COMMUNICATIONS
Service Symposium Series.
A dialogue with experts on the health and human rights of immigrants, refugees, and asylees from across the African Diaspora.
Archived Symposia
June 2022 ASC Service Symposium Series
African Services Committee hosted Dr. Boukary Sawadogo for the June 2022 ASC Service Symposium Series.
Dr. Boukary Sawadogo is an Associate Professor of Cinema Studies and Black Studies at City College of New York and the CUNY Graduate Center. As a specialist in African cinemas, he has published extensively on the subject, including numerous film reviews, articles, book chapters, and three books. Since 2020, he is the founding director of Harlem African Animation Festival, the first animation film festival in the United States to be exclusively devoted to animated films and series from Africa.
Beyond film and media industries, Dr. Boukary Sawadogo's work has been widening in scope and depth to include a study of the encounters and exchanges between Africa and the diaspora. A particular focus is placed on African immigrants in Harlem. In this respect, Dr. Boukary Sawadogo has been teaching a “Global Harlem” course and has also authored the book "Africans in Harlem: An Untold New York Story" (Fordham University Press, 2022).
May 2022 ASC Service Symposium Series
African Services Committee hosted Chivona Renee Newsome for the May 2022 ASC Service Symposium Series.
Chivona Renee Newsome, the Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter Greater NY and former Candidate for US Congress (NY15), is a civil rights leader at the forefront of the New Civil Rights Movement and former Financial Advisor at New York Life. She has dedicated her adult life to the betterment of her community and our nation as a whole.
Her parents actually met at a civil rights rally in the 1960s, so you can say that she was born into this fight. The Bronx native was raised in a devout Christian household. As a youth, Chivona’s father became very ill, and she became his advocate, learning early on how to negotiate for health care with insurance companies and the local pharmacy. She attended pre-K through college in the Bronx. The one year she chose to study out-of-state at the prestigious Howard University in Washington, DC, her political action was noticed by then Senator Barack Obama’s campaign staff, and she was asked to be a part of the 2008 Presidential Inaugural Committee. As a financial advisor, Chivona served her community. She worked on the $50 Billion Dollar challenge, which created college savings, retirement plans, and generational wealth for over 300 Black and Brown residents of New York. Since then, she has engaged in protests and activities to combat financial injustice.
Over the past few years, Chivona has worked tirelessly, leading protests and seeking justice for the families of police brutality. She works with members of the LGBT community, victims of human trafficking, the mental health community, women’s reproductive rights organizations, and housing justice advocates. She co-founded Black Lives Caucus and Black Opportunities, lectured students, and expanded Black Lives Matter Greater NY to multiple New York City charter schools.
April 2022 ASC Service Symposium Series
African Services Committee hosted Dr. Marci Bowers for the April 2022 ASC Service Symposium Series.
Marci Bowers, M.D. of Burlingame, California is a pelvic and gynecologic surgeon with more than 32 years’ experience in women’s healthcare. She is a University of Minnesota Medical School graduate and former class and student body president. Her Ob/Gyn residency was at the University of Washington. She remained in Seattle as an Obstetrician/Gynecologist at the Polyclinic and Swedish Medical Center, delivering more than 2000 babies over 20 years. Dr. Bowers added to her reconstructive surgical resume during her tenure in Trinidad, Colorado from 2003-2008.
Known for her reconstructive surgical experience, she was sought by the organization, Clitoraid, to learn functional clitoral restoration for survivors of FGM/c from pioneering French surgeon, Pierre Foldes. As the first North American to do so, Marci has now completed more than 500 clitoral restorations since 2007. Recent efforts include implementation and teaching of the surgical technique to local surgeons in Burkina Faso in 2015, Nairobi, Kenya in 2017 and 2019. Dr. Bowers’ primary practice location is in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dr. Bowers is sought after as a speaker and worldwide surgical educator and has been featured in numerous documentaries and news features including the Guardian, BBC, The Times of London, Al-jazeera, Esquire, Oprah, CBS Sunday Morning, Discovery Health, and others.
March 2022 ASC Service Symposium Series
African Services Committee hosted Kenyon Farrow for the March 2022 Service Symposium Series.
Kenyon Farrow is the Managing Director of Advocacy and Organizing at PrEP4All. He is a writer, editor, and strategist whose work has long focused on public health and infectious disease with a focus on racial, gender, and economic justice. Kenyon recently joined the staff of PrEP4All as the Managing Director of Advocacy and Organizing. Previously, Kenyon served as co-executive director of Partners for Dignity & Rights, and as senior editor of TheBody.com & TheBodyPro.com, and U.S. & Global Health Policy Director with Treatment Action Group (TAG). He serves on the board Global Black Gay Men Connect, the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland, and New York Transgender Advocacy Group. He is also known for his work with organizations such as Queers for Economic Justice, Critical Resistance, and FIERCE!
In addition to his political work, Kenyon is a prolific essayist and author. He is the co-editor of the book Letters From Young Activists: Today’s Rebels Speak Out. His work has also appeared in many anthologies including Spirited: Affirming the Soul of Black Lesbian and Gay Identity, For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Still Not Enough, We Have Not Been Moved: Resisting Racism and Militarism in 21st Century America, and Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call. His work has also appeared in publications such as Medium, POZ, The Atlantic, OUT, BET.com, TheGrio, Colorlines, Logo, ReWire News, City Limits, HuffPost, and The American Prospect.
February 2022 ASC Service Symposium Series
African Services Committee hosted Dr. Matthew Gartland for the February 2022 Service Symposium Series.
Dr. Matthew Gartland is the Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Asylum Clinic at the MGH Center for Global Health and an Instructor at Harvard Medical School. The Asylum Clinic is comprised of more than 50 volunteer clinicians who perform forensic medical and psychological evaluations of survivors of persecution and torture seeking asylum in the United States. Dr. Gartland founded the clinic in 2017 and continues his leadership supervising evaluations, training clinicians, and disseminating research on best practices in the field of asylum medicine.
Dr. Gartland is also a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Immigrant Health Special Interest Group. He has worked extensively around the world on projects related to pediatric HIV and primary care in Mexico, Kenya, Zambia, and Liberia. Dr. Gartland earned his BA from Harvard College and his MD from Vanderbilt University. He completed residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is an Adult Hospitalist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a Pediatric Hospitalist at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.