Thinking ‘beyond’: critical reflections on race, racism, and the field of public health

Abstract


 The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted all aspects of life in Canada, revealing systemic racism as a foundational issue perpetuating health and social inequalities for racialized communities. In the field of public health, there is a growing recognition that addressing racism is crucial for achieving health equity and that anti-racist work is public health work. As guest editors of this special issue, we emphasize that in order to achieve this goal, the public health community needs to think in the ‘beyond’. To think in the beyond is to name, reflect on and subvert the epistemological, methodological, and practical conventions that dominate public health. The authors reflect on key considerations in this regard that account for historical contexts of epidemiology’s methods, tools and practice, biomedical constructs of race, relationships of racialized power in sustaining health inequalities, whiteness as an object of critical analysis, and notions of legitimate knowledge in the quantitative-qualitative data continuum. We then provide a brief overview of each of the articles comprising this special issue and make connections to the ways they compel us to think in the ‘beyond’. By interrogating these considerations (and those exceeding this article), we can work towards a transformation of public health research, policy and practice, and the knowledge systems they are embedded within. The aim of this article is to underscore the urgent need to confront racism in public health and to reimagine and remake the field towards advancing health equity for racialized communities and for all.