The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Gillings School of Global Public Health (link)

 Your guide to minority health-related activities at UNC-CH





Announcing the
45th Annual Minority Health Conference
by the Minority Student Caucus of the
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health


45th Annual Minority Health Conference graphic


The Building Blocks to Well-being: Connections Between Health and Stress

Friday, February 23, 2024 at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education

Conference information

Conference website: https://minorityhealth.web.unc.edu/conference/

The Building Blocks to Well-being: Connections Between Health and Stress, will explore the social determinants of health, the stress they can cause, and their impacts on the short- and long-term well-being of minority communities. The conference will explore the myriad ways our emotional, mental and physical health are linked throughout and beyond one's life, through life-course analyses and awareness of intergenerational impacts.


Co-chairs for the 45th Annual Minority Health Conference:

Ciera Thomas (she/her/hers) is a second year MPH student in Gillings' Global Health concentration, with interests in monitoring and evaluation, health systems strengthening, and health equity

Raven Walters is a second-year MPH student in Gillings' Health Equity, Social Justice, and Human Rights concentration.

Planning Committee members

More links:

Conference website: minorityhealth.web.unc.edu/

Watch the Annual Minority Health Conference Trailer (4 min) [video features founders Bill Jenkins and Geni Eng; cover image shows Delton Atkinson, Bill Jenkins, and Victoria Motley Washington attending a conference about a decade ago]

Minority Health Conference archival website, including (at the bottom) a link to all past annual conferences









Announcing the
44th Annual Minority Health Conference
by the Minority Student Caucus of the
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health


44th Annual Minority Health Conference graphic


Practicing Health As a Human Right: Policy, Ethics and the Law

Friday, February 24, 2023 at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education

Conference information

The conference theme, Practicing Health as a Human Right, recognizes that human rights provide a framework upon which we can ensure that equity and justice are routinely protected and upheld in the law. Practicing Health as a Human Right acknowledges that the public health problems of today are often structural, stemming from racism and other discriminatory practices and policies that have been codified into law, and therefore require legal and policy solutions. If public health practitioners, policymakers, and healthcare providers utilize human rights principles in the execution of their work, we stand a better chance of improving health outcomes and quality of life for all people.

Conference program (pdf)
Conference photos [Thank you SPH Communications!]
Recording of the Opening Remarks

Keynote speakers

Cynthia R. Greenlee, 25th Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture
(view the recording)

Matiangai Sirleaf, 12th Annual Victor J. Schoenbach Keynote Lecture
(view the recording)

Co-chairs for the 44th Annual Minority Health Conference:
Callia Cox, MPH student, Nutrition and Registered Dietician Internship student
Rhea Jayaswal, BSPH student, Nutrition

Planning Committee members

Links:
Conference website: minorityhealth.web.unc.edu/
and Facebook page

Watch the Annual Minority Health Conference Trailer (4 min)

Minority Health Conference archival website






Announcing the
43rd Annual Minority Health Conference
by the Minority Student Caucus of the
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health


43rd Annual Minority Health Conference graphic


Revolutionary Healing and Rebuilding: Learning from Today, Transforming Tomorrow

Thursday, February 24, 2022 online
Friday, February 25, 2022 virtual

Conference website: https://minorityhealth.web.unc.edu/conference/

Conference program

The conference theme, Revolutionary Healing and Rebuilding, recognizes that the first step in transforming systems and structures is to acknowledge past and present traumas of systemic racism. As we learn from today to transform tomorrow, we must recognize the pressing need to take lessons from our current situation and act now to build a better, more equitable future.

Keynote speakers

Donald Warne, 24th Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture

Jacqueline Patterson, 11th Annual Victor J. Schoenbach Keynote Lecture

Co-chairs for the 43rd Annual Minority Health Conference:
Takhona G. Hlatshwako, BSPH student, Health Policy and Management
Victoria Triana, Masters student, Health Behavior

Planning Committee members

Links:
Conference website: minorityhealth.web.unc.edu/
and Facebook page

Full program: View or download

Watch the Annual Minority Health Conference Trailer (4 min)

Minority Health Conference archival website






Announcing the
42nd Annual Minority Health Conference
by the Minority Student Caucus of the
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health


42nd Annual Minority Health Conference graphic


Body and Soul: The Past, Present, and Future of Health Activism

Thursday-Friday, February 25-26, 2021
via INTERNET, from Chapel Hill, NC

Conference program

Body and Soul encompasses a holistic view of health, empowers people to find their voice in the activism space, and encourages people to use their gifts and skills to advocate for and create change for those in the margins.

Keynote speakers

Wizdom Powell, 23rd Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture

Sharrelle Barber, 10th Annual Victor J. Schoenbach Keynote Lecture

Co-chairs for the 42nd Annual Minority Health Conference:
Rachel Singley, Doctoral student, Health Policy and Management
Shewit Weldense, RN, Masters student, Health Policy and Management

Breakout session: Activism in Action: Evolution of the Minority Student Caucus at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
M. Anita Page Holmes, JD, MPH; Victor J. Schoenbach, PhD; Delton Atkinson, MPH, MPH; John Hatch, DrPH, MSW; Walter Isaacs, MPH - Recording and slides

Links:
Conference website: minorityhealth.web.unc.edu/
and Facebook page

Watch the Annual Minority Health Conference Trailer (4 min)

Minority Health Conference archival website






41st Annual Minority Health Conference
by the Minority Student Caucus of the
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health


41st Annual Minority Health Conference graphic

Truth to Power: Exercising Political Voice to Achieve Health Equity

Friday, February 28, 2020
at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education
Chapel Hill, NC

Conference website: http://minorityhealth.web.unc.edu/conference41/

Truth to Power recognizes a critical need for a more just and truthful world to improve our society. Historically, the courageous voices of people with less access to power have fueled movement-making and actions to disrupt resistive power structures. This year’s conference will focus on the tools and approaches we need to uplift marginalized voices, embolden effective leadership, and create policy that is community-driven and grounded in equity.

Keynote speakers

LaTosha Brown, 22nd Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture

Dr. Abdul El-Sayad, 9th Annual Victor J. Schoenbach Keynote Lecture

The 22nd Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture will be presented live in the Grumman Auditorium of the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, at the opening of the full-day conference. The Lecture will be recorded and broadcast several hours later, in an interactive webcast during which you can submit questions to LaTosha Brown via email and social media (moderator: Laura Dugom, MPH Candidate at the Gillings School of Global Public Health enrolled in the Leadership in Practice concentration). The 90-minute webcast will begin at 2:00pm ET (11:00am PT, 12:00 MT, 1:00pm CT). Register to view the interactive webcast. (See below for recordings from earlier conferences)

Co-chairs for the 41st Annual Minority Health Conference:
Rakiah Anderson, Masters Student, Department of Health Behavior
Ishani Patel, Masters Student, Department of Maternal and Child Health

Links:
Conference website: minorityhealth.web.unc.edu/conference41/
Full program: View or download
Sponsorship acknowledgements: View or download

Watch the Annual Minority Health Conference Trailer (4 min)






40th Annual Minority Health Conference
by the Minority Student Caucus of the
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

40th Annual Minority Health Conference logo

Advocacy for Change: Celebrating Past Successes
and Planning for the Future

Friday, February 22, 2019
at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education
Chapel Hill, NC

This year's theme, Advocacy for Change: Celebrating Past Successes and Planning for the Future, celebrates how advocacy efforts are instrumental in advancing the health of minorities and people of color. The theme honors activist history and provides a forum through which communities can engage with advocacy efforts moving forward. Public health is the connecting thread in these movements for social change. We make an impact by showing that well-being is indicative of social determinants related to gender, race and ethnicity, wealth and class.

Keynote speakers

Linda Sarsour, 21st Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture

Tyrone B. Hayes, 8th Annual Victor J. Schoenbach Keynote Lecture

Co-chairs for the 40th Annual Minority Health Conference:
Afsaneh Mortazavi, Masters Student, Department of Health Behavior
Khadija Jafiyah, Masters Student, Department of Health Policy and Management

Links:
Conference website -
https://minorityhealth.web.unc.edu/40th-minority-health-conference/

Conference program (pdf)

40th MHC tribute to Bill Jenkins

Recording of the Keynote webcast (Moderator: Judith Noemi Rivera, PhD Candidate in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the UNC School of Medicine and NC State College of Engineering - see webcast link for full bio)

UCLA partner conference

(Recordings from the 39th MHC, February 23, 2018)
(Recordings from the 38th MHC, February 24, 2017)





39th Annual Minority Health Conference, 2018

(Click here for recordings from the 39th MHC, February 23, 2018)
(Click here for recordings from the 38th MHC, February 24, 2017)

Save-the-date postcard

by the Minority Student Caucus of the
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

This year's theme, Reclaiming the Narrative, is based on the recognition that the world is organized by the stories we tell. Stories have the power to influence the way we view ourselves and others and have the power to shape our actions. Given this sometimes unacknowledged influence, we must ask who are the storytellers, and who benefits from these narratives. The answers to these questions can offer an understanding of how we as public health professionals can progress and push public health agendas forward in a meaningful way. This year's theme challenges us to end the perpetuation of damaging rhetoric against marginalized communities. It highlights how resilient communities have fought to speak truth to power and refused to have their voices silenced and how public health practitioners can join such efforts. By reclaiming the narrative, communities and public health practitioners can reconcile the past and present and take agency in the future to promote health for all people.

Keynote speakers

Monica Raye Simpson, 20th Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture
(view the recorded webcast, with discussant Caitlin Williams,
or the full opening session, with welcomes and audience Q-and-A)
Vann R. Newkirk II, MSPH, 6th Annual Victor J. Schoenbach Keynote Lecture
(view the recording)

Registration closed early because the conference was full! But you can view the recording of Monica Raye Simpson's William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture from the webcast or the full opening session (with welcomes and audience Q-and-A). Vann Newkirk's keynote lecture was recorded. (Mr. Newkirk also headlined the Conference on Race, Class, Gender and Ethnicity at the School of Law the following day.)

Co-chairs for the 39th Annual Minority Health Conference:
Melissa Luong, Masters Student, Health Behavior
Shikira Thomas, Doctoral Student, Health Behavior
Planning committee coordinator: Shynah James, Masters Student, Health Behavior

Here are several short videos from one of the breakout sessions: 50 seconds, 2 min., 30 sec.

Pre-conference kick-off event: An Evening with Byron Hurt
In line with the 2018 theme Reclaiming the Narrative, the Minority Health Conference hosted an in-depth look at food injustice and its impact on marginalized communities, with Byron Hurt, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, writer, professor, and recipient of CNN Best Documentary Award at the American Black Film Festival. Hurt's most recent documentary, Soul Food Junkies, took us on a fascinating historical and culinary journey exploring the soul food tradition and its ties to black cultural identity. The film delves into the positive and negative consequences of this culinary tradition. A moderated Q&A with Byron Hurt followed the screening.

Reception - 5:30 PM, Michael Hooker Research Center Atrium
Screening and Q&A Session - 6:00 PM, Joan Heckler Gillings Auditorium (133 Rosenau)




Recordings from the 38th Annual Minority Health Conference, 2017

Systems of Power: Recalling our Past, Restructuring our Future

MHC banner

Presented February 24, 2017
at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education
by the Minority Student Caucus of the
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

Recordings available online:

Opening session of the 38th Annual Minority Health Conference including welcomes and remarks by Minority Health Conference co-chairs, Minority Student Caucus co-presidents, Chancellor Carol Folt, Dean Barbara Rimer, Interim Chief Diversity Officer Rumay Alexander, and the 19th Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture by Chandra Ford

Webcast of the 19th Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture by Chandra Ford

6th Annual Victor J. Schoenbach Keynote Lecture by Robert Fullilove

Closing Keynote Lecture by Amy Locklear Hertel (slides)

The workshop by Randolph Carter on Meditation as a Form of Empowerment is available as an audio file (begins with a minute of silence) plus slides.

The breakout session Why Place Matters: The Power of the Built Environment in Public Health (speakers Christina Chauvenet, MSc, MSPH, Charla J. Hodges, MPH, MCRP, and Tim Schwantes, MPH, MSW) is available as a video recording by the 38th MHC Communications Committee: Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4 



More about the Annual Minority Health Conference (founded in 1977)

Watch the Annual Minority Health Conference Trailer (4 min)


Past keynote lectures from the Annual Minority Health Conference (archived webcasts) (most past webcasts)

Minority Health Conference historical site, including a page with information for all Annual Minority Health Conferences, including audio recordings from 1977!

History of the Minority Student Caucus and the Minority Health Conference

Minority Health Project home page   (in new window)

Minority Health Project home page on the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health website   (in new window)


Last updated: 12/22/2018, 1/29/2019, 4/11/2019, 5/13/2019, 12/23/2019, 2/27/2020, 8/3/2020, 11/16/2020, 12/7,19,31/2020, 1/5,23/2021, 12/5/2021, 12/24/2021, 1/21/2022, 3/7/2022, 1/7/2023, 2/16/2023, 3/16/2023, 12/13/2023 by Vic Schoenbach