On the evening of May 26, MainPAC presented Dr. Jonathan Metzl in a special reception and then a general presentation. The evening, despite a few hiccups, was a tremendous success, thanks to Dr. Metzl, the MainPAC Committee, and all of our patrons and supporters.

Thank you.

Dr. Jonathan Metzl is a professor, psychiatrist, KC native and noted author of Dying of Whiteness: How the politics of racial resentment is killing America's Heartland. Based on research undertaken in Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee, Dr. Metzl shows how many lower and middle class white Americans are drawn to politicians who pledge to make their lives great again. But as Dying of Whiteness shows, the policies that result actually place white Americans at ever-greater risk of sickness and death.

Dr. Metzl is a Professor and the Director of the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University, a Psychiatrist, and the Research Director of The Safe Tennessee Project, a non-partisan, volunteer-based organization that is concerned with gun-related injuries and fatalities in America and in Tennessee.

Listen to Dr. Metzl talk with The Washington Post about how the coronavirus is exacerbating the issues he talks about in his book.

Watch Dr. Metzl talk about the last time white men have had a three-year drop in life expectancy, 100 years ago during the flu pandemic of 1918.

In addition, he has contributed extensively to highly respected professional publications. Dr. Metzl talks, writes and teaches about topics including Mental Illness and Gun Violence, with a particular focus on Gender and Race.

Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland is a 2019 non-fiction book written by Dr. Metzl, based on research undertaken in Missouri, Tennessee and Kansas from 2013 to 2018.

About MainPAC

MainPAC, the political action committee of the Mainstream Coalition, supports and advocates for candidates for office who align with Mainstream’s mission of good governance, quality public education, healthy communities and sustainable fiscal policy, regardless of political affiliation.

MainPAC’s support in the 2018 elections helped to elect U.S. Representative Sharice Davids, Governor Laura Kelly, a majority mainstream Kansas House of Representatives, and a rising number in the Kansas Senate.

Thank you to our Sponsors

Underwriters
Cathy Matlack
Dianne Shumaker

Benefactors
David Gale

Patrons
Joy Koesten, Ward Katz, Donna Gould Cohen, Gerald White, Edward Goldstein, Michael Porter, Jerry Miller, Shel Roufa, Marilyn Higgins, Rebecca Pruett, Deborah Reiman, Howard Weiner, Victor Bergman, Harvey Kaplan, Robert Levy, Susan Fitzgerald, Lynn Johnson, John Isenberg, Linda and Michael Braude, Pati Chasnoff, Jeff Brick, Sally Levitt, Irvin Belzer, Les Lampe, Karen Lampe, Bill Kort, Gary Gradinger, Saul and Irene Ellis, Andrew Kaufman, Carol Sader, Jill Quigley, Sandy Geduldig, Jim and Ethel Edwards, Charlotte Davison, Sherrelyn Smith, Richard and Barbara Atlas, Kay Johnson, William Koenigsdorg, Sunny Goldberg, Hedda Winetroub, Joyce Morrison, Kristen Fromm, Leslie Mark, Jeff Ellis, Ed and Marsha Herman, Robert Simon, Bonnie Taylor, Carol Handley, Mark Holland, Sheryl Spaulding, David Feiock, Frank Tallman, Annie McKay, Kaye Summers, Steven and Terri Cohn, Amelia McIntyre, Ed Peterson, Donna Thalblum, Melissa Rooker, Allen G. Parelman, John Lantos