Welcome to The Community Letter, a weekly reflection from the Enhance Black Women’s Health Community. This is our space to come together to discuss what’s shaping the health of Black women and other minoritized individuals.
The health outcomes for Black women in the United States have long been shaped by historical injustice, faith traditions, and structures of power. Despite advances in healthcare, Black women continue to experience disproportionate rates of preventable illness and death. It’s not because of biological inferiority, but social, political, and historical forces that have consistently devalued Black women’s health and bodies. That reality is where today’s conversation begins.
I sit down with Dr. Wylin D. Wilson, Associate Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School and author of Womanist Bioethics: Social Justice, Spirituality, and Black Women’s Health*. Dr. Wilson’s work sits at the intersection of faith, ethics, and health, challenging both healthcare systems and faith communities to confront how power, history, and storytelling shape care.
What We Discuss:
How Dr. Wilson’s personal history shaped her path into womanist bioethics
What womanist bioethics is and why it matters for Black women’s health
How mainstream bioethics has historically centered on European men while marginalizing Black women
The role of faith communities and the Black church in health, care, and accountability
Why listening to Black women is not optional, but essential to ethical care
What community-centered health can look like beyond policy alone
Community Prompt
As we concluded our conversation, something Dr. Wilson shared deeply touched me. That was the importance of not just listening with our ears, but listening with our hearts.
Can you think of one moment in the past when you knew someone wasn’t just listening, but actually felt what you were saying?
Additional Resources
Womanist Bioethics: Social Justice, Spirituality, and Black Women’s Health* by Wylin D. Wilson
Dr. Wilson’s website – for speaking, updates, and resources
Breaking the Fine Rain of Death: African American Health Issues and Womanist Ethic of Care* by Emilie M. Townes
Black Maternal and Infant Health: Historical Legacies of Slavery by Deirdre Cooper Owens and Sharla M. Fett
*Disclosure: I may earn a commission for purchases made through links in this post.
Until next week,
Tomesha
