Health matters seminar hosted by Stillman College in Selma

Published 9:59 am Friday, May 16, 2025

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Stillman College research scholars and professors hosted a health matters seminar at Brown Chapel AME Church on Saturday, May 3.

The event “Why Health Matters,” which is part of Stillman College’s Black Belt Health Equity Initiative, sponsored in partnership with Pfizer, focused around the notion that everyone deserves quality health care.

Topics included health care access for Black vs White communities and what can be done to bridge the gap. Research was presented about mental health disparities, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer.

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“It is deeply meaningful to have events like this take place in Selma. As scripture reminds us, ‘My people perish for lack of knowledge,’ and that truth is reflected in the health disparities we face every day in this city,” said Linda Holmes, a Civil Rights foot soldier and event organizer. “Many of our residents live in poverty, travel far for work, and must choose between basic needs like food and medicine. In communities like ours—where illness is common, healthy food is out of reach, and mental health struggles are growing—access to accurate, empowering information is not just important, it’s life-saving.

All studies looked at a comparative analysis between African American and White populations, with the prostate research focusing specifically on the Black Belt.

Stillman College student Christian Grayson of Fultondale, Alabama, presents his research at Brown Chapel AME Church on disparities between African American and white populations with uterine cancer. Results showed that African American women aged 65 and older had 18% higher uterine cancer rates compared to white women, while white women under 50 had 40% higher rates. (Photo provided by Stillman College)

“Our visit to Brown Chapel AME exceeded every expectation we had,” said Dr. Gordon Govens, executive director of faith based and social justice initiatives at Stillman College. “Over the course of two hours, Dr. Rosianna Gray, Dr. Andy Chaudhuri, and five of our exceptional students presented on the realities of health disparities in Dallas County — and the response from the community was profound.

“We learned as much from the personal testimonies of those in attendance about their experiences with disparities as they did from our research and findings. The student presentations were inspiring, and we were thrilled to learn that two high school students in the audience are now planning to visit Stillman College, motivated by our Stillman Research Community Scholar students. This kind of impact reflects what we call Stillman’s itinerant education—bringing knowledge beyond the walls of our campus and back into the communities that have supported and sustained us for 150 years to address real problems. This is education in motion, and we are excited to continue these efforts in the months ahead.”

Christian Grayson of Fultondale presented his research on uterine cancer.

Emily Gulley of Mobile presented her research on colorectal cancer across various U.S. states with a focus on African American and white men and women.

Alirea Johnson of New Orleans, Louisiana, along with Dr. Govens, presented her preliminary research on mental health disparities.

Faith Onomeh of Lagos, Nigeria, presented her research on disparities in prostate cancer by race for those 65 and older in Alabama’s Black Belt counties. She recently won the Stillman College Research Symposium for her oral presentation.

Jakayla Rankin of Mobile presented her research on ovarian cancer at the health matters seminar. She recently won the Stillman College Research Symposium for her poster presentation.

Stillman College Research Symposium student winner Jakayla Ranking of Mobile, Alabama, presents results from her comparative study on ovarian cancer between African American and white populations. The study revealed white females have a higher rate in most states, except Kansas, where Black women had an 18% higher mortality rate. The presentation was part of a Black Belt Health Equity Initiative event at Brown Chapel AME Church on May 3. (Photo provided by Stillman College)

Stillman College’s Black Belt Health Equity Initiative (BBHEI) was established in Spring 2025 through a $250,000 Communities Forward grant from the Pfizer Multicultural Health Equity Collective to address preventable health disparities across Alabama’s Black Belt region.

“I am incredibly grateful to Stillman College and the Black Belt Health Equity Initiative for choosing Brown Chapel AME Church to launch this vital work,” Holmes said. “The event reminded us that with knowledge, compassion, and the involvement of institutions like the church, we can begin to reverse the tide and bring healing to our people. The community’s response was clear: this information is needed, our students are outstanding, and this work must continue.”

Read more about BBHEI and the Pfizer Grant by visiting https://stillman.edu/2025/02/stillman-college-receives-grant-from-pfizer-multicultural-health-equity-collective/