Janean D. Watkins Aspiring Healthcare Professionals Scholarship

Generation after generation of my foremothers have been laid to rest due to the gaping racial health inequities in the United States — inequities so deeply ingrained within the policies that stand as the backbone of our healthcare system. With the very foundations of these policies being formed in a time in which black women were not even considered human, it should come as no surprise to you or to me that to this day black women disproportionately suffer from horrifying health outcomes. Black mothers and their babies are 3-4 times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Among other women of color maternal mortality rates have been steadily rising. Thousands of babies have been prematurely ripped from the bosoms of their maternal architects. Thousands of mothers without children. Their screams reverberate in my mind as an echoing call to justice. And it is a call that I refuse to ignore. Not only are black people less likely to have access to healthcare, but historically when they have gone to seek it they were met with unethical and racist practices — such as the cases of Fannie Lou Hamer, Henrietta Lacks, and the Tuskegee Experiments. This makes it that much harder for black people to seek medical attention, even in times of crisis. Research shows that when black people are treated by physicians that look like them they are three times more likely to have positive healthcare outcomes. Day after day I've studied the cases of the women lost to these disparities and I have allowed these women to shape my future. I’ve even come to know these experiences intimately as I have bore witness to the loss and pain of my mothers. Every bit of their anguish converges into a nauseating fuel that propels my will to change our healthcare system for the better, with the health of women of color and their children in the forefront of my mind. I aspire to become an obstetrician, one who will advocate for patients of color and help to lead the reformation of outdated healthcare policy. It is my hope that in doing this I am able to impact lives, and thus far I have taken every possible step towards this future. I’ve advocated for the reformation of racist health care policies with our state governor and those who sit in the House of Representatives. I’ve also taken the initiative to educate myself by taking a public health course at the University of Louisville. And, through both of these pursuits, time and time again I've come back to the answer that lies right in front of me. Access. The key to breaking down institutional racism is breaking down the institutional barriers that keep people of color from progressing and I will do my part in contributing to this future. I believe that the very first steps into this future is not just awareness, to me awareness is null, it is what comes after. Response. I will continue to advocate for each of the individuals who have fallen victim to our system and not only will bring awareness but I will generate reaction. Humans are deeply moved by feelings of strong emotion, and whether that takes the form of outrage, grief, sadness, or repulsion. These are the very emotions that propel us into change and I have made it my personal mission to enlighten every one of these emotions. With response, collectively, our communities become able to advocate for themselves. And, to me that is the true power.