Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-racism, & Social Justice

In July 2020, the Duke Neurology Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Committee began a project to amplify the voices of our community through writing. This body is composed of faculty, staff, administration, residents, advanced practice providers, and post-doctoral fellows. Many members of our committee have never published before. Voices: Lived Experiences seemed to be the perfect opportunity to allow all members of our committee a chance to voice their perspectives on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Committee members were given the following prompts and asked to write briefly about one of these or any other personal story related to EDI:

1. Describe a time you experienced discrimination
2. Discuss why you joined the D&I Committee and what you hope to accomplish
3. Tell about a time you perpetrated discrimination that you now regret and what you learned from it

Authors were asked to provide their name, position, race, and gender but were given the opportunity to withhold any of these if they were uncomfortable sharing this information. Below, please find the voices of the Duke University Department of Neurology.

My encounters with discrimination have varied from blatant expressions of discrimination to subtle discrimination acts that leave me not only disturbed, but with feelings of hopelessness. Subtle acts leave no tangible way to address the discrimination because it is subtle enough to drive the discriminatory point home, but vague enough to allow the individual to feign ignorance. Many of my professors early in my academic career lacked the motivation to learn about cultural diversity and harshly judged my quiet nature at the time as lack of intelligence despite my grades clearly demonstrating my capabilities.  The professor in charge of my first clinical course wrote on my clinical evaluation “She is too quiet”. There was no other feedback besides this despite my preceptor giving me positive feedback on my clinical skills as being advanced and my lab faculty recognizing me publicly. Other students of another race received positive feedback about their clinical skills and other helpful feedback for their continued growth, but not me. The comment is subtle enough to show disapproval but not blatant enough to display discrimination. Thus, it could be viewed as constructive feedback, but this theory is debunked because there was no other feedback with it to help me grow or build my confidence as a budding clinician as had been done for other students who were all White.  I have grown more astute in handling such situations and continue to experience situations of discrimination still. Although progress is being made, it is not nearly enough and there is need for each individual to continuously self-reflect and be conscious of implicit biases that cause destruction of communities and intolerance of individual differences.

Position: APP
Race: Black
Gender: Female

I came out as gay to my parents my sophomore year in college. Their response was crushing, harsh and judgmental. They spoke of their shame and embarrassment. I had always strived to make my family proud and this no longer seemed possible. Over time I’ve come to realize that the homophobia of my parents already resided in me and it was my own homophobia that nearly killed me. But for the grace of God and the loving support of many, I have been able to forge ahead on my journey to self-acceptance. This is not the case for many LGBTQ people. This journey to self-acceptance is often private and lonely. I joined this committee to foster an accepting environment within Duke Neurology.

Name: Jodi Hawes
Position: Faculty
Race: White
Gender: Female

One time I can remember being discriminated against is when I was in the Navy and stationed in Meridian, Mississippi for tech school in 1991. The base warned us there were places in town people of color could not go so when some of my shipmates who were white would leave base and go to these places, I had to stay back because I wasn’t welcomed there. I thought to myself now here I am serving for the country to protect ALL citizens and still looked upon as a second-class citizen and not allowed in certain places. This was 1991 no less and not the 60’s.  I believe those policies still exist today in some areas. Just goes to show we still have a long way to go as a country.

Position: Staff
Race: Black
Gender: Male

It is hard to appreciate something that one is not directly subject to. Between the two countries I primarily spent my life in, I have not experienced first-hand discrimination based on my roots and therefore am almost agnostic to it. I am an active advocate of the fight against the systematic discrimination in employment-based immigration by the country of birth rooted in the immigration laws of this country (see senate bill 386 that attempts to address it). This nationality-based discrimination in employment-based US immigration sometimes gets mixed up with other types of discrimination and at other times actually is favored by some in the name of diversity (the focus needs to be skills required for a given job/employment, not family or diversity-based immigration here). By joining the D&I committee I hope to get a better perspective of what discrimination entails and how it affects us as a community, and ultimately how I can contribute in a more meaningful manner to make the world a better place for everybody irrespective of their roots.

Position: Faculty
Race: Asian Indian
Gender: Male

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