Interview with Tiffany Grant, Health Sciences Librarian
Interview by Amy Phillips
Amy Phillips: In your role as a Health Sciences librarian, how often do you receive requests for finding sources on racial disparities in health care? That is, is this a topic that is being heavily researched?
Tiffany Grant: The short answer here is that I don’t receive many requests for this type of research. The longer answer has to involve my training and background. I am not a librarian by training/trade. I came into librarianship through a backdoor of sorts. I was hired because of my biomedical research experience which lends more toward microbiology and infectious diseases. That said because the topic of racial health disparities is a personally relevant topic, I have instigated funding proposals to do work in the area looking at ways to mitigate health disparities while also increasing health literacy. While doing this work, I have connected with researchers doing similar work, and I have been involved with some of their projects as well. In my research I can say that this is a widely studied and researched topic. The information is out there, and the facts are indisputable. It is no secret that health disparities exist along racial lines, and that people are dying as a result.
Tiffany Grant.
AP: In your article, you survey a substantial amount of research that has been done around racial inequalities in health care. I was shocked that one study you cited found “67% of primary care clinicians showed bias against patients of color.” That’s an astonishing percentage! Besides your research, your brother’s life and death bore out the truth of this reality we face as people of color trying to navigate the healthcare system. So my question is, if you could wave a wand and fix one thing with the broken healthcare system what would it be?
TG: I’m still wrapping my own brain around that number, although it’s not surprising considering some of the experiences that I have had, as well as others that I know. Considering what doctors are trained to do, the fact that the number is as high as it is should ring bells worldwide. It’s disturbing, and it plays a large part in the disparities that we see.
Remember that scene towards the end of the movie “To Kill a Mockingbird” where the lawyer is delivering his closing remarks, and he recounts what happens to the little black girl (who was raped and murdered) in brutal detail? He asks the jury if they can picture this little girl in their minds. Then he ends by saying “Now imagine she’s white”. This was mind blowing because up until that moment, it was certain that everyone on the jury was picturing the little girl as she was…black, and therefore somehow less deserving of justice for the crime enacted upon her little body. In that one line, the lawyer changed the narrative to one that color or appearance shouldn’t matter. What matters is that she was human ! So, If I could wave a wand to fix one thing, I would fix what doctors “see” when they see “us”. I know the thought of being color blind doesn’t solve the problem, but what if doctors didn’t physically “see” patients. What if they were unable to see race, weight, or any part of a persons physical appearance that triggers bias.? Instead, they had to actually listen to them. Listen to their health concerns, evaluate, and treat them based on nothing else except their health issues concerns. In this way, the doctor wouldn’t be able to make assumptions based on a patient’s physical appearance. The patient could therefore be anyone, including one of their loved ones. This helps to build empathy, compassion, and helps doctors be doctors instead of people riddled with biases based on appearance. I realize this is a fantasy and could never happen, but something like this would go a long way towards proving how much race/appearance factors into medical care. If somehow it could be removed from the equation, I am certain medical care would be more equitable.
That said, I am fully aware that this doesn’t solve the other issues of poverty, racism, and access to healthcare that would still result in disparities.
AP: Being a person of color in a predominately white profession can feel lonely, how would you characterize your journey as a librarian so far?
TG: I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by similar others in the library. However while I can’t say that I felt/feel isolated because of my race as a librarian, I have often times encountered issues when I have used my research card and credentials. It is a hard thing being in the library, but not a trained librarian. Hard because while those you work with understand what you bring to the table, those outside often question your “seat at the table”. I often explain to a co-worker that simply having a PhD doesn’t open the doors one might think because I don’t walk in with my CV at the ready. People don’t see my credentials; they see a black woman who doesn’t belong at certain tables or in certain circles. I have been politely dismissed from meetings. While judging a student poster competition, I was once asked (by a white male student) what qualified me to judge him! Yes that really happened. On one occasion when a student learned I was the teacher of the workshop they had signed up for, they left! While I feel respected by my library colleagues, I have more often than not, been disrespected by my fellow researchers, despite my 21 year research career. It is lonely and frustrating because neither side (library or research) sees me as fully “one of them”. I am more accepted by my library colleagues, than my research colleagues. I believe that no matter what field we’re in or how much we’ve achieved, our value and worth will be tested and questioned.
AP: Now taking off your librarian and researcher hat and putting on your little sister hat, what is your favorite childhood memory of Chris?
TG: Hands down it would be the year he got his Nintendo as a birthday present. ALL he talked about up until then was getting one. EVERYONE knew what he wanted for his birthday, without question. So, when his birthday came around and all he got was a watch, to say he was mad was an understatement! What he didn’t know was that it was a trick! My parents surprised him later with his Nintendo, and for the first time that I can remember we (all 4 of us kids) stayed up all night playing it. We were introduced to Super Mario Brothers and the Legend of Zelda. He was the first in our neighborhood to get one. After he passed away, some of our old neighborhood friends even commented how they would come over to play it. To this day, the music and little noises from these games trigger great memories.
AP: You mentioned Chris loved cooking and liked to post pictures of his delicious meals on social media. What was your favorite of his dishes?
TG: Honestly, he talked about so many, I can’t really name one. One that I made with my daughter in December 2020 (after he passed) was “crockpot candy”. Growing up, my mom always made different types of Christmas treats. We had our traditional ones, but Chris and Gabe started their own with the crockpot candy. So, I decided we would make some for our home that year, and it smelled and tasted amazing.
Chris got his love for cooking from our mother. She is amazing in the kitchen, and there are so many family recipes that we all remember and love. On regular occasion it would take one of us to name one dish that she made, and the others would quickly chime in with their favorites. There are many, and it was always impossible to only name one. Chris was always in the mix naming his favorite recipes. When I would call my mom, sometimes she’d say that she’d spoken to Chris about a recipe or recipe ideas. When we were able to gather as a family, he would often help out cutting and chopping vegetables. All of us enjoy cooking, thanks to our mom.
AP: What was his favorite dish that you make?
TG: Definitely lasagna! My mom made it from scratch growing up, and on our birthdays, she would cook our favorite meal. We always had lasagna on Chris’ birthday. We still do! The birthday of the year he died, I made two of them and gave one to my in-laws. Last year, in 2021, we celebrated his birthday with a lasagna at what would have been his first home.
AP: What are some ways you stay connected to Chris’s wife Pam and son Gabe?
TG: We have a family Facebook Messenger chat that we use to keep in contact. We use this pretty consistently to share news and laughs. At times, we will share memes that we know Chis would have loved! Pam shares news about Gabe through the chat as well. We learn about his grades, awards, mishaps, and lately we learned that he’s just half an inch shy of 6ft! He was also recently named “Star Scout” of his Boy Scout Troop!
Because of the pandemic, I’ve only been back home to Louisiana once. We purposely made the trip around the time of Chris’ birthday so that we could celebrate it as a family. We held a private ceremony at his gravesite since none of us were able to attend his funeral/burial. Pam and Gabe had moved into their new home a week prior, and we were able to celebrate what would have been Chris’ 44th birthday at their home. I text/call Pam on holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and on days when Chris is heavy on my mind.
AP: What has changed the most for you since Chris’ death?
TG: It took me a long time to accept his death. Two years later, while it still hurts, and grief still comes in waves, it doesn’t linger as long. I find myself smiling more at memories of him than crying. But, his death has changed so much of my thinking and even my career path/plans. I no longer plan thinking that nothing will interfere with those plans. I am painfully aware of how quickly things can change, and how life is such a precious gift. Because Chris’ death happened how it did, and then the world continued to turn upside with the news of Geoge Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, I have determined to do more work related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. I have done a tremendous amount already in my current job, but it is now my dream to become involved in recruitment and retention efforts for the STEM fields, mainly the biomedical fields. In my research and personal experiences, I have learned that all too often we are dehumanized and not seen for who we are. The pandemic is riddled with the statistics, mere numbers that do nothing to tell the stories of how poorly POC were treated, have been treated, and will continue to be treated. We have stories like Floyd’s, Taylors, Arbery’s and the countless others who were not given the benefit of their humanity in the moments leading to their untimely death. I genuinely want to try to change the narrative by putting more of us out there in positions of power. I want to be responsible for recruiting and helping to retain students of color into the medical and biomedical fields so that they can help to change the game to shift the status quo from us being an exception to being far more common at these tables and in these circles. I want to have so many “soldiers” on the field that we will impact policy going forward, that racial health disparities can start to become a thing of the past, and so that when they do see us, they see us in all of our power, intelligence, and integrity.