VCU news

By David Slipher
L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

A new book, “Racial Equity, COVID-19, and Public Policy: The Triple Pandemic,” takes a critical look at how existing areas of racial inequality in the United States rose to the surface as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.

The volume is a result of the research priorities of the Racial Equity Action Plan of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU faculty members Elsie Harper-Anderson, Ph.D.; Jay Albanese, Ph.D.; and Susan Gooden, Ph.D., co-edited the volume, which was published Monday by Routledge.

Broad and interdisciplinary in its approach, the collection of original research unites faculty from each of the Wilder School’s program areas. 

“Emblematic of the Wilder School’s national reputation for advancing social equity analysis and remedies, this volume squarely examines preexisting inequities magnified by COVID-19,” said Gooden, dean of the Wilder School. “Extremely accessible and timely, it’s more than a thought leadership resource — it’s a clarion call to action.”

The racial equity implications of COVID-19, the book’s co-editors said, are multifaceted and complex. Each chapter falls under one of three subsections that comprise the “triple pandemic”: health, justice and economics. The chapters weave historical context and exacerbations caused by COVID-19 and offer transformative policy recommendations to improve equitable governance. 

The book includes contributions from 25 authors, including 16 Wilder School faculty members, three Wilder School Ph.D. students, three Wilder School alumni, three faculty members from other universities and two practitioners.

In a foreword, L. Douglas Wilder, a distinguished professor who served as the 66th governor of Virginia, notes with pride that the authors “coalesce in providing a blueprint

and guidelines to deal with present and future problems.” The book, he notes, will “provide awareness, research and solutions from which to draw in meaningful resolve.” Beyond strict policy implications, Wilder notes that all readers “will be further enlightened as to what every citizen can do” to battle racial injustice in the U.S. moving forward.

The incendiary events of 2020 served as flashpoints for public and political outrage and brought to greater light the disparity and victimization of those already vulnerable to unjust public and private systems.

“The book questions a contemporary dilemma in which police legitimacy in enforcing the law and their proper role in the lives of citizens are questioned,” said Albanese, professor of criminal justice at the Wilder School. “Changes are needed to address the essence of what the public wants from the police.” 

Long-term impacts set into motion during the pandemic continue to unfold in unforeseen ways, and this research promises to provide a framework for addressing structural issues. Chapters on police and justice system reform, housing security, business impacts, disaster response, education, immigration and vaccine distribution, among others, magnify focus on racial inequities and social injustice. 

“The triple pandemic taught us important lessons about the consequences of letting structural inequality in our nation’s critical systems go unchecked,” said Harper-Anderson, associate professor and director of the Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration program. “This book helps to unpack the policy implications and makes recommendations to chart a more equitable path forward.” 

Read the full story about the book and how to order it on the Wilder School’s website.