Transcription
Welcome to snap a shots conversations with professional practicing and applied anthropologists. Um my background is in HIV and AIDS. And so with um the work that I do for um the federal government um working in HIV and AIDS um really I take um a practical approach um making sure that um individuals um have um culturally responsive um prevention, interventions and treatment of of HIV care. Um but with that um really making sure that I take the tools that I have learned as a medical anthropologist and that individuals are able to shape and tell their own stories um as we um um uh actually uh um employ that HIV care. So that's the short story.
Um I also do um community consultant um really teaching um within the the community. Um I'm also uh a preacher. Um so that's why I say I do a little bit of it all but um taking all of that in an interdisciplinary approach um um to take it as a holistic of approach um in terms of human services in terms of everything that I do. I take everything that I have learned um you know like I say I have an interdicciplinary background you know I have a background in public health I have a masters in public health I have a masters of divinity um and so with um anthropology um it's uh it's that m it was that missing piece of the p puzzle that has it now helps me bring a holistic approach to everything that I do.
Um, you can't do anything without the voices of the community. It's not just a matter of going in and telling the community what you're going to do, but you have to engage the community before you take the programs to the community. And then once you do the programs, you have to go back and take the programs. You have to go back and take the work to the community and show the community what you have done, you know. So really making sure that everything you do is um or everything that I do is holistic and it's full circle. Um and really have taken all of that um and understanding that um those anthropological methods um the anthropological theory is important from the beginning to the end as well as inclusive in the middle as well.
Meil Singer came up with um syndemic theory and so understanding that with synmic theory we have these co-occurring conditions and so it's not just about looking at one aspect of HIV but understanding that there are so many different layers or so many different aspects of how um HIV works together. So it's HIV and then we have these co-occurring conditions. It's it's a matter of looking at the social, the cultural, the environmental, all of that. You it's not a eitheror, but it's all of that. Sometimes we have to take um anthropological theories that are out there and reshape them so that they will um be more useful in the populations that um we are working with. Um we talk about um this epidemic and we talk about um ending the epidemic but we have to understand that we cannot or we will not end the epidemic until we have um included all the voices that the end epidemic impacts. And so when we look at anthropology um anthropology um um includes engaging all the voices um of the problem. You know we can't um in the epidemic if we're not um engaging the actual community of who the epidemic um um impacts. if um it's not just a select few.
So um what I see is when I go to some some um conferences indiv um there are other people who go into the field and they collect the data and then they write the stories but we have to allow um um individuals to tell their own stories and that's something that I am uh a very much proponent of um uh allowing people with lived experience to tell their own stories and and and as I say that is just really helping helping um individuals um understand that you um it's important to shape and write their own narratives. You know um sometimes we don't get respect. Um you know one of the things that I often say everyone needs a a a good anthropologist on their team. You know, I often say that at work, everyone needs a good anthropologist on their team because we we see um the world differently. Um that is not something that was told to me. That is something that I would tell others. you know, I may do it a little different, you know, because of, you know, the conditions that we're in, you know, but I'm gonna continue to keep doing it because again, like I say, it's ministry, you know, this is my calling, you know, I got called to ministry to preach the gospel and I've also I was also called to be a practicing anthropologist [Music] to ensure that, you know, people are able to, like I say, um, tell their stories, um, shape and be able to tell the stories in their own voices.
My dissertation focused on um black women, college educated black women and um middle-class black women, their um perceptions of a HIV risk, you know. And the thing about it was um I was told that that was a population that did not exist. But what I realized, not only was it a population that existed, this was a a much needed um study that needed to be done. And having conversations with the women um realized that so many times they said, "No one ever asked our opinion. Nobody no one has ever asked what we thought. No one ever speaks to us because they don't think that we exist." And so that changed my view of anthropology. So many times um there are populations that are left out. This was this needed to be an anthropological project in order to hear the voices of individuals that have been silenced instead of just looking for data or trying to collect data of of of people that we think we need to find the numbers of of for. You know, anthropology allows us to hear the voices of individuals who need to be heard.
Um, I think when I was in school, I actually um wanted to go into academia and teach. I actually was not trying to be a practice and anthropologist. Um, so my views from when I was in school to now have practic have actually changed. I think I would my self as a student over 10 years ago, I would tell myself to look at different options. Don't limit yourself to what it is that you would do um as as an applied anthropologist or or a medical anthropologist. But explore all the options that you can as a practicing anthropologist. Know that yes, you can teach, but there are so many other places that you can go and so many other places where you can make a great impact. Um because once again, everyone needs a good anthropologist on their team.
Like what you see? Let us know. Find us at practicinganthropology.org. or LinkedIn, MetaX, Blue Sky and YouTube. [Music] [Music] snap the shots.