Linda Villarosa is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, where she covers race, inequality and public health. A former executive editor of Essence Magazine, she is the author of the book Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation.
Under the Skin tells the full story of racial health disparities in America by revealing the toll racism takes on individuals and public health. Under the Skin was named a best book of 2022 by 6 media outlets, including NPR, the Atlantic and the Washington Post. It was honored as one of the top 10 books of 2022 by The New York Times Book Review and was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize.
Linda’s contribution to The New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project highlights race-based physiological myths that have endured in medical practice since slavery and an expanded version of her essay was included in the book The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story.
Linda is a graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, where she is now a professor. She also teaches journalism, English and Black Studies at the City College of New York.
Co-hosted by the Yale School of Public Health Dean’s Lecture Series
