It's still library week and my library is still doing dope things. This week we welcomed Dr. David H. Chae for a lecture, "Sick and Tired (Because) of Racism: Socio-Psychobiological Pathways of Embodiment". Chae is a really cute Asian guy, and I admit, I was curious about his approach. He started with his story--growing up in Brooklyn's public housing in the 90's. The struggle. His middle school was in a basement under two parking garages and lacked a gymnasium. Things changed after he got accepted to the esteemed Stuyvesant High, and he worked his way up from there. He's got a bunch of degrees I won't try to list here, but he's currently an assistant professor and epidemiologist at University of Maryland.
This video from the lecture was a bit of comic relief:
This video from the lecture was a bit of comic relief:
His lecture was interesting--it reinforced that the negative stereotypes minorities face have a (sometimes) subtle, yet implicit impact on our perceptions of ourselves and on our health. He showed a video of a little girl, given a white and black doll, to pick the 'bad' doll. She chose the black doll. The next request was to pick the doll that looked like her. Again the black doll. It was heartbreaking. Maybe stress from racism is why so many black folks die from heart disease <<< my logic. Those perceptions can be countered by positive reinforcements--celebrating black culture/heritage, having cultural holidays, learning about our history; basically it promoted black solidarity.
It was a great lecture. For me, it confirmed the importance community involvement as a positive role model, and it pushed me to think of other ways I can be more involved in my own neighborhood.
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