OVERVIEW

Stuyvesant Alumni from all class years are invited to join author Uché Blackstock, MD ’95 for a virtual book talk of her latest, LEGACY: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine, on February 28, 2024. The discussion will be moderated by Lisa Levitt ’87, a motivated leader mobilizing the next generation of health services and navigating the new health landscape.

A Q&A will follow the discussion.

We are glad to extend this book talk opportunity to Stuyvesant alumni, students, and friends. The event will be held on Wednesday, February 28 at 7PM (ET) via Zoom. (Zoom Link to be provided upon RSVP.)

Please note, this event requires a ticket. Your registration confirmation will serve as your ticket.

• SHSAA Members: $5
• General Alumni and Guests: $10*
• Event Ticket + SHSAA Membership: $25
• Stuyvesant Students & Faculty/Staff: FREE

Your registration confirmation email will serve as your ticket(s).

Current Stuyvesant students and faculty/staff can join this event for free. Please select the appropriate ticket above (under “General Alumni and Guests”) or email us at [email protected] for details on how to attend.

*If you are experiencing financial hardship but still want to attend, please email [email protected] and we will make accommodations.

GUEST SPEAKER

Uché Blackstock, MD ’95

As children in the 1980s, Uché Blackstock ’95 and her twin sister Oni Blackstock ’95 watched their mother lead an organization of Black women physicians: fiercely intelligent women in white coats who cured ills and saved lives. Destined to follow in her footsteps, Uché and her sister went on to become the first Black mother-daughter legacies from Harvard Medical School.

But as her career continued as an ER physician and a professor in academic medicine, Dr. Uché Blackstock became profoundly aware of what she hadn’t seen as a child: the dangerous systemic barriers that Black patients and physicians face. In LEGACY: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine (Viking, January 23, 2024), Dr. Blackstock tells the incredible story of her career and reveals the deep inequities that still exist in American healthcare.

In a medical system where only 2% of physicians are Black women, Black Americans have far worse health outcomes than any other group in the country. LEGACY is a journey through the critical intersection of racism and healthcare, exposing a flawed system of practices and policies that jeopardize the well-being of entire communities. Following Dr. Blackstock’s odyssey from child to medical student to practicing physician, this captivating memoir not only explores the legacy of her mother and other pioneering Black physicians but also the long shadow of inequality in the United States healthcare system. With striking wisdom and inspiring leadership, LEGACY ultimately shows Dr. Blackstock’s path to realizing her own power as a health equity advocate against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.

In 2019, Dr. Blackstock founded Advancing Health Equity, an organization that aims to dismantle racism in healthcare and close the gap in racial health equities. She has been recognized by Forbes Magazine, Essence Magazine, the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund, the American Medical Student Association, and numerous other institutions for her work as a thought leader and advocate on bias and racism in medicine. A medical contributor to MSNBC and NBC News, Dr. Blackstock’s commentary on the latest news in healthcare has been featured widely.

LEGACY is at once a searing indictment of our healthcare system, a generational family memoir, and a powerful call to action. I hope you’ll consider coverage of this incredible book in 2024!

SPECIAL GUEST MODERATOR

Lisa Levitt ’87

Lisa Levitt, MBA, MHSA ’87 is a health care consultant who improves care access and quality through innovative program design, product development, operations planning and improvements. She serves communities of diverse races, cultures, ages, and economics, from wealthy to homeless people. Priorities include health equity, systems thinking, eldercare, end of life services and trauma-informed care. Clients and employers have included leading technology vendors, start-ups, health plan insurers, hospitals, and medical groups. Lisa has also taught university courses on Digital Health, the US Health System, and Global Health.

If you have any questions about this event, please reach out to [email protected].