Black History Month

Echoes of frustration with racism in medicine rebound among students, staff and faculty, as students work for positive change in medical school and health care overall.

Doctoral student Amber Coleman is working on two passion projects as a student developer with the Center for Digital Humanities – an interactive history of the Dunbar School and a video game exploring the history of the Buffalo Soldiers.

Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have spread beyond the Colleges of Medicine as the other Health Sciences colleges address racism in health care.

Television has served as "a primary source of America's racial education," says UArizona scholar Stephanie Troutman Robbins, co-editor of "Race in American Television: Voices and Visions that Shaped a Nation."

As a researcher studying diseases that disproportionately affect Black women, UArizona alumna and public health faculty member Kelly Palmer says her work is a team effort – and incredibly personal.

The medical schools in Tucson and Phoenix are engaged in several efforts related to recruitment, retention, mentoring, faculty development, curriculum, culture and more.

Talks on the Black experience, inequality, the influence of hip-hop and other topics are slated for the university's celebration of Black History Month. Also on tap: traditional African drum and dance performances.

Aaron Coleman's early art took the form of graffiti art on trains. He is now a printmaker whose work has been displayed in collections around the world.

The project will create immersive scenarios that simulate typical experiences of discrimination, with the goal of promoting honest and productive discussions about racism.