailer and from the proceedings of the Senate of Canada (Senate sitting no. 124).