Policymaking to Advance Health & Racial Equity

Structural racism drives many health inequities in the United States, and laws and policies have played a major role in shaping unequal access to the conditions that support good health. Because colorblind approaches are insufficient to remedy these harms, it is critical to understand the legal landscape affecting policymaking that considers racial equity.

In today’s policy environment, changemakers seeking to advance racial equity need to consider which policy approaches are more or less likely to face legal challenges, including lawsuits, government investigations, and enforcement actions.

With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we designed the Legal Primer for Policymaking to Advance Health & Racial Equity to address these considerations and more. The legal primer equips policymakers, governmental practitioners, and their community partners with practical and legally grounded guidance on how to design, implement, and defend policies that advance racial equity. As an entry point to this material, read the executive summary to determine if the primer is the right fit for your policy goals. Then take a deep dive into the legal primer to learn more.

This comprehensive primer: 

• Explains the legal landscape for advancing racial equity through policy
• Helps changemakers understand the legal standards governing equitable policymaking
• Provides information on how to evaluate legal risks
• And offers practical strategies to advance legally feasible, community-informed policy solutions

Curious to learn more? Join our webinar on Policymaking to Advance Health & Racial Equity on May 12 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET. This session will lay the groundwork for why racial equity matters, offer an overview of the current legal landscape and its implications for health and racial equity, and introduce our new legal primer. Register today.