The Georgetown-Howard Center for Medical Humanities & Health Justice

October 8th, 2025
Medical Humanities and Health Justice Symposium: Crisis in Action

A photo captured to take with you as a reminder of the conversations, questions, feelings, and thoughts you and everyone had in that room.

THANK YOU!

To our audience, thank you for your commitment to today’s symposium, your questions, your attention, your time and energy, and your hunger for change.

To our speakers, thank you for taking us through your thoughts as you shared knowledge and experiences, to your engagement with the community we were able to build today, and to your work in the medical humanities and health justice.

If there is one thing you take from today: we must reimagine. Our institutions. Our Health. Our Care for ourselves and one another. Our communities. And our response to crisis.

We hope that the Medical Humanities and Health Justice Symposium: Crisis in Action created a space of hope, innovation, academic thought, and an opportunity to take the next step.

-MHHJ Team

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Couldn’t make it? Recording coming soon. Sign up for our newsletter. Link in bio.

Critical Condition: Health in Black America

A Groundbreaking Film and Conversation on Race, Medicine, and Equity. Why are Black Americans more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart
disease? Why is their life expectancy five years shorter than White Americans—despite no genetic differences between races?

Join us for an urgent conversation featuring clips from Critical Condition: Health in Black
America, the acclaimed NOVA and Firelight Films documentary by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Stanley Nelson. The film traces how structural racism, medical bias, and lived experience shape health today.

The evening includes a live panel with featured voices from the film and a post-event reception to continue the dialogue.

📅 Date: Thursday, September 18, 2025
🕕 Time: 6:00 PM ET (Doors open at 5:30 PM; Reception at 7:45 PM)
📍 Location: Howard University Hospital, Towers Auditorium

This event is free with registration and open to the public.

🔗 Register today: link in bio

Presented in partnership with NOVA and Howard University Hospital, the Georgetown-Howard Center for Medical Humanities and Health Justice, WETA, and WHUT.

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🎟 Make the most of your March On!™ Festival experience with a Festival Pass
Save on tickets and unlock full access to the week’s films, panels, and performances.
✔ Discounted over individual tickets
✔ Access to the full lineup
✔ Early registration for popular events
🔔 Passes are non-transferable. Registration is required after purchase—some events may fill up
early.
🗝 Get details: marchonfest.org/festival

🎙 PANELIST SPOTLIGHT 🎙
We’re thrilled to introduce the brilliant minds joining us for the Crisis in Action panels at the Medical Humanities & Health Justice Symposium

🗓 October 8 | Georgetown Capitol Campus | Washington, DC

💥 Crisis in Action: Part I
Featuring:
🔹 Dr. Vanessa Northington Gamble
🔹 Dr. Lucretia Williams
🔹 Dr. Rishi Goyal
🔹 Dr. Antoine Johnson

💥 Crisis in Action: Part II
Featuring:
🔹 Dr. Kenton Rambsy
🔹 Dr. Bassam Sidiki
🔹 Dr. Kim Gallon
🔹 Dr. Jennifer Boume Make
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💭 This panel will explore …
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🎤 KEYNOTE ANNOUNCEMENT 🎤
We are honored to announce that the incredible Ruha Benjamin will be joining us as the keynote speaker for the Medical Humanities & Health Justice Symposium: Crisis in Action

🗓 October 8th | Georgetown Capitol Campus | Washington, DC

Dr. Benjamin—award-winning scholar, author of Viral Justice, and visionary in the fight for racial and health justice—will open the day with a powerful keynote on imagination, power, and transformation in times of crisis.

Click the link in our bio.
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🚨 BIG NEWS 🚨
Are you ready? Because we finally get to share something we’ve been building behind the scenes...

🩺✨ Announcing the first-ever
Medical Humanities & Health Justice Symposium: Crisis in Action hosted by the Georgetown-Howard Center for Medical Humanities & Health Justice (MHHJ)

🗓 Happening October 8th at Howard University

📍 Join us for a powerful day of dialogue, connection, and collective imagination around medical humanities and health justice.

Click the link in our bio for full schedule, speakers, and how to RSVP!

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✨ Congratulations to MHHJ’s co-Executive Director Dr. Dana Williams on today’s publication of her book “Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship”!

Join Dr. Williams next week in DC to learn about the   alumna’s career before winning a  , as the first Black woman editor at Random House 📚   shaped the future of Black publishing and built “a hospitable community” for Black writers ✍🏾

We’ll see you there!
🗓️ Tuesday, June 24
⏰ 7-9 pm (doors open at 6:30)
📍MLK Jr. Memorial Library (901 G St. NW)

Follow our center, the Georgetown-Howard Center for Medical Humanities and Health Justice, on the Bluesky platform .bsky.social 📣 !

📣 MHHJ’s story is begins where transformative ideas meet action at the intersection of medical humanities and health justice. Our conversations are as information as they are academic. That is why we’re building a team of people who aren’t just intellectual superstars. We’re also including partners who are profoundly committed to Washington, DC, and to using our shared values to help create a movement. It’s because we believe that we need multidimensional people and conversations to understand and solve the complex issues of health in the District.

📣Welcome to our pioneering Lore Cohort! Our distinguished fellows are delving deep into the fascinating intersection of lore and health justice. Each fellow brings a unique perspective to understanding how traditional knowledge, cultural practices, and informal narratives shape health outcomes in diverse communities.

Throughout December, we’re excited to showcase our fellows’ groundbreaking projects. Each project illuminates how lore continues to influence healthcare experiences and decision-making in Washington, DC and beyond. Join us as we uncover these rich stories and their profound impact on community health and well-being.

📣Introducing our pioneering Lore Cohort! Our distinguished fellows are developing deep into the fascinating intersection of lore and health justice! Each fellow brings a unique perspective to understand how traditional knowledge, cultural practices, and informal narratives shape health outcomes in diverse communities.

Throughout December, we’re excited to showcase our fellows’ groundbreaking projects. Each project illuminates how lore continues to influence healthcare experiences and decision-making in Washington, DC and beyond. 📣