Honoring the past, shaping the future: 365bet highlights 健康 disparities at Mount 橄榄公墓

By: 伊桑Steinquest 2024年4月29日

历史学家菲利斯·史密斯(Phyllis Smith)说. 橄榄园历史保护协会， leads a tour for public 健康 professionals from 奥斯汀佩伊州立大学 和 周边社区. | 伊桑Steinquest摄

365bet平台. -奥斯汀皮伊州立大学 公共卫生硕士(MPH)课程 recently hosted a groundbreaking professional development program at the historic Mt. 橄榄公墓 to address 健康 disparities 和 promote antiracism in public 健康.

这个项目是由奥斯汀·皮伊基金会资助的 GOVing Tuesday倡议 并与 Mt. 橄榄公墓 Historical Preservation Society (MOCHPS). It allowed 20 students 和 local 健康 professionals to learn the stories of African Americans interred 在墓地, clean gravestones 和 discuss racism’s influence 关于医疗结果.

365bet Director for Community Care 和 St和ards Claudia Alonzo cleans Ann Stewart Cobb’s 山上的墓碑. 橄榄公墓. | 伊桑Steinquest摄

“What I hope people take away from this is that beyond words 和 阅读、行动 is such a powerful way to show others your love,” said Dr. 我是助理泰勒·诺尔廷 大学教授 健康和人类绩效部 及卫生防护中心成员. “即使人们已经不在了 我们服务 和 纪念 他们死后 显示 they’re not beyond our love - 和 in my opinion, it’s an antiracist act to do that 埋葬在山的人. 橄榄.”

诺尔廷还曾与奥巴马博士合作. Kadi Bliss, a 大学教授 Department of Health 和 Human Performance, to design a 12-lesson curriculum that delves deeper into the 墓地的历史.

“Each lesson is a storytelling experience through the lens of public 健康 history 和 concepts our students are learning,” Bliss said. “我们希望 激励 和 inspires people to be antiracist as they work with their communities to incorporate 策略, 这是 set up so that it can be implemented in the workplace.”

The curriculum explores how 健康care disparities affected historical figures, from United States Colored Troops veteran Barry Gupton to trailblazing nurse Frances Reed 艾略特·戴维斯. It also unpacks modern-day issues like mass incarceration, police brutality 和 的影响 新型冠状病毒肺炎 on 非裔美国人社区.

那些参加“Mt. 橄榄公墓: A Training Ground for Racism Prevention in Public Health” took home a 12-lesson curriculum with more information on those interred 在墓地. |贡献图片

“We learned about this last year in one of my classes, but this was a way to go deeper into the subject,” said Destiny Eldridge, a senior 健康 和 human performance major. “A lot of people in this cemetery died of preventable 健康 issues, 和 now we have programs 和 practices to try 和 keep that from happening … [but] learning a lot of history is very important from a public 健康 st和point to make a difference 为未来做好准备.”

MOCHPS President Nick Nicholson said providing historical context is especially important 因为像贫困这样的问题 继续 影响少数民族人口.

“From a historical perspective, it 显示 that we've been on the negative side of those 不平等，”他说. “Hopefully, if we inform people about that, more attention can be placed on minorities 和 people who don't have the wherewithal to afford 健康care 和其他人一样.”

During a series of tours provided through the program, MOCHPS Historian Phyllis Smith emphasized how many children in the cemetery died because their families couldn’t 支付医疗费用.

“I talked about a young lady who died at 1 year old, 和 what killed her was basically 缺乏蛋白质的饮食，”她说. “很多人负担不起医药费 care, 和 what I told the people I was talking to at that particular grave was that if you meet somebody who says 健康care is a privilege, not a right, hit them over the head with the story of a 1-year-old child who didn’t have to die.”

Penny Greene, the recreation programmer for Clarksville Parks & 娱乐是其中之一 those on the tour 和 said she was also affected by hearing about young African Americans 谁死于奴隶劳动条件.

“It floored me that the majority of the people here died before they were 40 years old, 和 a lot of them died before 1900 because of all the laborious 和 back-breaking 他们在生活中不得不做的工作，”她说. “这是一个了不起的项目，而且 I’m hoping to be able to take it back 和 use it in our Summer Youth Program.”

Smith noted that African American laborers built many historic homes throughout Clarksville 除了…之外 工作 在城市的烟草仓库和田地里.

“When I tell their stories, that's Clarksville history,” 她说. “他们生活在 really repressive laws, 和y managed to make lives, raise kids 和 contribute 到今天的克拉克斯维尔. They went through a lot of adversity, 和 I consider 胜利的英雄.”

Ja’Nya Fields, a senior 健康 和 human performance major, said hearing the stories 埋葬在山中的人. 橄榄 inspired her to honor their legacies in her own 职业生涯.

“I appreciated learning the different backgrounds of these people 和 making connections,” 她说. “Preventable issues caused them to die, 和 it encourages us as public 健康 professionals to be aware of any 健康 concerns 和 take them seriously.”

Nolting said the event’s success was possible thanks to contributions from MOCHPS founder Geneva Bell 和 former president Mike Taliento, who worked for years to develop the cemetery into what it is today.

“There’s been a large community effort building around Mt. 橄榄自始 大约20年前，”诺尔廷说. “我希望这些故事和 experiences can be shared with others in the community 和 that people will be inspired 在将来帮助别人.”