How can scholars and community members collaborate to improve the health of Houston immigrant communities?
Amarilys Estrella and Victoria Massie, assistant professors of anthropology at Rice University, aim to find the answer through their project, Stressful Crossings: How Black Immigrant’s Health Is Immobilized in Houston, which is funded by Building Research on Inequality and Diversity to Grow Equity (BRIDGE), an initiative at Rice.
Stressful Crossings develops partnerships with Houston organizations to enhance the development of community-level knowledge and research training on health disparities that can be leveraged to meet the material needs of Black immigrants in the Houston area by drawing on multidisciplinary ethnographic illness narratives and psychosocial methodologies.
The project sponsored a series of lectures to discuss immigrant health. The first talk, held Sept. 9, explored how culture and identity inform professionals’ approach to health issues. Thalia L. Micah, CEO of the Institute of Integrative Health Specialists and Holistic Wellness Center and a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, discussed her own immigration experience to the United States and how her African heritage influenced her approach to treating and healing patients.
This project brings scholarship to the community to generate real insight and change. Professors Massie and Estrella are convening both a unique and needed conversation.
— Jenifer Bratter
The project’s second event explored what it means to be stateless — a person who is not considered as a national by any state under the law. Estrella and Massie hosted a screening Nov. 15 of the film “Stateless,” which was followed by a discussion with Rosa Iris Diendomi, an attorney and immigration advocate, and Edward Paulino, a history professor from CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
The film followed Diendomi, a young attorney, as she challenges electoral corruption and protects the rights of all people, after decades of anti-black racism and violence against Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent.
“Exploring immigrant experiences couldn’t be more pressing and we know pitifully little about Black immigrant communities,” said Jenifer Bratter, professor of sociology and director of BRIDGE. “This project brings scholarship to the community to generate real insight and change. Professors Massie and Estrella are convening both a unique and needed conversation.”
For more information about upcoming events, visit bridge.rice.edu.
— Alana Holmes
Program Administrator
Building Research on Inequality and Diversity to Grow Equity