Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD inspires HOPE Director Robert Sege’s work
This Black History Month, join me in thinking of a person who has influenced you – directly or indirectly – in your work with children and families that is firmly anchored in seeing, honoring, and promoting the strengths and spirit that each of us has.
For me, this person is Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD, Dean of the Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles. Dr. Prothrow-Stith has had an extraordinary career focused on health equity, serving as the youngest commissioner of health for the state of Massachusetts when she was appointed in 1987. I met her when she served as Professor of Public Health Practice at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. My personal career, and ultimately my work on HOPE, was inspired by her. She took me under her wing when I was a newly-minted faculty member, and introduced me to people and ideas that were inspired by her expansive view of public health. Through her, I had the opportunity to attend community health center meetings and meet with local state officials. More consequentially, she helped me see the resources and social connections in every community.
Her influence on addressing youth violence as a public health issue
Dr. Prothrow-Stith took the bold step of addressing youth violence – then of epidemic proportions in Boston and elsewhere in the country – as a public health problem. Prior to her work, youth violence was seen as a matter for the police and the courts.
Her thoughtful research and advocacy led to the development of violence prevention curricula for both high school students and public health students. Her books Deadly Consequences (HarperCollins, 1991); Murder Is No Accident (Jossey Bass Publishers, 2004); Sugar and Spice and No Longer Nice, (Jossey Bass Publishers, 2005); a high school textbook, Health (Pearson, 2014); bring her research and scholarship to a wider audience, and have contributed directly to both an expanded view of medical and public health practice, and to practical approaches that have led to enduring downturns in youth violence in Boston and around the U.S.
She has never stopped pursuing excellence, seeing the potential in people, and promoting opportunity. She is now the Dean of the College of Medicine at Charles R Drew University (CDU). CDU is the only historically Black University West of the Mississippi River, and one of the only four historically Black colleges and universities that grant medical degrees. Dr. Prothrow-Stith’s involvement was an instrumental force when CDU became a fully independent, four-year medical school. Its first class enrolled in 2023.
Again, I ask, who has influenced you in your work with children and families?
