The Center for Health Equity along with co-sponsor Block Chronicles, held a Poetic Health Justice Forum during National Minority Health Month and National Poetry Month to curate a space where people in public health, scholars, artists, writers, and creatives are in conversation about issues of equity, justice, and health.
They invited poets and writers "who inspire us to envision a future, to think beyond our boundaries, and to be in concert with community across our areas and disciplines,” said EPI’s Dara Mendez, event co-host and interim director of the Center for Health Equity.
Co-host Jason Mendez is co-founder and executive producer of Block Chronicles, a national web-series and online magazine profiling the work of Latinx and other BIPOC educators, artists, researchers, and community organizations in the areas of Latinx studies, education, health equity, arts and culture. Mendez is also a visiting assistant professor of urban education at Pitt’s Center for Urban Education.
The event featured poets Tameka Cage Conley, LeConte Dill, Ryan Petteway, Mateo Perez Lara, and Joseph Capehart. Watch the full performance and read their full bios on YouTube.
“It is so incredible to see people gathering around art – specifically the art of poetry. Our job is to not only describe the world around us but to conjure the worlds that we need,” said Capehart before presenting his poetry.
6/21/2021