One of the nation’s leading scholars of young African-American men, Waldo Johnson, Jr.,Associate Professor in the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration, will discuss black men’s problems with the health care system in a lecture Thursday.
Johnson will present the first Bowman Society Lecture of 2008 at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 10 in the 4th Floor Atrium of the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center, 5758 S. Maryland Ave.
His lecture is titled “African American Males’ Engagement with Public and Private Institutions: Physical and Mental Health Implications.”
Johnson has led several important studies related to young African-American men and recently was named a fellow in the Ford Foundation’s Scholars Network on Masculinity and Wellbeing of African American Males. Lauren Rich, a researcher at Chapin Hall for Children at the University of Chicago, is also a member of the network.
Through the network, scholars in the humanities, professions and the social sciences meet regularly to conduct collaborative research and exchange emerging individual research so they can better engage public policy leaders and the media in topics related to young African-American men.
Johnson is launching a new study to look at the ways in which young African-American males engage in the institutions that impact their lives, including the family, schools, health-care institutions, social-service agencies and institutions related to the criminal justice system.
In addition to serving on the S.S.A. faculty, Johnson is Director of the University’s Center for the study of Race, Politics and Culture.
The Bowman Society Lecture Series commenced in 2005 through the generous support of Dr. James E. Bowman, Professor Emeritus in the Pathology and Medicine, and the Biological Sciences Division’s first tenured African-American Professor.
—Prof. Chuan He
