Tale of two Baltimores: Experts discuss roots of city health disparities
by Saralyn Lyons
Originally published by HUB
During a panel discussion Wednesday evening, public health experts explored more than a century of discriminatory public policy in Baltimore, and the results: two Baltimores with extreme—and life-threatening—health disparities for residents.
Speaking at the second event of the Redlining Baltimore conversation series sponsored by Johns Hopkins University’s 21st Century Cities Initiative, Lawrence Brown, an assistant professor at Morgan State University’s School of Community Health and Policy, began the discussion with an overview of the history of redlining, a term that has come to refer to a variety of discriminatory practices meant to block access to public services based on race. Brown noted that in the early part of the 20th century, Baltimore mayors J. Barry Mahool, James H. Preston, and Howard W. Jackson began redlining in Baltimore during the Jim Crow era as a means of segregating the city.
“Baltimore is ground zero for Apartheid in America,” he said.