BY MYLA TOLIVER
“We did not have to get here, and if we can understand the thought process and events that got us to where we are today, we can become more equipped to make change in medicine.”
– Sydney Green, 8th Year MD-PhD Student at the Yale School of Medicine
At Yale, it is common to encounter scholars with unique combinations of passions and backgrounds. For instance, you might meet individuals who are historians, educators, medical students, mothers, advocates, and local enthusiasts of crocheting, all at the same time. One such individual is Sydney Green, an MD-PhD student at the Yale School of Medicine. She is deeply passionate about Black feminism, intimate partner violence, medical equity, her two beautiful children, and intricate fiber art.
Just as she skillfully weaves her yarns into creative pieces, Sydney is also dedicated to intertwining narratives from various decades, individuals, and locations as a historian exploring the history of medicine. Her goal is to present this information in a cohesive and accessible manner for the general public. Additionally, she strives to ensure that Black female historical figures—who have often been marginalized in the narratives of medicine and science—get their right to be represented with accuracy and respect.
When inquired about her interest in pursuing an MD-PhD, Green traced her passions back to her upbringing. She recalled the diligent efforts of her parents to ensure that she was well-versed in reproductive health, especially while coming of age in a school solely hyper-focused on exercise-based physical education. Green soon realized the gap in this health subject between her and her peers, and soon witnessed the saddening consequences of such a disparity.
From that point on, she experienced an awakening in her interest in having a role in changing the situation, even if she did not yet know precisely what that role would entail. In continuation of this interest, she would eventually pursue a Bachelor of Arts in the History of Science at Harvard University while serving as a peer health educator for local high schools.
In this experience, her exposure to the prevalence of teen dating violence captured her attention and made her even more determined to explore women’s public health. This interest culminated in her senior thesis, “From Home to Hospital: The Construction of Battered Woman Syndrome,” where she explored the history of the medicalization of domestic violence.
She eventually honed these interests in the Black female demographic after witnessing writings of how complex enduring domestic violence from within the race and racism from the outside was for them. For example, she cited how Black women of the 20th century were not keen on reporting violence out of protectiveness for the race-based terror their black male counterparts already had to endure from society. In researching more deeply, she found that many women were adamant about not wanting to be victims of violence, no matter who was perpetrating it.
She found inspiration in this fierce resistance to the status quo; however, she discovered that most scholarly narratives did not focus on this unrelenting defiance, instead frequently emphasizing the victimization of these women. Disappointed by how scholars portrayed Black women, she became more determined to reframe Black women’s historical narrative in academia. In this, she added another layer of complexity to her academic studies by combining the history of medicine, intimate partner violence, and Black feminism.
Not long thereafter, she entered her MD-PhD track at Yale, a journey fruitful in personal and academic progression, albeit not an easy one. In her reflections, she noted having to deal with individuals who did not understand what she was trying to do or why her questions were worthwhile. Oftentimes, she felt as if she was the only one in the room seriously trying to account for the perspectives of Black women in the medical history material being discussed.
However, in this isolation, outside of the camaraderie she found in a devoted graduate student knitting group, she found company in history itself. In her endless hours of combing through medical archives, she identified numerous stories of other historical actors who explored the same subjects she did and found that she was—as she stated—“a small drop in a bucket of intellectual legacy surrounding the topic.”
This provided her with a profound sense of humility and an even deeper sense of belonging amidst the line of researchers that came before her. From this, a spate of questions arose: If she is not the first individual to discuss her combination of subjects, how was it discussed in the 1950s and 1960s? What were the individuals teaching her, most of whom were trained in the 70s and 80s? And most importantly, what influenced their views, and how has that influenced ours today?
In her first official research experience as a first-year PhD, she went to the National Library of Medicine. She was faced with examining a large box filled with various academic writings. Despite the overwhelming nature of the job, she recalls being enthralled by the privilege of accessing the inner thoughts and drafts of scholars, effectively immersing herself in their worlds. The surprise of discoveries, she exclaimed, like finding a handwritten letter by Nina Simone during her research trip to Smith College, added another dimension of excitement to the experience.
Figure 1. An individual searches through a box of files. Courtesy of Pexels
However, the magnitude of the documents was not the most arduous task, but the fact that she had to weave together storylines of numerous individuals in order to understand and illustrate the past. Still, for the sake of being the voice for the voiceless, she surmounted these barriers and successfully contextualized each narrative within the broader arc of history. In this role, she firmly believes that inevitability is a myth because—as she asserts—there was “no guarantee that our society was destined to reach this point in history,” and understanding the events that led to it is crucial to predicting and directing the path we are headed.
In her studies, she has observed a significant disparity in how the stories of African Americans are represented in the archives compared to their dissemination in medical contexts. During her time in medical school, she recognized that the narratives of Black populations and historical Black individuals are often framed as those of victims in the scenarios being taught. For example, she pointed out that Black women are frequently mentioned in discussions about fatal conditions or cases where they have been denied care. While she appreciates the acknowledgment of the health disparities faced by Black individuals over the centuries, she believes there should be greater emphasis on the contributions of Black scientists and doctors in these narratives. These figures should be integrated into the conversation as essential participants rather than just mentioned briefly.
She has noticed a similar pattern in her history studies. For instance, the narratives surrounding the feminist women’s health movement of the 1960s and 70s often focus on white advocates. In contrast, the stories of Black activists, such as Byllylle Avery, founder of the National Black Women’s Health Project, are typically treated as secondary to the movement rather than being central to its foundation, as those of white women. As a black feminist collective argued in 1977, this is attributed to the fact that “The sanction in the Black and white communities against black women thinkers is comparatively much higher than for white women.” In short, the “women’s aspect of the movement frequently overlooks women of color.”1
Her ultimate goal in her research is to reintegrate the voices of Black women into these narratives. By doing so, she aims to prepare physicians and scientists to interpret stories from more nuanced perspectives, thereby better equipping them to address current minority health issues. Sydney Green envisions a world where medical discourse does not allow certain groups to be marginalized.
Figure 2. Stethoscope and medical records. Courtesy of Pexels
She believes that the language of marginalization—if not consistently accompanied by the community’s successes, identities, and perspectives on health—can undermine the contributions of these groups to the academic field. Although many individuals in science pride themselves on being objective investigators in a discipline that relies heavily on facts, they are—as Sydney argues—not immune to the social forces that shape their views. Stepping into a hospital or lab does not erase the biases and stereotypes that an individual has learned before entering that academic space.
When discussing the language of marginalization, it is important to note that individuals may not explicitly state or believe that a certain group of people is inferior. However, their comments can indirectly imply such notions and lead to harmful generalizations about a population. For example, there have been instances where unfavorable circumstances affecting a few Black individuals are suggested to represent the entire community.
Conversely, there is a narrative that portrays Black populations as more resilient to illness and adversity, which has historically led to the belief that they require less medical assistance because their bodies are supposedly better equipped to endure strain. Although these ideologies may seem outdated, they still appear in modern medical practices. This is evident in the way Black women’s pregnancy complications are often not taken seriously, as well as in policymaking, where some officials resist the idea that Black populations deserve the same level of medical care as others. For example, in a 2021 interview, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, argued, “We should not be giving black people the same vaccine schedule that’s given to whites because their immune system is better than ours.”2
Sydney emphasizes an important point: unlearning biases is not a prerequisite for becoming a scholar. She argues that our social position influences our practice of medicine and science in the world. While we cannot detach ourselves from society’s history or our own experiences, those in academia must strive to maintain humility, recognizing that they can be just as susceptible to immorality as anyone else, regardless of their years of training and experience.
She encourages a willingness to seek a comprehensive understanding of historically underrepresented and misrepresented communities. When addressing health issues, she believes it’s crucial to avoid assuming complete mastery or competency in developing solutions. Instead, Sydney advocates for physicians and scientists first to assess the struggles facing the community, understand how that community is already addressing these issues, and build upon those existing efforts. This process should be collaborative, involving discussions that include the perspectives of those being assisted in developing solutions.
Sydney expresses the shared struggle of Black students, who often feel they cannot fully be themselves due to the responsibility of addressing racial biases that arise from their very presence. She emphasizes the need for the academic community to share this burden, especially since the current situation is rooted in a history to which society as a whole has contributed. Sydney outlines a potential solution in several steps.
First, there must be an acknowledgment of the issue: What problem are we facing? Next, we must understand the issue: What led us to this point? Arguably, the most overlooked step is recognizing the individuals at the center of the issue: Who is affected, and what actions are they taking to resolve this? Finally, collaboration with those individuals is crucial. Instead of asking, “What can I do as an individual to provide a solution?” we should ask, “What can we do together to confront this?” As she states, “It’s all about asking them and letting them.”
In this way, Sydney Green firmly believes that the perspectives and issues of marginalized groups in medicine, from Black women to the broader community, can be presented in a manner that reflects the nuance, brilliance, and beauty of their true history.
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References
- Collective, C. R. The Combahee River Collective statement (1977). Black Past https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/combahee-river-collective-statement-1977/ (2012).
- Holt, B. RFK Jr’s claim about Black people’s immune systems is “unscientific and terrifying”. The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/15/rfk-jr-black-people-immune-system-claims (2025).
Yale Global Health Review 