Health in the city: race, poverty, and the negotiation of women's health in New York City, 1915-1930

Shortly after the dawn of the 20th century, the New York City Department of Health decided to address what it perceived as the racial nature of health.

It delivered heavily racialised care in different neighbourhoods throughout the city: syphillis treatment for African Americans, tuberculosis for Italian Americans, and so on. 'Health in the City' challenges traditional ideas of early 20th-century urban black health care by showing a program that was simultaneously racialised and cutting edge.

It reveals that even the most well-meaning public health programs may inadvertently reinforce perceptions of inferiority that they were created to fix.