The East Side Freedom Library invites you to the third conversation in our series, “Learning from the Past, Fighting for the Future”

When the topic of health comes up, most Americans think of their personal health and how they are going to pay their health care bills. Often taken for granted is the public dimension: a working sanitation system, clean air and water, hygienic workplaces and an advanced medical infrastructure. Yet all of these—and more—have been products of community mobilization and public education.

What is true at the national level is even more true at the global. The COVID-19 virus reminds us that threats to the public’s health do not stop at the border. A globe trotting virus demands a global response.

Join Tom O’Connell, former Metro State University Professor of Political Studies, as he explores the local and global dimensions of public health with Dr. Michael Westerhaus, Professor of Social Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Westerhaus is founding member of the Social Medicine Consortium, a global partnership that combines social medicine education with community organizing to advance public health.