Black History Month 2022
Black History Month celebrates the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and history and acknowledges the important contributions of African Americans/Black People in the United States. The theme for 2022 focuses on the importance of Black Health and Wellness. This theme acknowledges the legacy of not only Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine, but also other ways of knowing (e.g., birthworkers, doulas, midwives, naturopaths, herbalists, etc.) throughout the African Diaspora. The 2022 theme considers activities, rituals and initiatives that Black communities are using to incorporate wellness in their lives.
We encourage you to show your UCSF PRIDE by sharing your African American/Black heritage with your colleagues and friends. Here are a few ways you can share.
- Change your social media and Zoom profile picture to reflect your African American/ Black Heritage
- On Zoom use a virtual background showing your African American/Black Heritage (Bonus if the photo is one you took yourself)
- Share your pictures and/or short videos of yourself in cultural attire or engaging in a cultural activity. Send to [email protected]
- Add "Black History Month" and/or an image showing your African American/Black Heritage to your Email Signature
- Virtual Backgrounds for Black History Month can be downloaded HERE
Staff Highlights
Stephanie Brown, UCSF UDAR (University Development Alumni Relations) Talent Management
What is your role at UCSF?
I am the inaugural Director, Diversity Culture and Administration at UCSF’s Office of University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR), within the Talent Management department under the leadership of Jay Budner, our Chief Talent Officer. This is a newly formed role in UDAR’s Talent Management team, which is a direct and intentional combination of my many volunteer roles over the past several years:
- Chair DEIA+ (with UDAR Executive team inclusion)
- Co-chair DEI/AR Workforce Taskforce, and
- Co-chair of the BCH Black Caucus
With the creation of this position at UDAR, I contribute to recruitment, onboarding, and employee engagement efforts with a DEI-intentional lens. I come to this role with nine years of experience at BCH Oakland Foundation, where I held various positions as Executive Assistant, as well as Director of Foundation Administration and Special Projects, a role that I created and pitched to my VP to handle recruitment, onboarding and exiting, employee engagement, conflict resolution, administrative supervision—as well as becoming a valued thought partner to the VP’s and AVC’s at our Foundation, past and present.
With my UDAR colleagues Jay Budner and Jennifer Schmidt, we formed a DEIA+ leadership team in 2019, that is a working group of 60 members, and currently has produced three employee-led subgroups (Allyship, BIPOC, Fundraising for Diversity). Through these activities we are uniting as a community, growing and learning together towards creating a more culturally aware, inclusive and diverse UDAR, where authenticity is welcomed and encouraged. The advocacy, partnership, and sponsorship I have received from my colleagues who recognize their privilege, coupled with my willingness to be vulnerable and use my voice for change, has turned my passion into a paid position in the DEI space at UCSF. It’s truly a beautiful thing.
My DEI/AR co-chairs at BCH, Marsha Treadwell and Brandie Hollinger, have been my mentors in this space. Representation matters, and I no longer put limitations on what we can accomplish together. Special note of gratitude to Renee Navarro and Alejandra Rincon, and many others for their tireless efforts in creating a foundation within our university for DEI as well.
What is your personal story? How did you get here?
My family is currently mostly made up of black women now; for various reasons the men in our family have passed away due to health reasons, or sadly, have been killed by gun fire. So, to me, black women represent resilience, strength, perseverance, wisdom, beauty, and unconditional love. The women in my family have all overcome historical tragedies and generational atrocities in some form to become the women that they are today. The men in my family, past and present are pillars of strength and support, wisdom and vision. We all have wounds but we don’t display them. We have all had sorrow but we find a smile when needed, mostly for you, and not for us.
Please give some reflections on being an African American woman and what aspects of your heritage you are most passionate about?
The aspects of my heritage that I am most passionate about are our continued strength; our ability to visualize and create, and to communicate and plan anything we set our minds to; our ability to unify and find joy in any situation; and our amazing energy and bright light that many have spent a lifetime trying to dim. I am passionate about doing what I can to encourage and uplift us in all things—past, present and future.
Given the expression "Give them flowers while they are living"…Who would you give flowers to and why?
I would and do give my flowers to several women in my family: my mom Frances for her resilience; my sister Melissa, who is the supporting pillar of our family; to my 19 year daughter Bless, who has so much compassion for others; to my favorite cousin Lisa, who will give you a hug that sucks the wind out of you, tell you the honest truth when you need, and will always have your back no questioned asked; to my stylish auntie Karen, just because; to my amazing grandmother, Olive Claire, just passed away last year at 96, and whom I learned so many inspiring things about at her funeral, rather than when she was alive. Such a humble woman for strength and commitment.
These women all embody tremendous beauty, intellect, wisdom, and strength in some shape or form. I love them with every fiber of my being, I gain my strength and courage from them all, and am deeply blessed to call them my family.
Vanessa Roshell-Stacks, Vice President of Ancillary and Support Services
In this this critical role she is responsible for the operational, financial, and strategic activities for broad range of departments and programs across the organization. In addition, she serves as the site administrator for the Oakland campus.
Vanessa began her healthcare career providing therapy for autistic children. She now has over 20 years of healthcare experience with a strong operational foundation in operational efficiency, care management/population health, patient flow, decision support, and revenue cycle management. Throughout her career, Roshell-Stacks has served in leadership positions in a variety of premier healthcare organizations. Most recently prior to joining BCH Oakland, she was Vice President of Operations for Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois where she led a diverse portfolio of departments. Vanessa thrives in utilizing herself as a servant leader with a desire to deliver high quality and cost- effective solutions in a compassionate, collaborative and patient-centric manner. She is Lean Six-Sigma trained and obtained her bachelor’s degree in Experimental Psychology and master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of South Carolina.
UCSF Events
Black History Month Special Menu
BCH Oakland's Friendly Cafe will feature Special Menus in celebration of Black History Month throughout February.
- 2/3 & 2/8 - New Okra Concept for $9.99
- 2/16 - New BBQ Smokhouse Concept for $9.99
- 2/25 - Gumbo Special for $9.99
Dante Kings' Book Launch: The 400 Year Holocaust
Tuesday, February 1, 2022 | 12 pm - 1:30 pm
Dante King launches his new book: The 400 Year Holocaust: White America's Legal, Psychopathic, and Socipathic Black Genocide and the Revolt Against Critical Race Theory
The Q&A Session is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, 2022 at 12 pm - 1:30 pm.
Closing the Gaps: Building Trust in Clinical Trials for Our Communities
Wednesday, February 9, 2022 | 10 am - 11:30 am, PST
FDA Oncology Center of Excellence Presents: Converstations on Cancer, a Black History Month Program: Closing the Gaps - Building Trust in Clinical Trials for Our Communities
BCH Black Caucus presents: A Conversation with Dr. Camara Jones
Thursday, February 24, 2022 | 4 pm - 5 pm
Come join us at the monthly BCH Black Caucus meeting in a conversation with Dr. Camara Jones, UCSF Presidential Chair, in dismantling racism and creating an equity roadmap for UCSF.
Take-A-Pledge Black Men in White Coats Film
Thursday, February 24, 2022 | 12 pm
Join the Multicultural Resource Center and the Graduate Medical Education, School of Medicine in honoring Black History Month 2022 at UCSF, by committing to Take-A-Pledge by watching Black Men In White Coats film! The purpose of this action is to raise awareness around the disparities and systemic barriers preventing Black men on their journey to becoming physicians.
This is a self-guided opportunity for you to watch the film individually, or you can organize to watch it as a group! We also invite you to engage in the AMA's Black Men in White Coats Discussion Guide as a form of reflection, please access the guide here.
At the end of this survey, a link will be provided where you can access a unique code to watch the film anytime between the following dates:
Thursday, February 24, 2022- Saturday, February 26, 2022 (the film will be available starting Noon on 2/24) This pledge is open to all members of UCSF and the community-at-large.
register
Health and Wellness
Meet Chidiebere Ide - the medical student bringing Black illustrations to the medical field
Have you ever seen a medical illustration featuring a Black woman's womb? Chidiebere Ibe, 25, is behind the image. The Nigerian medical student, at Kyiv Medical University in Ukraine, describes himself as a self-taught medical illustrator. He began publishing the images on social media, showing conditions like empyema thoracis and seborrheic eczema on Black skin. Many of the images show skin conditions prevalent with Black people, combating a misrepresentation that often leads to misdiagnosis.
The lack of Black representation in medical journals and textbooks is no secret, though. A January study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that just 4.5 percent of images in general medicine textbooks show dark skin.
Meet Joel Bervell, Tiktok's medical myth buster, bringing racial disparities in medicine to light
The Ghanian-American 26-year-old earned an impressive amount of academic honor as a third-year medical student at Washington State University, founded and led multiple mentorship groups to empower underrepresented students and mastered a sort of warmth that’s rare in medical professionals.
His video series “Racial Biases in Medicine” not only educates his followers on damaging prejudices that can seriously harm people of color, but it is leading to real change.“People don’t realize [racial biases] begin way before you get to the doctor. It starts when [future doctors] are in medical school and the way [they] are trained to think about different issues,” he said.
His goal is to revolutionize the way medicine is being taught, through his social media presence and his medical career, so that every unit addresses possible racial disparities.
Meet Malone Mukwende, who's published a book to answer "What will will it look like on darker skin?"
When Malone Mukwende, 21, started medical school in London, he identified a fundamental problem: almost all the images and data used in its teaching were based on studies of white patients. But medical symptoms can present very differently on Black and brown skin, leading to misdiagnosis, suffering and even death. Still a student, he has recently launched both a handbook, Mind the Gap, and Hutano, a new online platform intended to empower people with knowledge about their health.
A handbook like this is necessary because at the moment in medical education in the U.K., and also around the world, we are often not taught how to identify signs and symptoms in darker skin. So this handbook almost acts as that bridge to fill in that gap in our education at the moment.
- Medical student creates handbook for diagnosing conditions in Black and brown skin - CBC Radio, July 21, 2021
- Malone Mukwenda - Talks at Google, May 19, 2021
- Mind the Gap: A handbook of clinical signs in Black and Brown skin. Download for FREE HERE.
African American Health Disparities
- CDC National Center for Health Statistics: Health of Black or African American non-Hispanic Population
- CDC Vital Signs: African American Health
- Office of Minority Health Population Profiles: Black/African Americans
- U.S. Census: African American
- U.S. National Library of Medicine - Medline Plus: Black and African American Health
- Black Demographics: The African American Population
- Black Health Facts Matter Statistics - Everyday Health
Celebrating Black/African American Women
Maya Angelou, first Black woman to appear on US quarter
A new US quarter featuring the late Maya Angelou went into circulation Monday, January 10, 2022, the US Mint announced, making the legendary poet and activist the first Black woman ever to appear on the coin.
The Maya Angelou quarter is the first in the American Women Quarters Program, which will include coins featuring prominent women in American history. Other quarters in the series will begin rolling out later this year and through 2025, the Mint said in a release on Monday.
15 year old CEO, Gabby Goodwin launches retail store and salon for her business, Confidence
Columbia, South Carolina, native Gabby Goodwin is now officially the CEO of a salon for young women and a retail store, Confidence by Gabby Goodwin.
On Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, the grand opening took place with a ribbon-cutting and drop-in with the Columbia Chamber of Commerce. The storefront located at 3525 Bush River Road in Columbia will sell Goodwin's patented GaBBY Bows, non-slip Double-Face Double-Snap Barrettes for all ages and hair types, and plant-based natural hair products.
The young CEO has even developed a business mentorship program to uplift young girls by teaching lessons on entrepreneurship.
The Women of the Black Panther Party Mural and Mini Museum
The mural is a 2000- square-foot public art masterpiece installed on the exterior walls of a private residence in the heart of West Oakland. The Museum is 1000sqft installed on the frist floor of the home.
These are the FIRST and SECOND PERMANENT ART INSTALLATION to ever exist honoring the work of The Black Panther Party and acknowledging the role women played. This project is to remind us that The Black Panther Party was formed and existed to protect and better the lives of poor and oppressed people throughout the world.
Barbados honors Rihanna as National Hero during Republic Ceremony
Rihanna has been declared a national hero of Barbados by Prime Minister Mia Mottley. The singer was honored during a ceremony marking the country’s new status as a republic.
Rihanna, who was previously named ambassador to Barbados in 2018, received “the order of national hero” during the event in Bridgetown. Mottley invited Rihanna onstage to accept the honor.
The ceremony was held to commemorate Barbados leaving the reign of the British monarchy after 396 years. Rihanna is the second woman and the 11th person to be declared a national hero of Barbados. The honor allows the singer to use the title “Right Honorable” in front of her name going forward.
African American and Anti-Racism Books
Books for Parents
- The Anti-Racism Project’s Book List
- How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
- The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
- Raising White Kids by Jennifer Harvey
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Olou
Books for Kids
- Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners
- The awards are given to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.
- EmbraceRace’s Children’s Book List for Anti-Racist Activism
- This list is curated to include reading material that can initiate conversations with children about race, racism, and what it means to resist oppression.
- The Conscious Kid’s 41 Children’s Books to Support Conversations on Race, Racism, and Resistance
- The Conscious Kid is “an educational nonprofit that equips parents and educators with tools they can use to support racial identity development, critical literacy, and equitable practices in their homes and classrooms.”
- Note: Users need a membership to access this list.
Best books for babies and toddlers
- Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi
- A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara
- Woke Baby by Mahogany L. Browne
- “More More More,” Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams
- We’re Different, We’re the Same (Sesame Street) by Bobbi Kates
Books for younger children
- Black is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy
- IntersectionAllies: We Make Room for All by Chelsea Johnson, LaToya Council, and Carolyn Choi
- Black Brother Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do The Work by Tiffany Jewell
- We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices: Words and Images of Hope by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson (editors)
- Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne
- Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham
- Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester
- A Kid’s Book About Racism by Jelani Memory
Best for young adults
- This is My America by Kim Johnson
- Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi & Yself Salaam
- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You: A Remix by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
- I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones
- When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds
- On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
- Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults) : A True Story of the Fight for Justice by Bryan Stevenson
- All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
- Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Videos