Changing Minds and Behaviors on Race in a College of Pharmacy: A History Walk

Abstract

In the wake of the racial injustice events and protests during summer 2020, the faculty and staff at the University of Houston-College of Pharmacy (UH-COP) felt a sense of helplessness and alarm. UH is generally proactive circulating and creating statements to show support for anti-racist education, changes in social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion. However, this time it was not enough. We wanted to have the courage to take a collective stand against racial prejudice, have the bravery not to remain silent. Confronted with the question on why we have not solved this long history of racial tear in our country, we recognized we do not understand how we got to this situation in the first place. Our country’s present situation suffers from a lack of attention to the root causes. Thus, a better understanding of those root causes would help us discover how to move past where we are right now, provide us with the tools to advance and to have open conversations about race and social injustices. With that effort in mind, the Office for Faculty Development at UH-COP designed and implemented a challenging program for faculty and staff over a 9-week period during the summer of 2020. The program combined open free sources as well as loaned films, together with facilitated sessions by Pharmacy experts. Because it was important to participate in this significant moment, the program started less than three weeks after the death of George Floyd, while the protests and civil unrest, as well as the pandemic, were still present in the USA and around the world. Herein, we outline the approach taken to changing minds and behaviors in our academic unit, building understanding to racial disparities, diversity, equity and inclusion. As part of the program, we facilitated particularly emotional exchanges among faculty and staff, collecting both personal and professional experiences that shaped us around biases and racism. Additionally, feedback from participants regarding the effectiveness of the program was gathered. After this educational experience, it is our commitment to continue bringing awareness to this topic through inclusion of additional relevant topics and work with our students as elements of change.