Black Joy and Public Health with Rebecca Desir
Rebecca Desir, MPH is a native of Ft Lauderdale, Florida, born to Haitian immigrants. She considers herself a community and mental health advocate, focused on making public health more accessible to her community. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science + Health Promotion from Florida Atlantic University, and here master’s degree in Public Health from Florida International University. She currently works as a Program Manager for one of the largest faith-based health systems in the nation. Her passion for addressing health equity in Black communities led her to starting her own nonprofit organization, the Black Health Commission. In this conversation, Rebecca sat down with Dan Miller, Spora Health founder and CEO, to discuss her work in public health and how this work has to center joy.
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A Conversation on Black Joy
Dan Miller: Hi, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Link. Today we have Rebecca Desir on and she is the founder of the Black Health Commission. Rebecca, thanks so much for joining us.
Courtesy of @BlackHealthCommission
Rebecca Desir: Yeah, thank you so much for having me, Dan.
Dan: So Rebecca, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and about the work that you're currently doing?
Rebecca: Sure. I'm a native of Fort Lauderdale, born to Haitian immigrants. And I am very, very passionate about public health, I went to school at FAU got my undergrad there then went to grad school to get my master's in public health. And ever since then I realized that I have a passion for community building and community health. So that's what got me to this point of founding the Black Health Commission.
Dan: Awesome, thank you. And so with the Black Health Commission, what inspired you to get into this work and what continues to keep you passionate about health equity?
Rebecca: Honestly, it seeing the things happening every day on the news, especially because of COVID-19. I think that has highlighted and exacerbated a lot of the health disparities that we've we were already noticing pre COVID. I started the Black Health Commission in 2019, through a small community baby shower that my friends hosted. Since then I realized that 'Oh, my goodness, this is so needed.' And there's an opportunity here for me to create something that will not only address some of these root causes, but also bring in a different perspective of public health. I feel like public health is a bit daunting, or it can be a bit much sometimes. So with Black Health Commission, I'm able to bring in some of that cultural relevancy and tying in some pop culture into it too. So that way, everyone feels like they can understand and engage with public health.
Dan: Dope, that's really cool. So could you tell us could you give us an example of ways that you tie pop culture into public health? Also I would love to just get a sense of, specifically, what the Clack Health Commission does?
Courtesy of @BlackHealthCommission
Rebecca: Yeah, so I can start from the top, the Black Health Commission's mission is to educate and bring awareness to the root causes of health disparities through volunteerism, community programming and collaboration with other organizations. We're based here in Orlando, Florida. With the timing of when I started Black Health Commission, it forced all of us to stay inside and I did a lot of digital education when we were shut down and partnered with a lot of different organizations and individuals who are also passionate about the work. Partnering with doctors to educate folks on COVID-19 and about the vaccine. We started providing some safe spaces for people to ask as many questions as they wanted about topics that we, as a community, barely talk about. If we do it's from a very 'white coat' kind of standpoint. I noticed that there was a missing opportunity for organizations to leverage what people are already paying attention to to larger discussions about public health. For example, when Biz Markie passed away from complications of diabetes, our organization took the opportunity to educate folks on diabetes and some of the resources and orgs that are doing the work. People were already talking about his death and his legacy, but we wanted to take that opportunity to educate folks on what caused his death as well. So that way, it drives people to our page, it helps with engagement, because it's a current topic and culturally relevant, and then using that opportunity to educate our target audience.
Dan: Yeah, I love that. I really love how you think about reframing some of these sort of negative experiences and ways inequities and disparities show up specifically for our population. Then it's reframed with a positive, empowering light that is an opportunity to educate and increase health literacy. It's not to get to that 'white coat' language, but really starting to think about what are some approachable ways for folks to educate themselves, or to just gain access to information around some of the causes of these conditions.
Rebecca: Correct. That has been working pretty well for us. We're now at over 11,000 followers on Instagram, and just continuously building and connecting with different organizations like Spora Health, and different colleagues in the space of public health. So now we have the opportunity to connect with folks all over the nation doing this work, and it just makes our impact much greater than just Orlando, Florida.
Dan: Awesome. That's, that's perfect. So I saw in August, you're hosting the first ever Black Joy Festival in Orlando. And so that's a day for some folks in the community to come together to eat, play, dance, and generally just have a joyful time. Can you tell us a bit more about the connection you see between joy and health for black folks?
“being Black is not just about our trauma, all the negative things that happen in our community, or the challenges that we may come across. It’s also just how dope we are. How we can make anything fun, it doesn’t even matter if it’s like a tragic situation, we’ll find joy somehow, some way. ”
The First annual Black Joy Festival tookg place in Orlando, FL on August 28th, 2021
Rebecca: Yes. So I feel like there's just so many things that have come across our screens about health disparities, and the Black race is typically the race that is affected the most. Our mortality rate amongst many diseases is higher. Coupled with police brutality and the negative images in media, I thought of my nieces and nephews, and other individuals our age that consistently consuming these images and thought it was so depressing. And being Black is not just about our trauma, all the negative things that happen in our community, or the challenges that we may come across. It's also just how dope we are. How we can make anything fun, it doesn't even matter if it's like a tragic situation, we'll find joy somehow, some way. I wanted to curate a safe space for all to join us in August, to celebrate that joy and to also show people how to center joy, because there are times where it may be difficult to find a reason to smile. Especially when you're consistently seeing laws being passed that are just blatantly against the Black community.
So it's just super important for us to learn how to center joy and to make it a part of our daily lives. If we're not able to think clearly and think more positively, that affects everything. People have gone into the depressions and won't even leave their homes and then that can escalate to losing their jobs. It's not just a day for us to come, eat, and play, but we'll also have community resources there as well. Everyone can collect the information, talk to professionals, and learn more about organizations that are here to help and providing the resources.
Dan: How can people learn more about the upcoming festival ways they might either attend or get involved as a sponsor or supporter?
Rebecca: If you would like to be involved in any capacity, you can become a partner or a vendor and provide a financial contribution. We also have volunteer opportunities, and we are definitely looking for people to help us set up break down if you are local. You can go on our website , Facebook, and Instagram to learn more.
Words @amandascgorman // Design by @arabellamadethis
Rebecca: I think that's kind of how we all are in terms of black communities. No matter what has happened, we've persevered. We've been resilient, and just found a way to make to bring good out of negative experiences.
Dan: So, what are you working on next?
Rebecca: I want to take some time to take care of myself. There's a lot of energy and time that goes into planning large events of this caliber. But once that self care comes in, and I feel like I'm ready to go, I'm going to start, strategic planning for BHC. We're a new organization that has grown so fast and gained a lot of traction, so now I nee to take a step back and figure out the operational pieces, as well as building out some of those programs that I mentioned earlier. Making sure that we have all our ducks in a row.
We are partnering with a local public school system here, to build a mentorship program and pipeline. We'll be able to educate them on other healthcare career options outside of your typical doctor and nurse. So that's something that we're working on, as well as bringing back our community baby shower. We'll be partnering with local and national organizations to make sure that we take care of the needs of our moms here locally, and connecting them with some of the social services that they need. We've got a lot of things in the works and all of that really is focused on trying to identify the best people that can help make this happen. Because of course, you know, when you start your own business, you want to make sure that you have the right team around you and building our board. Starting 2022 on top of the world is the goal.
art by: @vibesofablackgirl
Dan: Ambitious, I love it. What are some ways that people can either follow you along your journey, or potentially reach out to connect with you for different opportunities or collaborations?
Rebecca: Of course, so I'm always open for collaboration, or even if there's someone out there who's in public health school, and just needs some advice. You can always reach me at rdesir@blackhealthcommission.com, or you can also reach me via our Instagram and just do the typical millennial way and just slide into my DMs.
Dan: Is there anything else that you'd like to share before we wrap up?
Rebecca: I just want to say thank you so much, Dan, for this opportunity. I'm just so excited to be a part of your podcast and partner with Spora because you're doing amazing work.
Find More Rebecca Desir:
Follow the Black Health Commision on Instagram
Follow Rebecca on Instagram
The website for the Black Health Commission.
Read about the 2021 Black Joy Fesitval in the Orlando Sentinel
Watch more conversations on our YouTube Channel
