About

Shortly after starting my MD-PhD Program, I found myself constantly filled with sadness, rage and confusion. I felt lost and jaded due to the isolation of being one of the few Black students in an extremely predominately white space and observing nonchalant responses to the racism so embedded in medical education. My disillusionment pushed me to search online for stories from other Black medical school students that would make me feel like I wasn’t alone but my internet searches left me dry. It made me wonder, “Am I the only one feeling this intensity in the struggles of being a Black woman during medical training?” Simultaneously, I began hearing more stories about how Black students—and more specifically Black women—were taking leaves of absences from medical school. 

However, I did not hear these stories spoken openly so during this emotionally low place, I realized that these untold stories of Black women needed to be shared. It had to be brought to life so that all of us could find healing in our communal struggles yet also find joy in the midst of the pain. I desired to show both the variety and similarities of Black women’s lived experiences while also displaying the importance of keeping one’s humanity intact in a medical field that has yet to honestly come to terms with the reality of the violence it continues to induce on its workers, patients and students.  A few days after releasing the trailer, I found out about Dr. Nakita Motimer, a Black woman resident who committed suicide which hit me deeply although I never knew her because I saw myself and my friends in her story. Another life gone too soon. May her story and many other Black women’s hidden legacies in the medical field which can be so brutal—especially on Black women—be forever remembered as you watch this film.

While escaping the brutal winters of the Midwest by traveling to other states, I started bringing my camera to interview Black women and hear their honest viewpoints. I wanted them to remain authentically themselves in how they spoke, what they wore and what they did in their lives to show the simplicity yet elegance of Black women and how they navigate this world. This film will always be special to me because it was rooted in love and came from a desire to heal myself and others, especially those roaming through the ivory towers of academia and medicine as Black women. Therefore as you watch this film, may you be enlightened and if you are on a similar higher education path, may you find comfort in these stories. Most importantly, may you feel seen, heard and validated through these perspectives ❤️

                                                                                                  All in Love, 

                                                                                                  Ayomide Ojebuoboh