For Linda Villarosa, who is a regular contributor to the 1619 Project, Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and the Health of Our Nation (published in 2022) is personal. As an author and activist, Villarosa is deeply interested in exploring the impact of racism on marginalized populations in the U.S. Her book Under the Skin, more specifically, examines the toll that racism has taken on marginalized communities health. Racism, Villarosa reveals through her inclusion of scientific studies, causes increased infant mortality. The healthcare system, Villarosa argues, is so fundamentally broken that it causes black people to “live sicker and die quicker.” And all of that is because systematic, structural, and environmental racism disproportionately affects black people. Ultimately, Under the Skin is a book about racism and its connection to poor health.
The New York Times opined that Under the Skin was one of the ten best books of 2022. In their glowing review of the book, The Guardian wrote that "Linda Villarosa paints a horrifying picture of embedded inequality and prejudice, yet still finds hope for the future." Kirkus Reviews felt similarly, noting that Under the Skin is "A closely argued case for racial and class equity in health care, revealing a medical regime sorely in need of reform."
