SOM Hosts Three Simultaneous Race Around the Table Events

Dr. Cathy Lazarus
Associate Dean for Students

Dr. Angela McLean
Professor of Clinical Medicine

The School of Medicine recently hosted three simultaneous dinners as part of the Campaign for Equity New Orleans’s first annual Race Around the Table event. Events were held at the medical school, Children’s Hospital New Orleans, and at University Hospital Lafayette and engaged more than 100 participants among all three sites.

The initiative is meant to raise awareness and normalize conversations related to race and equity in New Orleans. In total, 1,100 people attended 110 simultaneous dinners across the city, holding open and honest conversations about race, inequities, and a vision of racial equity for New Orleans.

Drs. Cathy Lazarus and Angela McLean led the event at the School of Medicine, Dr. Ann Tilton and Natasha Richardson led the dinner at Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Kristi Anderson led in Lafayette. Twenty-seven faculty members and administrators have attended the Campaign for Equity New Orleans’ two-day Racial Equity Institute Training, and 13 of those graduates participated in Race Around the Table as small group facilitators. Many more faculty and staff are anticipated to participate in future racial equity trainings. Drs. Robert Maupin and Jennifer Avegno are both leading additional racial equity initiatives.

Dr. Bradley Spieler was one of the facilitators. “I was in a group with wonderful people from our campus who serve in a wide range of capacities. After a short while, we were all stripped of our titles and were just a group of people having a conversation, albeit a challenging one, coming together to talk about a common goal,” he said. “This was an incredible team-building exercise on so many levels, and I hope to see more of it on campus.”

Participants largely agreed that through participation in the events that they increased their comfort with speaking about racial inequality. One participant said, “We could have gone on for another few hours. Never enough time when people share their experiences.”

Doug Grigsby and Tonya Field (below)

.

.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .