President of FAMU's Chapter of Black Women in President with the Masters of Ceremony Crenel Francis and Kyra Freeman. Photo courtesy of Black Women in Medicine's Instagram.
Phot Submitted by Naja Hardmon.
The Florida A&M University chapter of Black Women in Medicine hosted their debut showcase Sunday in the Grand Ballroom. “Black is_,” was designed to commemorate successful black women in the health field and encourage the next generation of black health professionals.
“This was our first big event, so we’re happy we were able to pull it off, especially to highlight black women in medicine,” said vice president of FAMU’s chapter of Black Women in Medicine, Eryka Palmer. “Because medicine is a prestigious career (which) takes a lot to get into, for us to be black women …we have to stick together.”
With a focus on emboldening the current students of various medical fields, the seminar featured Dr. Tracy Thomas, a tenured professor at FAMU’s School of Allied Health and Health Sciences, as the featured guest speaker and members of VOICES poetry group to further inspire attendees.
“They need role models, they need to build that internal village as they make preparations to expand their villages and start working in their profession so that they can rely on the village to help them navigate some things that we the village have already gone through,” said Thomas.
Founded in October 2018, Black Women in Medicine aims to provide a comforting community for women of color who are pursuing careers in pharmaceutical, physical therapy, or other medical fields.
“I believe women aren’t taken seriously in any career field,” said Brittnee Hanley, a FAMU student who attended the showcase. “(Black is_) is important for medicine because there are a lot of health care professionals who aren’t taken seriously or aren’t even considered health care professionals because they are women,” she added.
The showcase ended with recognitions, refreshments for guests and a rally of support for what the future holds in store for the future professional black women in medicine.
“I think it’s important we tell our story because if we don’t then other people will tell it. By telling your story it gives you more freedom but also blesses somebody else,” Thomas said.
“It’s good to highlight women are just as great as men, it’s good to put some type of emphasis on that so people really take women seriously,” Hanley said.