Transcript: Critical Moment in Bioethics

This transcript automatically generated by machine and may contain errors

Dani Pacia (she/her): hi everyone on behalf of the Hastings Center welcome to a critical moment in bioethics a webinar co sponsored with the Hastings Center it’s now my pleasure to hand it over to the panelists and Jennifer McCurdy.

Jennifer McCurdy: Good morning, and thank you Danny, thank you for the Hastings Center for hosting this event and i’m Dr Jennifer McCurdy a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alaska and co chair alongside Dr faith fletcher of the race affinity group of Asp ah.

Jennifer McCurdy: As a white person, I do not take lightly the privilege and trust, I have been given learning from and working alongside my black and brown colleagues in these spaces.

Jennifer McCurdy: Having been witness to the phenomenal leadership of Dr faith fletcher and the village, it has taken to produce world class scholarship I am proud to introduce this panel discussion today.

Jennifer McCurdy: This session will describe an Anti racism initiative co led by the Hastings Center and a diverse steering committee of justice focused bioethics scholars.

Jennifer McCurdy: This collaborative initiative reflects on the past and present work of scholars of color and envisions and frames a braver broader and more just bioethics for the future.

Jennifer McCurdy: Through robust intergenerational dialogue and interdisciplinary collaboration, this project aims to strengthen bioethics ability and moral responsibility to address racial and health injustices.

Jennifer McCurdy: intended to serve as a model for future anti racism initiatives this session will highlight engagement strategies to bolster bolster inclusive city and equity in the field of bioethics that use our panelists.

Jennifer McCurdy: Dr faith fletcher is an assistant professor in the Center for medical ethics and health policy at baylor college of medicine, a senior advisor to the Hastings Center and outgoing co Chair of the race affinity group.

Jennifer McCurdy: Her empirical research over the past decade focuses on health care and research experiences of minority populations to inform ethically grounded and Community centered practices and strategies.

Jennifer McCurdy: Dr fletcher received training through fordham’s fordham university HIV research ethics training institute, and as a contributor to the American public health association new code of public health ethics.

Jennifer McCurdy: Dr keyshia Ray received her PhD in philosophy philosophy from the University of utah and is currently an assistant Professor Professor.

Jennifer McCurdy: With the mcgovern Center for humanities and ethics at the University of Texas health science Center in Houston in Houston.

Jennifer McCurdy: Most of Dr raise work focuses on the social and cultural determinants of black people’s health integrating race education into medical school curricula and the ethics of biomedical enhancement she is also the senior editor for American Journal of bioethics blog site.

Jennifer McCurdy: Dr Colorado dupree is a registered nurse with a wide variety of clinical and academic experiences in both the civilian and military sectors doctor.

Jennifer McCurdy: was previously an assistant professor at the medical college of Wisconsin where she was record research of the pediatric palliative care department.

Jennifer McCurdy: She in 1975 with a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Tennessee Center for the health sciences and memphis.

Jennifer McCurdy: her career began soon after with the direct Commission followed by officers and pronation school at Newport Rhode island doctor degree earned a master of science in oncology.

Jennifer McCurdy: In nursing from the University of Texas health science Center in Houston and 1985 and completed a doctor philosophy degree in nursing with a minor in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin in May 1998.

Jennifer McCurdy: Currently, retired doctor degree stays busy serving as an emphasis for the data safety monitoring board of the National Institute of allergy and infectious diseases, the asthma, allergies section.

Jennifer McCurdy: crocheting playing musical instruments and studying essential oils, to increase skills as the mirror for.

Jennifer McCurdy: and Dr Virginia Brown is an assistant professor at Dell Medical School and the Department of population health.

Jennifer McCurdy: And curtis the assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

Jennifer McCurdy: She earned her master’s degree in philosophy, with a concentration in ethics and public policy and her doctorate in sociology with concert with concentrations in race class gender and medical sociology.

Jennifer McCurdy: Dr brown’s area of interest include the structural determinants of health and, in other words conditions in which people are born grow live working age.

Jennifer McCurdy: And their influence on health and healthcare outcomes.

Jennifer McCurdy: Through the theoretical lens of historical materialism she seeks to disrupt how the social and political structures, contribute to the formation and re formation of racial bias and health and healthcare, so now i’m going to turn it over to faith.

Faith Fletcher: Okay sorry apparently i’m not able to unmute and also screen share so i’ll just start off by thanking.

Faith Fletcher: Dr Jim mccurdy for that wonderful introduction of panelists and also, I want to thank Dr millie Solomon and colleagues that that he thinks Center for engaging in this collaboration with us.

Faith Fletcher: So now i’m spring chair.

Faith Fletcher: Okay, so i’ll begin this presentation by highlighting the anti racism in bioethics initiative.

Faith Fletcher: And i’ll hand it over to Dr keyshia Ray who will provide some examples of anti black racism in bioethics.

Faith Fletcher: Dr Virginia brown will talk about combating anti black racism through practice and Dr loretta do pre will offer closing remarks and reflections based on her experience of decades in the middle of bioethics so we’re so thankful to have Dr degree here with us today.

Faith Fletcher: So I want to begin in this presentation by centering reflecting and remembering the contributions of the late Dr Marion secondi.

Faith Fletcher: For those of you who may not have known Dr Sunday she was the first director of the national Center for bioethics, and research and healthcare at tuskegee university.

Faith Fletcher: She also lead early conversations focused on racial justice within the organization of as pH but in the field of bioethics broadly.

Faith Fletcher: Many of us know doctors attendee for her legacy of intergenerational mentorship and i’ll reflect on that because it’s central to the work of bioethics, and also key to this special report.

Faith Fletcher: So i’ll send her doctor loretta do pre reflects on this legacy of intergenerational mentorship with her interactions and engagement with Dr Mary and Sunday.

Faith Fletcher: doctor degree states quote in 1997 there was a joint meeting of three organizations that would combined to create the American society for bioethics and humanities.

Faith Fletcher: The handful of black attendees including Dr Mary and grace of candy who attended claret a panel presentation, where she described her dissertation work, her work then focused on the attitudes of black Americans towards advanced directives.

Faith Fletcher: already described that it was her first time presenting out of bioethics conference her first time presenting at a national meeting in her first time meeting Dr Sunday and other black bioethicist.

Faith Fletcher: loretta recounts that later in the meeting a small group of scholars met to this does the state of bioethics as a concern black people.

Faith Fletcher: During the personal introductions and scholarship the Group then decided that they needed to engage in a long term collaboration and needed long term and sustainable support.

Faith Fletcher: So they bought to meet the following year at a sth by that meaning, as he hasn’t had establish structure that required an application for formal affinity group status.

Faith Fletcher: affectionately stated by loretta Dr Sunday volland told me to complete the application, thankfully, Dr do free accepted the charge.

Faith Fletcher: As we age was approved by race and affinity group with coretta as a first year person.

Faith Fletcher: So, as we age is still have been you for providing space to individuals, groups and scholarly areas under represented in the field of bioethics.

Faith Fletcher: Even then, they voice concerns about health care disparities maltreatment of blacks when accessing care the prevalence of micro aggressions and racist behaviors experienced by black professionals and academia and this was in the late 90s.

Faith Fletcher: So I highlight this to say that Dr Sunday was of course a friend, a colleague, a role model and mentor and a tie that binds many black scholars working in bioethics.

Faith Fletcher: The intergenerational black bioethics tradition continues, more than two decades later and as a collective we are here and we still wrestle with issues of anti black racism in the field of bioethics highlighting the critical need to reckon and focus on Anti black racism.

Faith Fletcher: So again, some of those issues expressed in the late 90s on raise why these scholars are still relevant today, such as racial justice racial injustice health, as well as health here in equities.

Faith Fletcher: A general lack of respect and value for the lives, the lived experiences, the live realities and the moral dilemmas of black people.

Faith Fletcher: Traditional bioethics networks have not served people of color in fact they continue to advantage some scholars, while disadvantaging others.

Faith Fletcher: As a result, there’s a need for continued safe spaces and structures for black scholars to connect to network and to offer, as well as to receive mentorship and finally there’s still a need to Center and amplify the voices and scholarship of black scholars across generations.

Faith Fletcher: Out of this critical need the anti racism and bioethics initiative was born in collaboration with the Hastings Center.

Faith Fletcher: This is intended to represent a series of special reports with the first report focusing on Anti black racism in bioethics, we hope to see this and press in 2022 the first report is funded by the Green wall foundation, and we are continuing to seek funding for future reports.

Faith Fletcher: i’m going to highlight the project team, especially my colleague Dr Judy mccurdy for helping to execute this work.

Faith Fletcher: Many colleagues at the Hastings Center who remained available and accessible to us over the work more importantly, they trusted us to lead this work and to carry out this critical vision, so thank you.

Faith Fletcher: Yes, editors included Dr Patrick include Dr Patrick Smith, Dr Virginia brown Dr kesha rate and myself, I want to thank Dr Patrick Smith who’s currently presenting and another session for his early contributions to the special report and for his continued mentorship throughout the process.

Faith Fletcher: So we can’t say enough about the support of the Steering Committee, I really refer to this as a co lead initiative.

Faith Fletcher: The Special Report was letting collaboration with steering Members with diverse expertise.

Faith Fletcher: We establish this committee about a year ago and committee members, they were actively involved in all aspects and all phases of developing and executing this special report.

Faith Fletcher: This includes selecting the focus of anti black racism identifying potential authors reviewing and writing paper for papers for some making critical connections.

Faith Fletcher: We even had two leaders who met with Nora porter the art director at Hastings because the Committee really had an interest in making sure that the art.

Faith Fletcher: On the cover art represented the theme appropriately for our vision based on our conversations so very much involved in this work.

Faith Fletcher: And there are several Members who actually conducted interviews of senior scholars in the field of bioethics, as well as Community Members to make sure diverse voices were represented in the process.

Faith Fletcher: So we want to thank this committee for their time and talent, we know that this was a time where many scholars of color especially are juggling with a lot of demands and expectations from their institutions but they willingly gave them their time and they also provided.

Faith Fletcher: assurance that this work was headed in the right direction, so thanks to all of you.

Faith Fletcher: So we’ll talk briefly about the goal of the report, we will have future presentations that really highlight some of the details, but we wanted to give a general overview.

Faith Fletcher: Again, the goal is to really elevate the voices of established black scholars, those who are emerging and other scholars, who have an interest in under represented issues and bioethics.

Faith Fletcher: Based on conversations with committee members, it was clear that we really needed to build on the work of influential scholars by introducing the scholarship to a generation of new bioethicists so we see.

Faith Fletcher: The medically that there are a lot of references and books and sources that are cited throughout the report that we hope can be used for a teaching tool in the future and other bioethics initiatives.

Faith Fletcher: So we do this by again practice engaging citing black scholars in our work.

Faith Fletcher: In our research and one of the things that was especially important that we heard over and over from scholars, is that in the past black scholars said that their work was considered to be too.

Faith Fletcher: Radical to personal their race and racism work to ancillary to the work of bioethics so again we highlight this and Center this in the report and thank them for their contributions.

Faith Fletcher: So the structure includes articles essays that are based on racial justice, health and healthcare in equity multiple types of articles normative empirical as well as narrative.

Faith Fletcher: I mentioned that we interviewed people, because we want to make sure that we include different types of documentation and different ways of collecting information and telling stories so that included these expert reflections.

Faith Fletcher: And finally, we ended with a tribute to Dr Mary and grace attendee from several scholars, as well as other people who considered to be friends of Dr Sunday and who have had engagement in the field of bioethics over the years.

Faith Fletcher: So we’ve learned a lot of lessons and we’ll talk a little bit about that in our discussion, but I want to highlight a few here.

Faith Fletcher: i’ll start off by saying engaged scholarship takes time.

Faith Fletcher: So we didn’t want to develop a report on using a top down approach, we definitely were interested in making sure that the thoughts perceptions and ideas about this report will represent it from a diverse and a collective.

Faith Fletcher: And again, this means that there has to be adequate time for planning adequate time for meetings we met at least seven to eight times over the course of a year again during a time that was really demanding, especially for black scholars and other scholars of color.

Faith Fletcher: We have to be open to new ways of doing things different ways of writing different ways of reviewing different ways of approaching the editorial process that may even include having conversations with giving advice.

Faith Fletcher: orally, as well as giving written feedback for editorial so we had a lot of calls with scholars, who were interested in more feedback and this actually we feel believe.

Faith Fletcher: help to strengthen the process and to create structures that are more equitable for engaging people and manuscript writing etc.

Faith Fletcher: And finally, we really learn that and we knew this but solidarity is central to anti racism work so non black scholars really stood behind the idea given.

Faith Fletcher: The climate that we should really be focusing on inside black racism in bioethics versus a broader focus on Anti racism so again, this was critical key and we appreciate our colleagues and allies who really supported and stood behind this work.

Faith Fletcher: So in my presentation by reflecting on the current state of anti black racism in bioethics.

Faith Fletcher: So here we are in 2021 there’s a national push to recruit black bioethicists for faculty positions for lectures for panels for media contributions.

Faith Fletcher: And the, the question has frequently arise i’ve heard it in meetings and working groups and conversations with other people where are all the black bioethicist.

Faith Fletcher: So I want to highlight the sweet, this is a nod to Dr holly Fernandez, who developed a resource to those looking for black bioethicists as well as Joanne Suarez who’s the special report contributor, as well as founder of the Latin next affinity group so she really.

Faith Fletcher: helped to expand this resource guide to include Latin X dollars of tar, so I want to just leave this here for a second, because this will really help to even generate more conversation around this when we get to the discussion sessions section.

Faith Fletcher: So the question where all the black bioethicists sorely needs reframing and said when should ask.

Faith Fletcher: What are the embedded and existing structures and systems that excluded continue to exclude the work of black bioethicists from mainstream bioethics.

Faith Fletcher: What are the institutions and organizations doing to develop a pipeline to infrastructure to train nurture and support the next generation of black bioethicists.

Faith Fletcher: And finally, what are you doing within your own institutions and organizations to make the climate and structure more equitable more just and more inclusive for black scholars and other scholars of color.

Faith Fletcher: i’ll leave this here Alice Walker states, we will be really misled if we think we can change society without changing ourselves.

Faith Fletcher: In order to transform the field of bioethics into reimagine a field that is better bolder braver and more just, we must first change ourselves.

Faith Fletcher: Thank you for listening.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Okay Hello everyone so i’m going to briefly act as a segue between what Dr fletcher said, and I also wanted to say something.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): I know that there are multiple people who have been taking the lead on this project but Dr faith fletcher is the lead editor.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): And she has downplayed her enrollment this would absolutely not be possible without Dr fletcher so she is one of the editors but she is the lead editor and let’s be clear on that.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): So i’m going to act as a segue between what Dr fletcher said and what Dr Brown and end up your free will say next so my will be brief and nature, so I want to talk about just what is anti blackness in bioethics.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): i’m Sorry, I want to take it tell you all just what it means to talk about anti blackness and bioethics, and to really think about why it’s important to recognize it and I think that.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): I gathered this list a lot from my own experiences with anti blackness and bioethics, but also talking to other colleagues.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): So when you see something listed just note that this is not something that we just pulled out of thin air, this is something from people’s actual experience from black by what this is experiences.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): But I think it’s important to talk about just what anti blackness isn’t bioethics, because if you don’t know what it is you can’t call it out, you can’t say it by name.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): And if you can’t say it by name, you can’t correct it, and so we have committees that are dedicated to anti blackness we have di can maybe we have allowed them a raise arose.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): During the summer after after the murder of of Mr George floyd so schools have been sort of doing this performative anti blackness.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): committees and things like that, but without really doing the work of what what it really is those kinds of initiatives at institutions cannot really do the work that they want to do.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): We also have to identify for things like solidarity and La ship and then again.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): This is something that black by what this is experienced in that we can spot it when it happens to us, or when we’re.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): sharing our stories and we can say that seems a little suspicious, you know when when we’re all in our private spaces and those trusted spaces, with one another, but I think it’s important to call it out and call a spade a spade.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): So again, this is not an exhaustive list, and this is just some examples, hopefully during the Q amp a we can talk about more concrete examples, and again I know rounded.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Up we’ll talk about these in more detail so i’m practice i’m thinking about hiring practices i’ve been in hiring situations, but behind the scenes.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): And I see some of the tactics that are used to make sure that people of color particularly black scholars are not hired things like he leans on elitism for institutions.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Also things like changing the goalpost you see those kinds of things happening.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): i’m not including black scholars and funding opportunities and grant proposals, especially when they get the.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): The the email that says hey can I pick your brain for this scholarship I mean for this opportunity or this grant proposal.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): But don’t actually put them on it right, and so they don’t get the benefits their career benefits of those funding opportunities.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): And then teaching when we don’t teach black scholarship will we don’t teach a very topics and or bioethics courses.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): We don’t talk about how topics that we discuss in our courses differently affect and influence about people’s lives so, for instance.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Talking about scarce resources and resource allocation that’s really something that is common to a lot of particularly undergraduate by weather tours is when you don’t talk about how those things influence other groups.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): That becomes a problem that becomes another instance of anti blackness.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Another time that we can see anti blackness in our teaching is when we talk about race, I hear this a lot from my my medical students and their other core curriculum courses and they’ll say.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): How their instructors talk a lot about raised as being a factor for different disparities are for different medications or different things like that.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): But they don’t talk a lot about racism as a driver of different Joe health outcomes, so when we talk a lot about race, but don’t talk about.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): The experience of blackness the experience of black people, in particular in America and their experiences of racism that becomes anti black practices in our teaching.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Next, when we talk about publishing and invited lectures i’m not inviting black scholars to our to our institutions to give talks and to give lectures.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): or when we invite non black scholars to speak on topics that black scholars have extensively published on that, again, is also an instance of anti blackness in our scholarship.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): And this is something that’s very personal needs happened to me many times but thinking about how we pay black scholars and versus other scholars and when it’s less than other scholars for doing the same amount of work.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Only inviting black scholars to present on Black topics that you know we we studied, a lot of different kinds of topics in bioethics.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Not publishing articles and racism, as a social determinative help, I know that there have been other black scholars, who have called out very top journals.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): and have done the research to show that, whenever races mentioned in these journals there’s also there’s no mention of racism and that a lot of journals.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): In our field of public health and in bioethics have a very poor record of accepting articles where racism is at the forefront.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): When we don’t include black co authors when when we absolutely should when it’s about topics that they are well known in and topics that they can contribute to.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): In our profession not asking scholars, to be a part of national committee’s right and asking them to do.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): To not do tonight, be a part of them, but then asking them to do work, perhaps.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): denying that scholars access to leadership roles, so this is a little bit different than the prior one.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Because many times back scholars will be asked to be committee members, and sometimes doing a lot of work for these committees.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): But not given access to be a leader and given the trust to lead these committees and then again they don’t get the benefits to their career and when they’re doing a lot of work that also side tracks their 10 year goals and that kind of thing.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): And then creating a hostile environment conferences and departments, this is something that.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Again, I have personally experienced at different conferences, but you can create an atmosphere that makes it very clear that black by law offices are not welcome here, their work is not respected and not welcome.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): And then I know black bioethics, this is something that I practice in the way that I do I know that there are other people who think differently about black bioethics.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): There are other people and their entire books on African American bioethics, this is just an instance of how I think about it in my work, I think about it as a lens of racial justice so it’s a question that.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): I think I these kinds of questions here I think about I try to keep at the forefront of my mind.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): When I am practicing bioethics and i’m teaching bioethics when i’m writing about it, or even if i’m reading some other people’s work I try to look at it through a lens of racial justice for black people.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): So how it might fit here as a profession to think about some of these questions like what does it mean to consider racism, anti blackness and racial justice in bioethics.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): What does racial justice for black scholars and bioethics look like, how do we implement change that benefits black by what this is.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): What our political, social, cultural obstacles real and imagined to the success for black bioethicist and how can we protect the mental emotional and physical health of black scholars so maybe we can talk about these and I will stop sharing my screen and turn it over.

Virginia Brown: Thank you very much, let me bring a couple slides up and we’ll get this third part of this conversation going.

Virginia Brown: And so I get that little spinning thing come on let’s do our thing here, here we go, so thank you to my colleagues and everyone who’s been involved in doing this.

Virginia Brown: This is part three, and in part three, I gave it a name it might be familiar, what does Jeff what does bioethics of justice.

Virginia Brown: And I want to take you back for just a moment to this quote from king, this is the more authentic quote, that has been.

Virginia Brown: rediscovered of all the forms of inequality in justice and health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death, this was from 1965 or 66.

Virginia Brown: that’s This is something that we have known and we continue to discuss and it’s October 2021 and we’re still discussing it at the 23rd annual conference.

Virginia Brown: What I wanted to do is is ask a couple of questions and tell you that some of the things that i’m going to say, and this is not an error in my slides, this is a slide from.

Virginia Brown: Where it was the 50th anniversary of the Hastings Center, and there I was asked to be on the pulmonary and respond to a conversation that Dr Mary bassett was a canary and gave the keynote along with millie Solomon as the moderator and Marion denison myself offered remarks.

Virginia Brown: And since that time, since that time, in October of 2019 a lot of things have happened and many things have stayed the same.

Virginia Brown: there’s been a global pandemic that’s very clear, there was the death of George floyd.

Virginia Brown: And this, what I call the societal performative response to black lives matter by mainstream organizations some profiting from the paraphernalia that was created.

Virginia Brown: Flags banners signs these kinds of things and let’s be clear, I don’t have a problem with getting your side hustle on but i’m not really not really sure.

Virginia Brown: What was done foundational Lee to move from a performance of black lives matter into the kind of change that this special edition, and my colleagues and I.

Virginia Brown: are trying to put into action, we cannot do it by ourselves, I am reminded that we’ve had an election, and yes, we have a multi racial Vice President.

Virginia Brown: kamala Harris who identifies as a black women who went to my Alma mater as an undergrad that’s not performance that is commitment, but even still in light of that.

Virginia Brown: We still see a shifting in society, we have, we have seen how there was an attempted coup to topple the United States Government, we have seen the challenge to roe V Wade regardless of what your.

Virginia Brown: Ideology ideological position is on roe V Wade for it to be done truly in the cover of night is an assault to our democracy.

Virginia Brown: we’ve seen a rise in vaccination rejections as an assault to one’s liberty.

Virginia Brown: And an underlying thing of how much an underlying theme of how much of this is the consequence of one’s proximity to power.

Virginia Brown: And when I use that word proximity to power, I want you to hear proximity to whiteness to heterosexual maleness, what is your proximity to power that’s the underlying conversation that is the theme that unites us in this work and trying to unpack and recreate a new way forward.

Virginia Brown: So with that said.

Virginia Brown: consider this a black box where we’ve sort of punched out some lights in my job in the few minutes that everything.

Virginia Brown: Are to remind you of some of the things that I said in 2019 some of the things that were said here.

Virginia Brown: about actual actions that you can do as individuals, you don’t need a committee you don’t need your chiefs or your department chairs permission, you can do these things on your own site flat scholars pumps from the University of Texas at Austin from my colleague.

Virginia Brown: Christian Smith, she is the creator of site black scholars, you can take a look follow that hashtag you can find Kristen on the homepage at ut Austin and learn more about that work.

Virginia Brown: But I think what’s more important or as important, when we think about this is the idea that there is no scarcity.

Virginia Brown: There is no scarcity in the work, there is no scarcity in the number of hands, that is going to take to make change for us to approach the work.

Virginia Brown: of making a more inclusive and inviting bioethics is not the domain of black scholars.

Virginia Brown: Nor, their allies, it is the domain and the responsibility of all of us to join hands and and to be very clear in what Dr fletcher raised in her opening is that, in order to change, we must first change ourselves, and we cannot be afraid of not knowing we encourage our students to be.

Virginia Brown: fearless and coming into the classroom to lean in to to learn and to throw off.

Virginia Brown: Past conceptions, to be able to be critical thinkers and hold on to two opposing ideas, at the same time, and not run out of the classroom with their hair on fire.

Virginia Brown: We have to remember that in our scholarship this may be uncomfortable these are crucial conversations that have high stakes mistakes will be made, but it is the intention and the desire to do better, that will help us go forward.

Virginia Brown: So I, I want to ask us a couple things as as I move towards the end of this part.

Virginia Brown: And I want to ask us what what is it that is owed Okay, how do we move from the phrase of full being so resilient you know the black community is so resilient.

Virginia Brown: Well, in that resilience you fail to thrive you’re always bouncing back from something the ability to thrive is never yours, so it is not well it’s probably said i’m sure as a compliment, it is a hindrance to always having to thrive, despite adversity.

Virginia Brown: That is the key thing the ability to create more inclusive spaces.

Virginia Brown: Really begins with understanding one’s own privilege so look, let me, let me i’m going to quote Kimberly crenshaw here, when asked to describe intersection ality okay.

Virginia Brown: intersection ality is a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides with.

Virginia Brown: interlocks and intersects it’s not simply that there’s a race problem agenda problem here a class lb gq problem.

Virginia Brown: Many times that framework erases what happens to people who are subject to all of these things so when we think about.

Virginia Brown: What needs to be different we’ve offered you some brief things here about how to go forth and be different, how to be a better ally.

Virginia Brown: I want to leave you with something something new to add to your practice and it’s this.

Virginia Brown: To understand your privilege Okay, and remember, we talked about that privilege, I have privilege okay I don’t have a lot of power.

Virginia Brown: But I have privilege as a black woman at a major university who earned a PhD I have a great deal of knowledge about the academic system.

Virginia Brown: I know how to mentor young people who want to come to college to work through that system young people to stay in college to make that next move, I have a certain kind of privilege and in the roles that I have.

Virginia Brown: I need to always remember what I have, but what is it in proximity to the dominant form of power white male heterosexual.

Virginia Brown: That is the thing that we are always moving towards and moving away from, and so, in that I challenged, each of us to ask ourselves when we are making decisions or in rooms, where decisions are being made huddling in the icu reviewing a patient.

Virginia Brown: What have we overlooked fail to ask when it comes to intersection ality regarding this person who is in front of us if we can pause and ask ourselves.

Virginia Brown: This decision that we are getting ready to put in place, how does it potentially impact when we think about this proximity to power.

Virginia Brown: What have we failed to recognize it making a recommendation, if we can do that, we can begin to have more honest and fruitful conversations and I really think that that’s critically important.

Virginia Brown: So with that I hand my comments off for Dr dupree i’m handing you the baton to bring it home, thank you.

Virginia Brown: Oh you’re on mute.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Can you see my screen.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Yes, no.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Okay, am I still muted.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Okay.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Okay um.

slideshow.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Okay, is that okay.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Okay, I wanted to just start off by saying you know when you’re growing up in i’m at some point, you get to adulthood, and your kids start.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: mothering you start telling you what to do so, I feel that way with baby faith Dr fletcher because I watched her grow up from working on her bachelor’s degree and now she’s telling me what to do so, I thank you fake for telling me what to do.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: I appreciate it, so I am I have no idea where we are with time so yeah y’all have to you know put your finger up if i’m going over I just have a few comments.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And I wanted to start off with some conference session quotes that I want everybody to just kind of ponder I will read the for.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: the sake of those who might not be who might be listening on their phone or whatever i’m a cluster of issues fraught with ethical dilemma.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: pandemic ethics distribution of scarce medical resources personal autonomy and public health measures stewardship ethics justice questions, what do we owe the poor compensation to agribusinesses and others.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And then another one, there are general philosophical objections about the ethics of limiting a person’s choices for their own good.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Justice with mandatory helmet laws for motorcyclists some libertarian libertarians charge that a government mandate.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Requiring fitness is to act in a way it deems to be in their best interest is an unexpectedly paternalistic infringement of citizens rights.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Are these objections strong enough to prevent a public health major That would surely save a significant number of lives our panelists will have the straight how different perspectives can help suggest collaborative resolutions for such a multi disciplinary policy question.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Okay, and here’s some more objectives demonstrate why research program is centered on social justice in health equity have been neglected in bioethics, and whether or how this limitation might be overcome.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: understand and discuss the relationship between culture and bioethics, in particular, African American culture and bioethics be informed about the role of culture in ethics.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And then, this is a genuine concern in biomedical ethics, which makes decisions about life death suffering procreation and the uses of professional power does the serious dialogue between African African American and Western perspectives in biomedical ethics is in order.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: A pandemic will generate a shortage of vaccines antiviral drugs and critical care ventilators.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: In beds, necessitating some form of rational trust or the lack thereof in healthcare is gaining increased attention to the widespread media coverage of medical errors in breach and research protocols.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: and ethical misconduct distrust among disparate populations is an important variable with addressing health outcomes and factors that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities inhale in healthcare.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: So what.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Just thinking what is common about all of those.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Well, I will tell you all of those objectives in quotations were copied from the.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: As bh programmable.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: At that conference Harriet Washington gave the plenary address.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Some historical notes on us medicine race in ethics.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: As you can see, not much has changed in 15 years.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: I picked those particular objectives in quotations because, as I looked at the program book for this conference, there are many of them very similar.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: very similar almost look like they use the same ones, with a few words changed, so what has changed.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Dr Wilson yesterday talked about vulnerability and how that concept needs attention as decisions are being made i’m not really heard that term much during this pandemic.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: But the term that I really want to turn your attention to is essential we’ve been hearing talk about essential workers.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And when we say essential workers, we are talking about the people that basically keep society moving right.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: truck drivers who are moving goods to communities bus drivers who are getting people to those jobs that keep society moving.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Essential workers are those that are more exposed to the disease than non essential workers.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: So.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Basically, essential has become synonymous with expendable.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: When we say essential workers, we mean expendable.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: One of the first debts to make the lose one of the persons that from covert 19 to make the news was up a black man who was a bus driver.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: He was he had been healthy it, this was before vaccine was available he had to work and he was considered any central worker and he was applauded and lauded for working.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: He was wearing a mask and he had hand sanitizer on the bus, but he had no power to enforce others to number one wear a mask number to not get on his bus if they were sick.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And you know in their Defense they are also going to jobs where they are considered essential workers where they don’t have paid time off or if they do take time off they they know that they’re just losing salary so.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: He he died he got coconut and he died, he was unable to protect himself, why is this important Well, we know that those who are considered essential workers, those who are expendable are more likely to be black or brown people people of color.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Those are the people who don’t have the option or the luxury of working from home to keep themselves or their family safe so that again puts more of.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Black indigenous people of color at higher risk of getting the disease and of dying from the disease and what we have said in society by labeling them essential read expendable is that they are easily replaced.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: We can we can easily get another one, so what has changed well.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: As.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Our anchors black people and people of color has changed it has increased, as have the many threats to our daily lives and being.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: What what else has changed.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: well.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: When I was growing up.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: This may be a little known fact about me, so I went to from the first grade to the seventh grade I attended a one room schoolhouse.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: In which.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Were grades one through 12 and we had an outhouse that we had to there was one for the girls in one for the boys, so we had to outhouses.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: So that has changed, and it definitely is good.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Also, when I was growing up, we used to go visit my grandmother my father’s mother lived in a different state, and we would go see her my father would drive up.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: There, and on the way if we had to urinate my father would pull over and get out the car and go into bush’s why because the bathrooms at the gas stations were for quite only they had signs up said provide, so much so that he has changed.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: So what else has changed any are those changes enough and I give those examples, because there’s a lot of rhetoric right now surrounding all of that was a long time ago.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And geez I don’t feel that old.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: But I remember these things so like really what has changed.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: As ethicists we have discussed, we have collaborated we have theorized we have educated, we have developed policies and we still have not gotten to the crux to the heart of the matter, why.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: As guide teachers, researchers and experts on values morals and ethics and bioethics, we have failed dismally.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Because the heart of the matter is well cards.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Dr Wilson talked about structural in justices being the issue and she thought wrong, but those structures are made up of individuals who are anti black.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: So changes have to start there, we have to stop discussing and I saw this on the in the program booklet for this session, these of this meeting.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: We have to start discussing why black people distrust like medical professionals and start discussing why white medical professionals behave in untrustworthy manners.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: quit trying to develop educational programs and research programs to get black people and people of color to trust in an ethical practitioner.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: The discussions.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: target institutions but institutions are not anti black.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: The interventions target.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: policy changes but policies are not in her errantly racist institutions have employees and leader CEO CFO Vice Presidents presidents and board members who are racist who just as a matter of being our anti black.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: The best that can be said is that these people are races by omission, rather than by a Commission that is, they are unaware of their own privilege and they are unaware of the ways in which that privilege oppresses black people and other people of color.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: indigenous people all people of color.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And that brings to mind another term that Dr brown brought up the intersection ality most.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: People of color most black people most people of color or a combination of identities, each of which is marginalized in our society, and each of those identities that intersect in one melon native body is lacking the privileges that are not even given a thought by white caregivers.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: So what has changed.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Well, I have changed.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: I noticed that when I will selecting sessions this time instead of selecting session that I thought I would learn from that I thought would give me new information I selected sessions, based on well this won’t trigger me.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And I was glad to see.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Dr Ray.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: mentioned mental health for scholars of color because I thought that was just me that was.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Having issues.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: So.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: If white people lack awareness of the privilege that they walk in 24 seven they can certainly not be expected to address intersection ality and all the different identities that are oppressed by white privilege so what’s the solution.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: I cannot give you a solution, and neither should I.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: This is.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: This is a.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: privileged people’s problem and privileged people have to use their imaginations first of all to get a vision of a life of an existence in which you are equal to everyone, as opposed to being superior to everyone.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: You have to get a vision and have a conscious awareness of your privilege so then in every encounter that you have with a person of color.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: That you are consciously aware of your privilege and thus are consciously aware that they did not have that privilege and then you can acknowledge the ways in which the lack of that privilege is affecting their care.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: or access to care or when they arrived for care and all of that I was thinking about a friend who just a couple of weeks ago.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: went to the emergency room with some distress seeing respiratory system says symptoms, excuse me, they did covert test on her this negative so he sent her home or symptoms will quite severe she went back.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: They did another colby test still negative so they sent her home again.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: On the third visit, which was she was progressively getting worse, they finally did.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Appropriate diagnostics and she had Legionnaires pneumonia.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Now i’m not saying that they would have done appropriate diagnostics had she not been black.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: But that definitely is a thought.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: when somebody shows up at the emergency room now and we know because research is showing that people are not going, who need to go, you know they need to be there.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: So.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: My last word, think about your privilege.

Faith Fletcher: Thank you, Dr do free, thank you for those reflecting remarks and closing remarks and everything you’ve done some mentorship all of us and to really.

Faith Fletcher: Essential and instrumental to raise them just providing a safe space, so thank you so much, thank you all such a wonderful panel, and there are so many great questions coming into the chat box right now.

Faith Fletcher: i’ll start with joanne’s question, my question to all of you is, can you share one lesson from your journey as a black bioethicists.

Faith Fletcher: In scholar, and if you have any advice to give to the next generation vital emphasis looking to engage in bioethics discourse what would that be so feel free to take one or two and offer brief remarks and.

Faith Fletcher: i’ll begin with Dr Ray.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Oh that’s a difficult question to answer because it’s something that you know something it all up into one thing and one thing that I will say is unlike some of the other people, some of the unlike some of the other black by what this is, I didn’t have black mentors.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Not intentionally just a pads didn’t cross right no one’s fault, but I had great mentors in other people.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): But what has kept me going in my career when i’m experiencing micro aggressions or let’s just call it races and right.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): or any of these other kinds of things Community right finding my community of fellow black by what this is.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): That has really helped me so find your Community find your people find your group find the people that you can confide in the people that will work on papers with you that kind of thing and then um yeah I think I can read the prior question but i’ll leave it at that.

Faith Fletcher: Around do you want to briefly respond to that.

Virginia Brown: yeah it kind of amplifies with Dr Ray said for me um I had a white colleague of mine pulled me to the side, one day, and she said girls start defending yourself stop always you know stop defending yourself, and I was like.

Virginia Brown: Okay, because she said you’re good you’re badass you know what you’re doing and i’m like but i’m not getting any traction this is so difficult.

Virginia Brown: So I valued what she said, I heard it come up here in my throat and I stopped right I learned to stop doing that right and and I vowed to not.

Virginia Brown: defend myself right to ever be in a situation where I felt that I was being asked to defend there’s a very thin line between.

Virginia Brown: The kinds of inquiry that you find yourself being defensive versus, this is a curious inquiry right, but you know it right curious inquiry is something very different and something very.

Virginia Brown: Important when it happens it’s curiosity, you want to lean into it, but that defensiveness so with That said, Dr rate spot on about finding your people, I had to go outside of my institution.

Virginia Brown: Okay, and find my place in my space returned back to my asb age race affinity group groups, you know and and and and lean into this and not be afraid this is for the early career scholars, like myself, I am not tenured you know I got Gray hair, but like this is my second career, so it.

Virginia Brown: We have to.

Virginia Brown: Be brave I think that’s been a theme of today’s conversation and bravery is a is about.

Virginia Brown: Asking, it is about looking through the SBA ah who’s speaking, well in advance and saying coast work have I read who do I want to meet, I want to know this person, it can be done, and people are very gracious very, very gracious about meeting you for a coffee or breakfast or or whatever.

Virginia Brown: it’s real I can’t stress it enough but, but those Those are some of the things that that i’ve had to learn don’t be in a space.

Virginia Brown: Exit when it’s the defensiveness lean into the curiosity find your community and stop defending yourself, you have a right to be here you are here, it is critically important that we don’t sabotage ourselves enough of the environment will try and do that for us.

Faith Fletcher: Those are great responses i’ll jump in and then i’ll turn it over to Dr decree so i’ll just say i’m the opposite of teachers experience I went to historically black college.

Faith Fletcher: i’m going to to ski so I have many mentors I have an entire village and these people connected me with colleagues and Michigan State University and just really helped.

Faith Fletcher: me to navigate throughout my career but i’ll highlight on one bit of advice that on one of my current mentors Doc Doc vince vaughn on highlighted that.

Faith Fletcher: He said, do meaningful work when I was trying to figure out in my public health, scientists and lion ethicist which box do I fall into not always feeling like I.

Faith Fletcher: fit nicely into any sort of box, he said just do meaningful work and people will recognize that work do good work do meaningful work.

Faith Fletcher: So whatever you want to call it, our label it just make sure that you’re passionate about it and make sure that it’s quality work so that’s, the first thing the second thing is our more recent mentor Michelle good one.

Faith Fletcher: really highlights the importance of controlling your own narratives so tell people who you are.

Faith Fletcher: career wise define yourself, so I am a health equity scholar.

Faith Fletcher: That also engages in public health work and ethics so it’s about you, defining know whether or not you do that through a website or.

Faith Fletcher: A conference presentations when people are looking for someone like they need to know who you are instead of allowing people to call you different types of Sciences that you may or may not be are to call you a Community health worker and you don’t.

Faith Fletcher: Even you may not even do Community work but there’s a tendency for people to try to characterize the work of black scholars because they don’t fully understand it so i’ll just say control your own narratives and tell people, the type of work that you do.

Faith Fletcher: Dr D free.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: yeah I will.

Faith Fletcher: Definitely.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: say everything that that kesha and Virginia said it’s true I would.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: If I could do it all again, I guess, I would not be so insular, in other words, I would not be trying to be this strong person, and I would share those times and incidences that have caused me internal.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: hurt or turmoil, or whatever, instead of keeping it to myself i’ll give you just a couple of examples I was I had left my job in academia for a while and I was doing hospice work in the Community.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: I already had a PhD here for years and everything and so as black people will do, and maybe fight people don’t know this black people celebrate the Community Members who do well.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And so I was visiting a patient and they called me Dr Bob my middle name is Yvonne or if I call me by, and so they called me Dr bond or Dr dupree.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Well, the social worker wit and report it to the organization that I was trying to confuse the patient and make them think that I was a position.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And I had not told them to call me doctor degree, they did that, because they were so proud, which they had actually stated as well that oh we’re so proud of you.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Another incidents that caused me inner turmoil was a colleague at university, who said to me Oh, you can get a job anywhere because you’re black.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Again, I had a PhD I had research, I had publications, but I will get a job because i’m glad I didn’t call anybody I didn’t talk to anybody about these things.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And I think I could have let it go much, much quicker like, if I had talked to Virginia and she said girl, please.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: You know, these people are crazy, you know what to break, and so I would say to youngsters coming in share what is hurting you or what has hurt you so that you can just go on and remember your word.

Faith Fletcher: Thank you, and there was a question that came into the chat earlier.

Faith Fletcher: And I just.

Faith Fletcher: Can I have.

Faith Fletcher: The real quick.

Virginia Brown: i’ve got to say this Clara I got written up in one of my jobs.

Virginia Brown: I was in a space where there weren’t a lot there weren’t many black women okay in positions of white coldness right, you know I wasn’t a leader, but you know, I was in a space for you know that coat went on a couple times and.

Virginia Brown: an incident happened in the building, we had to evacuate whatever.

Virginia Brown: It might my basic nature was oh my God, you know Look how can I help because they were evacuating a unit and people were coming down the stairs so I went against the traffic to say, can I help you know I work on whatever I worked on.

Virginia Brown: And this woman said, you know who are you I said, my name, whatever long story short, the next day, I was being selected.

Virginia Brown: summoned to the chief chief chief chick is that office, because I was said to have presented myself as Dr Brown.

Virginia Brown: Okay now that’s super crazy right i’m not a physician I wasn’t a PhD I wasn’t a PhD candidate, I was just a student, but I was a black woman who.

Virginia Brown: You know I wasn’t staff like this, or staff like that I just kind of maybe presented differently.

Virginia Brown: It is a statement of respect you know when you’re in that kind of space, Dr Virginia, my answer is speak that into being, yes i’m working on my doctorate Thank you so much, but I recognized it.

Virginia Brown: This woman, a young black woman was being punished for speaking to me her defenseless she said she was a doctor she seemed to present as though she was a person in authority who knew something.

Virginia Brown: And i’m being asked why would I say that and i’m like, but why would I it’s so easy to figure out that it’s not true.

Virginia Brown: So I I haven’t visited that moment for years until you said this um.

Virginia Brown: And it was tragic on many, many, many levels, it could have been career defining and career destroying had I not had a.

Virginia Brown: What confidence was left in me, but then returning to my university returning to Howard and reminding myself, I have a right to be here to do these things.

Virginia Brown: And I just I just had to share that.

Faith Fletcher: Thank you, Dr brown for sharing that and i’m just thankful for being in the space where we can just really bring ourselves for our work and our scholarship.

Faith Fletcher: it’s just something that I think is really powerful and happy to be a part of it.

Faith Fletcher: So I will move on to the chat box i’ll start with Dr Ray because there’s a question addressed directly to her and then one other person, possibly to answer and then we’ll end with the question from sheikha who wants to be adopted by us.

Faith Fletcher: So the question is about images that really can highlight racial justice, I think there was.

Faith Fletcher: The introduction of an image from Dr Center strong that really looked at caregiving an ally shift, so if there are any thoughts on images that we think we could use to promote justice or equity were your thoughts, Dr Ray.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): yeah you know, this is something I think about a lot again having a very different experience going to predominantly white institutions have been all white mentor something that I think about a lot because.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Despite that i’ve had like I said again i’ve had great mentors and people who really helped me, and I would not be in my career without without them.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): So, but one image that I hear often is people will say things like will you walk through the fire with me right.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): And to me I think that’s an improper image I think it’s more like we follow me into the fire because we go into the fire so when we have to deal with racism micro aggressions.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): You you feel the loneliness of and you feel the heaviness of it, you feel the.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): You know the the anxiety about is just going to mess up my career, how do I defend myself like we’ve been talking about how do I protect myself you’re you’re going through it solo, no matter what.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): But Li shift can be the people that follow you into these flames, or they can be the the ones that help you to think about it, to help you.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Get resources right, and so I really think about it, as more of standing behind me and the flames not walking with me, because I think that that’s impossible to do for a white lie.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): To do that with with the black a black cloud, what is this so that’s how I tend to think about it i’m by no lie ships hundred verse do I know some people don’t even like the turn.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): It to turn that I accept as long as allies again though their place don’t speak for me to give me this support to speak for myself right that kind of thing.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): and too many times we have people who think that we’re voiceless writing we’re not voiceless and we can we have we are adding as as as.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): A show we have voices Marcel you’re very strong but that doesn’t mean that you can’t support me and give me the push or give me some comfort to, then the into just protection to help me speak for myself and don’t don’t think of us as voiceless.

Faith Fletcher: yeah that’s an excellent response enough, I can add to that in terms of mentorship and it’s both mentorship and oh I should.

Faith Fletcher: you’ve had white mentors i’ve had also wonderful white mentors but the part that’s really that’s especially essential is not to tell people.

Faith Fletcher: Who you think they should be, or what they should be doing so, you should be centering and asking questions, how can I help you to facilitate your goals, what is it that you.

Faith Fletcher: are interested in so really avoiding that paternalism and mentorship that is especially I would say pervasive with.

Faith Fletcher: Black scholars that can really serve a handicapped people in their career so i’ll add that, and then I will.

Faith Fletcher: move on in the last three minutes to shake his question and I will start with Dr do pre what are some ways that early career black bioethicists can contribute a tangible change in the field without burning bridges, if you could do that in 30 seconds.

Faith Fletcher: I know that’s easy.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: I think, doing everything that you just said, doing your work, doing the work that is meaningful to you and with which you identify and not letting people label that as black work because.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: it’s coming from your melon native body.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And just keep doing it and then call us.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And we’ll tell you keep doing it.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And i’m retired no income no financial disclosure, so I don’t care i’m you know i’m not afraid to get fired so i’ll say whatever.

Faith Fletcher: Exactly pre Dr brown do you have any thoughts.

Faith Fletcher: On that thing.

Virginia Brown: From it from an ally accomplice perspective, you don’t have to have the language of injustice to call it out.

Virginia Brown: You know that something is wrong, you know, a comment was off Center you were left with an uncomfortable feeling, you do not have to define it any further than that to speak up and say i’m sorry, excuse me, I don’t really understand.

Virginia Brown: So, and so, how this fits with this person’s body Doc if you can do address that discomfort you don’t.

Virginia Brown: have it, you know you’re not sure if it’s privileged whiteness you know anti this law it doesn’t matter you have a moral Center that does go off and says well that was weird that was odd I don’t think I understand, please explain more I challenge you to that.

Faith Fletcher: Yes, I think we had in the chat chat box earlier Dr Ray said trust your gut.

Faith Fletcher: Yes, yes, and again as you’re establishing in mentorship I I think these spaces are the spaces you’re in the right places to meet other black by what this is doing doing this work, I mean I met keyshia.

Faith Fletcher: A year ago, and you know we’ve been able to establish I met Virginia and Colorado years ago so we’re still meeting people.

Faith Fletcher: Are you know circle is constantly expanding and this is one benefit of the virtual world and the pandemic it brought all this together to have these conversations.

Faith Fletcher: Because when one person wasn’t available, we were like nope you know you need to go to this person or, this is not my area of expertise.

Faith Fletcher: I do ethics and i’m black but I don’t specifically focus on this, we need to reach out to Virginia Brown.

Faith Fletcher: or keyshia Ray or Patrick Smith so we’ve continued to elevate each other there’s more than enough space more than enough issues to go around and we have to continue to work together to lean into each other’s work to support and elevate.

Faith Fletcher: And we thank you for being here today we’ve enjoyed the session, thank you for listening to us we’ve enjoyed sharing our stories and our lessons learned and look out for future special reports in future lectures that Center anti racism bioethics.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Thank you everyone.

Faith Fletcher: Thank you, everybody.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: i’m going to the networking room i’ll get a table y’all can come and say hi.

Virginia Brown: How cool.

Faith Fletcher: Is there why.

Virginia Brown: isn’t like send the URL.

Virginia Brown: either.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: pasha pasha Chris Thank you.

Faith Fletcher: Thank you Sasha.

Faith Fletcher: Can we get these comments, these are like inspirational.

Virginia Brown: yeah I.

Virginia Brown: went to like a word cloud get somebody to a word cloud of thumb that would be wonderful.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): I think when you when the chat it when the.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): When the recording is saved so is the chat I believe.

Virginia Brown: You know.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: i’m saving the kit to my computer so.

Virginia Brown: It isn’t anymore.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: you’re mine is.

Virginia Brown: you’ve got something special.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: You said.

Faith Fletcher: Over the last time.

Faith Fletcher: Because I don’t have.

Virginia Brown: I can’t save either I can’t say maybe you have a different version my university version won’t, let me say.

Faith Fletcher: I think yeah that’s what I think it’s like some restrictions.

Virginia Brown: yeah bill that they did at the institutional level.

Dani Pacia (she/her): I can I save the chat.

Dani Pacia (she/her): So around to everyone.

yeah.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: Thank you.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: geez I wish I could have seen everybody who was attending.

Faith Fletcher: yeah yeah I know but it’s.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): This is great.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): I appreciate i’m glad I finally got to meet you miss coretta I see so deprived I didn’t have.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: My gosh.

Keisha S. Ray (she/her): Now i’m going to move forward and forget that and not be bitter about it.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: And don’t be bitter about it.

Claretta “Dr. Grandma” Dupree: All right, bye all.

Right.

Virginia Brown: Thank you.

Virginia Brown: I guess I need to go look at my sth handbook and.