Corey Shdaimah, Brook Kearley, and alumna Judith Park and co-authors published in Critical Public Health.
UMSSW's Corey Shdaimah, Brook Kearley, and MSW alumna Judith Park were published in Critical Public Health with co-authors Natalie Flath (Lead author; Johns Hopkins), Lawrence Grandpre (Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle), and Jordan White (Morgan State University) were published in Critical Public Health.
Their article, Exploring Black Civil Society Perspectives of Drug Decriminalization Reforms in the Baltimore Context: A Participatory Qualitative Study, was based on research conducted between 2021-22 by racial justice policy advocates and university-based researchers. The study found that that current decriminalization proposals overlook the structural harms of decades of drug criminalization and do not reflect the values that ground communities’ responses to heal and become architects of the solution. Stakeholders recommended the incorporation of financial reparations and investment into a community-led support system that includes Black-owned businesses, harm reduction organizations, and psychospiritual care initiatives. For decriminalization to be effective in urban U.S. contexts, this study emphasizes the need for reforms to be community-led and inclusive of larger U.S. racial justice policy priorities.
The published article is available through Open Access on the journal homepage.
Flath, N., Grandpre, L., Shdaimah, C., Park, J., White, J. J., & Kearley, B. (2025). Exploring Black civil society perspectives of drug decriminalization reforms in the Baltimore context: a participatory action qualitative study. Critical Public Health, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2025.2532628