Genes and Justice – A Community Symposium on Health, Race and Rights
September 24, 2007
Now that the Human Genome Project has completed our genetic map, communities must address the opportunities and challenges posed by scientific progress. WE ACT’s Genes & Justice community symposium began a series of conversations for communities of color to assess the implications of the growing role that genetic information plays in our society. Through dialogue, we hope to advance policies that promote health, equity and justice.
The goal of this symposium was to stimulate conversation within communities of color regarding the opportunities and challenges posed by scientific progress in the area of genetics. By focusing on the various areas including medicine, law, and social justice, the symposium facilitated discussion to advance policies that promote health, equity, and justice.
Comments from Symposium Participants
“The diversity of approach to the issues and the panels were well organized and complementary to each other and by themselves.” Greater Southern Brooklyn Health Coalition
“I gained a much deeper understanding of the many layers of the various ethical issues involved in genetics research.” MAMM Magazine
“The information has raised my awareness of the cross section between race, health and genetics.” Minnesota Department of Health
“[The] Panelists were exceptional. The topics were interesting and the extraordinary organization of this symposium can be attributed to WE ACT. And, it was presented at the Schomburg… what is more appropriate!” City University
Support
Organized by WE ACT for Environmental Justice and Libraries for the Future, the symposium was supported by the following organizations:
Co-Sponsors:
Additional Support Provided By:
Summary of Symposium Content
Keynote Address: Golden Rule Genetics & Public Health / Rev. Dr. James A Forbes Jr., President, Healing of the Nations Foundation; Senior Minister Emeritus of the Riverside Church
What's It All About? Genetics 101 / Jose Morales, PhD, Rockefeller University, Public Interest Biotechnology
Plenary: What Do We Know? Genetics, Health and Race (An overview of Genes and Justice from experts working in health-related fields, including environmental health, medicine, and epidemiology.)
Moderator: Jose Morales, PhD, Rockefeller University, Public Interest Biotechnology / Panelists: Harold Freeman, MD, President and Founder, Ralph Lauren Cancer Center in Harlem NY; Senior Advisor to the Director of the National Cancer Institute / Sharon L.R. Kardia, PhD, Director, Public Health Genetics Program, Co-Director, Michigan Center for Genomics and Public Health, Co-Director, Life Sciences and Society Program, Associate Professor, University of Michigan Department of Epidemiology / Nancy Krieger, PhD, Professor, Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health / Kenneth Olden, PhD, ScD, Former Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, National Institutes of Health, DHHS
Panel: Law, Regulation, and Social Justice (An overview of Genes and Justice from experts working in the social sciences and the law, highlighting the regulation of genetic information, criminal justice, and its implications for social justice.) Moderator: / Charmaine D. M. Royal, PhD, Associate Research Professor, Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, Duke University / Panelists: Troy Duster, PhD, Silver Professor of Sociology and Director of the Institute for the History of the Production of Knowledge, New York University; Chancellor's Professor, University of California, Berkeley / Harry G. Levine, PhD, Professor, Department of Sociology, Queens College, City University of New York / Peter Neufeld, JD, Co-founder and Co-director of The Innocence Project; Cochran Neufeld & Scheck, LLP / Dorothy Roberts, JD, Kirkland & Ellis Professor, Northwestern University School of Law; Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research
Panel: Genetic Counseling, Testing, and Research Ethics (An exploration of potential benefits posed by genetics testing and counseling for individuals, families and communities, as well as ethical issues related to confidentiality, informed consent, and ideas of community consent.) / Panelists: Kwame Anyane-Yeboa, MD, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, New York Presbyterian Hospital Department of Clinical Genetics / Jamie D. Brooks, JD, Project Director on Race, Health and Justice, Center for Genetics and Society / Celia Fisher, PhD, Marie Ward Doty Professor of Psychology, Director of the Fordham University Center for Ethics Education; Chair of EPA Human Research Subjects Board / Kurt Hirschhorn, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Genetics and Genomic Sciences, and Medicine, Chairman Emeritus, Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
The Way Forward: Advancing Policies that Promote Health, Equity and Justice
Moderator: Cecil Corbin-Mark, MPhil, Program Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice / Panelists: Sharon L.R. Kardia, PhD, Director, Public Health Genetics Program, Co-Director, Michigan Center for Genomics and Public Health, Co-Director, Life Sciences and Society Program, Associate Professor, University of Michigan Department of Epidemiology / Dorothy Roberts, JD, Kirkland & Ellis Professor, Northwestern University School of Law; faculty fellow, Institute for Policy Research / Charmaine D. M. Royal, PhD, Associate Research Professor, Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, Duke University / Makani Themba-Nixon, Executive Director, the Praxis Project