Ezra Griffith, M.D., to Receive Chester Pierce Human Rights Award
Abstract
Ezra Griffith, M.D., is the author of the book Race and Excellence: My Dialogue With Chester Pierce, which is a personal account of his time with Pierce as they engaged in dialogue on race relations in America and the impact of racism on mental health.
Ezra Griffith, M.D., will deliver the 2023 Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award Lecture at this year’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
Ezra Griffith, M.D. (left), is photographed with Chester Pierce, M.D., at Harvard University in 1998. Pierce was a pioneer in studying the effects of racism and health disparities, among many other areas, and was the first to propose the concept of microagressions, in 1970.
“Ezra Griffith’s remarkable career as a forensic psychiatrist, academician, ethics pioneer, and clinician has immeasurably influenced medicine and psychiatry,” said APA President Rebecca Brendel, M.D., J.D. “His decades-long participation and leadership in APA have strengthened the foundations of our profession. Along with Chester Pierce’s influence, Ezra’s voice will continue to lead us into a future in which race and racism no longer negatively affect our patients, our practice, and our profession. I am honored to recognize my teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend, Ezra Griffith, with this year’s Chester Pierce Human Rights Award.”
APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., added, “Ezra Griffith has been a courageous voice about the ways in which culture, race, and ethnicity influence the treatment of individuals in the criminal justice system and the practice of forensic psychiatry. As an active member of many APA components, he has carried on the legacy of Chester Pierce in demanding that psychiatry confront how racism affects our patients. He is eminently deserving of this year’s Chester Pierce Human Rights Award. This is one lecture that members will want to attend both for Dr. Griffith’s oratory and for the historical significance of the event.”
Now retired, Griffith is professor emeritus of psychiatry and senior research scientist in psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine and emeritus professor of African American Studies at Yale. He is a distinguished life fellow of APA and has served in the APA Assembly, the APA Council on Psychiatry and Law, the APA Ethics Committee, the APA Committee on Judicial Action, and the now retired APA Committee on the Misuse and Abuse of Psychiatry. He is also a columnist for Psychiatric News and serves on its Editorial Advisory Board.
In a nominating letter to Michelle Durham, M.D., chair of the Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award Selection Committee, psychiatrist Charles M. Dike, M.D., hailed Griffith’s achievements as a clinician, ethicist, and expert in forensics. Dike is co-director of the Law and Psychiatry Division at the Yale University School of Medicine and medical director in the Office of the Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
“His scholarly achievements make him widely recognized for his emphasis on the importance of psychiatric testimony in judicial settings and maintaining human dignity in forensic evaluation and testimony,” Dike wrote. “He has been influential in bringing a focus on the importance of culture in forensic psychiatry and ethics. His perspectives and contributions have helped to shape the practice of forensic psychiatry, which is highlighted in his book Ethics Challenges in Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology Practice. Particularly, Dr. Griffith advocates the use of narratives to highlight the humanity of Black and other defendants of color engaged in the U.S. criminal justice system that often judges them harshly and unfairly. His early writings in this area have spurred intellectual discourse and scholarship among younger forensic psychiatrists, the emphasis being on the treatment of criminal defendants of color with dignity and respect, recognizing their humanity.”
Griffith is the author of the book Race and Excellence: My Dialogue With Chester Pierce, published recently by APA Publishing. The book gives a personal account of his time with Pierce as they engaged in dialogue on race relations in America and the impact of racism on mental health.
He has served as the president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, the American Orthopsychiatric Association, the American Board of Forensic Psychiatry, Black Psychiatrists of America, and the Connecticut Psychiatric Society. He received the 2010 APA Isaac Ray Award and the 2011 AAPL Golden Appel Award.
The Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Award recognizes the extraordinary efforts of individuals to promote the human rights of populations with mental health needs by bringing attention to their work. Originally established in 1990 to raise awareness of human rights abuses, the award was renamed in 2017 to honor Chester M. Pierce, M.D. (1927-2016), to recognize his dedication as an innovative researcher on humans in extreme environments; an advocate against disparities, stigma, and discrimination; and a pioneer and visionary in global mental health.
In 2021, the award was endowed through the Chester M. Pierce Human Rights Endowment Campaign and the generous support of donors. The award includes a lectureship at APA’s Annual Meeting, a travel stipend to the meeting, and a plaque. ■
Resources
The Chester Pierce Award Lecture will take place on Monday, May 22, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. To search for more information about this session, check out the Annual Meeting Session Search.
