Current Projects
As a Black American woman, I am concerned with the retention, equity, and inclusion of women students of color in professional education. Moreover, I am interested in mitigating health inequity for Black birthing people. My ancestry as Black American is not often celebrated or recognized in mainstream American society. My history as a Black woman has been silenced if not erased. Therefore, I make it my professional mission to unearth the injustices and systems of oppression that can cause harm to women medical students, residents, and fellows of color by exploring their experiences. I also seek to examine ways of retaining these underserved populations using strategies that promote equity and inclusivity.
01
Black Maternal Health
This project explores the factors that contribute to health inequity in terms of healthcare access for Black women. Because we recognize personally mediated racism as a feature of the racist systems and structures that serve as barriers to access, we also intend to identify behaviors that effectively signal (versus undermine) allyship as perceived by Black birthing individuals with the purpose of enhancing trust.
02
Health Equity Using Art
The purpose of this project is to develop, implement, and evaluate an anti-racist, structural competency program using art and visual thinking strategies for internal medicine residents. Residents consider the physical characteristics, emotional underpinnings, and the subjectivity elicited by artworks to articulate and reconcile perspectives related to structural oppression.
03
Black Health Equity Coalition
Membership to an interdisciplinary group of Black educators, activists, and scholars situated in the Center for Africana Studies and Culture at IUPUI, and dedicated to transformative, community-engaged work with a vision toward health equity. We promote health equity by initiating partnerships, conducting research, and implementing educational activities.
04
​Experiences of Black Women in Medicine
Significant research calls for diversity in medical education. It is understood that diversity contributes to health equity, and that physicians of color contribute to instruction of culturally engaging pedagogies that support medical student success. Yet, medical schools have failed to increase diversity even when setting diversity as a pillar of educational excellence. There is also a dearth of research that explores the experiences of diverse medical students and trainees, specifically Black women. Consistent with other projects, I seek to explore and understand experiences of Black women in medicine.
