Critical Condition: Health in Black America Screening and Panel Discussion

Black Americans are nearly twice as likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease than White Americans, and their life expectancy is about five years shorter.

In Critical Condition: Health in Black America, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Stanley Nelson investigates the dramatic health disparities in the US, even as scientists confirm that there are no meaningful genetic differences between races. From the deep history of pseudoscientific beliefs about race that still permeate modern medicine, to the latest research on how experiencing discrimination can directly damage the body’s DNA and biology, Critical Condition reveals the factors behind the health crisis facing Black Americans.

Join NOVA at The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center for a screening of selected clips from Critical Condition paired with a panel discussion featuring experts from the film. The program will begin at 6PM and the screening and panel discussion will be followed by a catered reception.

Critical Condition premieres Wednesday, April 30, at 9PM on PBS. Check local listings for details and stream the film online and via the PBS video app.

PARKING INFORMATION:

Discounted parking is available for DuSable Museum visitors and guests at The University of Chicago Medical Parking Garage ‘B’ located at 5631 South Cottage Grove Avenue.

Major funding for Critical Condition: Health in Black America and When Machines Prescribe is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and The California Endowment. Additional funding is provided by the George D. Smith Fund, Inc., the PDB Foundation, and the Wilemal Fund.

Major funding for NOVA and this programming is provided by Carlisle Companies, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the NOVA Science Trust with support from Margaret and Will Hearst and the Hoveida Family Foundation, and PBS viewers.