The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute is excited to join Associate Professor Karen Miga’s BME 80G Bioethics course in inviting Dr. Joseph Graves to come speak on campus April 5th at 5:20PM in Classroom Unit 2. The title of his talk will be, “Racism not race: Answers to the most critical questions.” Everyone is welcome to attend this lecture- a panel discussion and small reception will follow. A zoom option is available for those who are unable to attend in person. Register here for a Zoom link.

Joseph L. Graves Jr. is a professor of biological science at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and a former associate dean for research at the Joint School for Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. He has written extensively on genetics and race and will be speaking from his book, Racism Not Race, Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, in which he demonstrates that inequities in health, wealth, and other life outcomes for socially constructed racial groups are not the result of genetics, but of racism. 

In advance of Grave’s lecture, our Racial Justice Learning and Action Group will be reading Grave’s book, Racism Not Race, Answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Anyone affiliated with UC Santa Cruz is welcome to attend. Click here to add the meetings to your calendar (must be logged into your UCSC gmail account).

The reading schedule will be:

Wednesday, March 15th: Discuss Preface, Introduction, and Chapters 1-3 

Wednesday, March 22nd: Discuss Chapters 4-7

Wednesday, March 29th: Discuss Chapters 8-11 and Conclusions

Please contact Mary Goldman if you have any questions about the reading group. 

This lecture is a precursor to the Genomics Institute’s Advancing Anti-Racist Practices in Genomics Symposium scheduled for May 19th. We encourage everyone to attend!