Annual Black History Month lecture provides ‘tools to a better future’

Sofia Hussain, Contributing Writer

The James Branch Cabell Library at VCU will host their annual Black History Month lecture on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m., bringing a fresh and singular voice presenting the emerging field of graphic medicine, according to the VCU libraries website.

Shirlene Obuobi, M.D., a Ghanaian-American physician and cartoonist, will deliver her lecture “Narrative Medicine and Identity” at VCU Library’s annual Black History Month Lecture, according to the VCU libraries website. Her comics focus on the challenges of being a Ghanaian-American woman in medicine as well as the stresses of facing medical school. 

Obuobi creates comics that provide healthcare knowledge for an audience with various literary skills, she said. 

“It’s important to me in my work to give my patients as much access to healthcare knowledge as possible,” Obuobi said. “I specifically like to write fiction and comics to educate people across literacy levels — I think it’s very efficient and effective.” 

Her lecture will highlight the importance of patients’ knowledge and advocacy, according to Obuobi.

“If you’re a patient, you deserve to understand your condition and advocate for yourself,” Obuobi said. “A lot of my work is advocacy, I draw attention to issues that are not talked about in practice.”

Obuobi hopes her use of comics can inspire individuals pursuing medicine not to discard elements of personal significance during their medical journey, she said.

Comics play an important role in the medical narrative, said Grace Gipson, assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies at VCU.

“It opens multiple doors for people to learn something new,” Gipson said.

Obuobi shows unique ways to dive into different networks without leaving the field of medicine,  Gipson said.

“The library is offering a chance for everybody to participate in gaining this knowledge, not only a selective group,” Gipson said.

Gipson said she hopes that the yearly lectures can create conversation for the campus to continue building on the topic of Black history.

There is always something to learn from the annual lectures, said Clyde Ledbetter, assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies at VCU.

The meaning behind Black History Month often gets lost, and it is important to know what we need to prioritize when organizing the annual lectures, according to Ledbetter.

“People need to get a more thorough understanding of what Black History Month is,” Ledbetter said. “We can see what in African American history can give us lessons to make sense of the period we are in now and give us the tools to a better future.”

Registration is free and online; the lecture can be viewed in person or on Zoom.