Death by Design
Producing Racial Health Inequality in the Shadow of the Capitol
1st Edition
Published on 28. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
466 pages
978-0-520-42116-5 (ISBN)
Description
Washington, DC, has the nation's largest racial life expectancy gap, and it has experienced many of the nation's worst epidemics, including maternal and infant mortality, homicide, heroin overdoses, and HIV/AIDS. These epidemics have disproportionately affected African Americans. Why and how does racial health inequality exist and persist? Starting from the city's founding in the late 1700s and drawing on a range of sources-including archival material, life history interviews, and census, vital statistics, and disease surveillance data-this book illustrates how the physical, social, and policy design of the city contributes to the production and reproduction of disproportionate Black death.
More details
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
46 b-w illustrations, 4 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
708 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-42116-5 (9780520421165)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2025
1st Edition
Naval Institute Press
€29.49
Available for download
Person
Sanyu A. Mojola is Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs and Maurice P. During Professor of Demographic Studies at Princeton University. She directed Princeton's Office of Population Research from 2020 to 2024.
Content
Contents
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Part One. Racial Containment and Health in Historical Context
Overview
1. The First Era: 1790-1890
2. The Second Era: 1890-1950
3. The Third Era: 1950-Present
Part Two. Sex, Love, and HIV in a Syndemic Zone
Overview
4. The HIV Epidemic Among Gay and Bisexual Men
5. The HIV Epidemic Among Heterosexual Men, Women, and Trans Women
Part Three. The SAVA Syndemic: Drugs-HIV/AIDS-Homicide
Overview
6. First Comes Heroin: 1960-2016
7. Then Comes Cocaine: Late 1970s-2010s
8. Paying for a Habit: Commercial Sex and Drug Addiction Treatment
9. Homicide Redux and Life in a Syndemic Zone
Part Four. Mass Incarceration and Syndemic Amplification
Overview
10. Creating Mass Black Incarceration in DC
11. The DC Prison Syndemic and Community Amplification
Part Five. Racial Containment and the City's HIV/AIDS Epidemic Response
Overview
12. Intersectional Politics and the AIDS Epidemic
13. Controlling an Epidemic: The Successes and Limits of Technocratic Expertise
Conclusion
Appendix: Methodological Note
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Part One. Racial Containment and Health in Historical Context
Overview
1. The First Era: 1790-1890
2. The Second Era: 1890-1950
3. The Third Era: 1950-Present
Part Two. Sex, Love, and HIV in a Syndemic Zone
Overview
4. The HIV Epidemic Among Gay and Bisexual Men
5. The HIV Epidemic Among Heterosexual Men, Women, and Trans Women
Part Three. The SAVA Syndemic: Drugs-HIV/AIDS-Homicide
Overview
6. First Comes Heroin: 1960-2016
7. Then Comes Cocaine: Late 1970s-2010s
8. Paying for a Habit: Commercial Sex and Drug Addiction Treatment
9. Homicide Redux and Life in a Syndemic Zone
Part Four. Mass Incarceration and Syndemic Amplification
Overview
10. Creating Mass Black Incarceration in DC
11. The DC Prison Syndemic and Community Amplification
Part Five. Racial Containment and the City's HIV/AIDS Epidemic Response
Overview
12. Intersectional Politics and the AIDS Epidemic
13. Controlling an Epidemic: The Successes and Limits of Technocratic Expertise
Conclusion
Appendix: Methodological Note
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index