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“Racism Still Exists”: A Public Health Intervention Using Racism “Countermarketing” Outdoor Advertising in a Black Neighborhood

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Abstract

The negative health effects of racism have been well documented, but how to intervene to redress these effects has been little studied. This study reports on RISE (Racism Still Exists), a high-risk, high-reward public health intervention that used outdoor advertising to disseminate a “countermarketing” campaign in New York City (NYC). Over 6 months, the campaign advertised stark facts about the persistence of racism in the USA. A probability sample of N = 144 participants from two predominantly Black NYC neighborhoods completed measures of health status, health behaviors, and social attitudes. Three months postintervention, statistically significant declines in psychological distress were seen among study participants who were exposed to the campaign compared to those who were not. There were no changes in other hypothesized outcomes. The campaign also generated significant public discourse, particularly in social media. The results suggest that racism countermarketing campaigns may have promise as a community-based intervention to address health inequalities.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award Program, Award Number DP2 OD006513 from the Office Of The Director, National Institutes Of Health and the National Institute Of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Office Of The Director, National Institutes Of Health or the National Institutes of Health. I would like to thank the Center for Survey Research at the University of Massachusetts, Dr. Melody Goodman, Studio Kudos, and Community Board 3 in Brooklyn for their collaboration, consulting, and assistance; and the individuals who made this research possible—the respondents who participated in the project, and members of the Black LIFE Study research team.

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  1. Department of Human Ecology, and the Department of Africana Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Naa Oyo A. Kwate

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Correspondence to Naa Oyo A. Kwate.

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Kwate, N.O.A. “Racism Still Exists”: A Public Health Intervention Using Racism “Countermarketing” Outdoor Advertising in a Black Neighborhood. J Urban Health 91, 851–872 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-014-9873-8

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