More than 25 years after she graduated, Dr. Evelyn Addo-Wallace ’98 returned to Brooks on November 8 to deliver a special talk about medical racism, furthering the campus community’s discussion about this year’s All-Community Read, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.

Evelyn Addo-Wallace (left) has known Acting Head of School Nina Freeman since they both studied abroad in Barcelona in the School Year Abroad Program as teens!

The biography/science bestseller tells the story of how Lacks’ unique cells — now named “HeLa” cells — were taken without her knowledge or consent during cancer treatment in 1951, cultured in laboratories, manufactured and distributed to research facilities. They became foundational in a vast range of scientific inquiries, from cancer research to the creation of vaccines for polio and COVID-19.

“When I was here in 1994 to 1998, we weren't having conversations like this; we weren't having community-wide reads,” said the Washington, D.C.,-based women’s health nurse practitioner and Georgetown University adjunct professor. “I am really impressed by the fact that there’s been a culture shift at Brooks. And for the text to be The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks? That is such an important conversation. It happens to be my life's work, as a person who specializes in women's health and does research on health inequities.”

Motivated by the chance to have “conversations on a substantive level with students of all grades and all races, ethnicities, religious backgrounds,” Dr. Addo-Wallace said she agreed to travel back to Great Pond Road to meet with students because “this is just an important time … given the political climate. There's so much where this matters.”

Coming Full Circle

When Chair of the Science Department Laura Hajdukiewicz began her search for a speaker to show students how relevant the 2010 title is today, Science Teacher Rev. Michael Dixon, Ph.D., pointed to his former student and advisee, Dr. Addo-Wallace, who holds a doctorate in nursing practice from Georgetown University and earned her master’s degree in public health from Columbia University.

Seeing that Dr. Addo-Wallace’s Georgetown biography cites the professor’s “passion for interventions responsive to the healthcare needs of diverse communities” sealed the deal for Hajdukiewicz.

“That line is what really inspired me to reach out, as her perspective as a nurse practitioner in these communities would give her a unique lens from which to discuss the medical racism that historically existed and contributed to the treatment of Henrietta Lacks and her family,” said Hajdukiewicz. “Also, because she could speak to the inequalities that still exist today in the medical treatment of people of color.”

Turns out, Dr. Addo-Wallace regularly speaks to medical professionals on the topic of equity in healthcare with a historical view.

For more than a decade, Dr. Addo-Wallace has cared for women through every stage of life and served as the director of a large community health center in Harlem, New York, before she began teaching at Georgetown. She has received awards from the Community Health Care Association of New York State; the American Association of Nurse Practitioners; and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated for her work in disenfranchised communities to improve healthcare.

Inspiring Brooksians of Today

Before Dr. Addo-Wallace gave her Chapel talk Friday evening, she met with affinity groups in the Science Forum to discuss her experiences as a student of color at Brooks in the late 90s.

Sharing the ways in which being one of a handful of non-white students was a challenge, the New York City native encouraged current students to lean on the adults in the community and stay true to themselves.

“I know what it is to be a student at Brooks, good, bad and otherwise,” she said. “…And what I really want is to empower you to have a strong sense of self. Being in a school that is different from what you might be accustomed to should not remove you from who you are. You are who you are. You are a person who belongs here. I think the difference is what makes us so strong. We learn so much from one another.”

“You Cannot Fix a Problem Until You Can See It”

In her Chapel presentation, “The Great Unlearn: Confronting the History of Racism in Medicine” Addo-Wallace explained the importance of learning from Lacks’ story, as well as many others including the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, and recognizing how “there's a multitude of health disparities that exist because of the roots of racism in health care.”

Erroneous race-based corrections are still employed in healthcare, for example, at a serious cost. According to Addo-Wallace:

• Black and Latin Americans died three times the rate of white Americans from COVID-19
• Black infants were significantly more likely to die before their first birthday compared to any other racial and ethnic group.
• Native Americans and Black people have much higher rates of diabetes and complications and mortality compared to other groups.
• Black women get breast cancer at the same rate as white women but are 41 percent more likely to die.

"I have taken care of marginalized groups my entire professional career and these statistics are exhausting," she continued. "What I want to convey to you all is that we all have work to do.”

Don't just accept the status quo, Addo-Wallace urged students. “Ask questions," she said. "It's not enough to be able to say that, ‘there are these disparities and these problems.’ We have to understand how disparities exist because of these injustices that we see in history. These are the foundations of what we need to be talking about today.”