On Tuesday, February 22, 2022, the Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) community came together to celebrate Black History Month and highlight Black voices during a special Grand Rounds titled “Perseverance Tells a Story.” Organized by Krystal Finch, DSW, LCSW; Belinda E. Oliver, MS; and Tara Davila, LCSW, YCSC community members were invited to share stories of perseverance during this special session, whether their own stories, prose, artwork, or any other medium that has provided strength to persevere.
“The topic for this year was intentional because it reminded me of our reason why. This work is exhausting, this work is defeating, this work can feel worthless. This work can also be inspiring, this work can also be endearing, this work for me is an authentic representation of myself for changing the culture, voice, and holding accountability in spaces where silence is the loudest voice in the room,” said Assistant Clinical Professor of Social Work Krystal Finch.
She added that throughout Black history, perseverance is highlighted in the on-going fight for freedom, equality, and justice. Perseverance tells a story through activism, sports, politics, military, social service, the medical field, education, law, and more. Some trailblazers who have paved the way include Shirley Chisolm, James Baldwin, Madam C.J. Walker, and Barack Obama.
In her opening remarks, YCSC Chief Diversity Officer Tara Davila said, “Merriam Webster defines perseverance as ‘continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition : the action or condition or an instance of persevering: steadfastness.’ If you are a person with a personal identity – or several – that have been historically and systematically marginalized, you are forced to persevere. The system is constantly in opposition and everyday existence can be experienced as an act of perseverance.”
Poetry shared during the session included “Change Sings” by Amanda Gorman, read by Belinda E. Oliver; “Sell the Storm,” written and read by Yale’s own Christine Emmons, PhD; and “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, read by Camille Cooper, EdD, who also recommended two books, “The Warmth of Other Suns” and “Caste: The Origins of our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson.
The topic for this year was intentional because it reminded me of our reason why. This work is exhausting, this work is defeating, this work can feel worthless. This work can also be inspiring, this work can also be endearing, this work for me is an authentic representation of myself for changing the culture, voice, and holding accountability in spaces where silence is the loudest voice in the room.
Assistant Clinical Professor of Social Work Krystal Finch
Felicia Campbell, LCSW shared a powerful and personal story about perseverance during her time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for graduate school, while Tangular Irby, MAT shared a children’s book she has written, “Pearl and her Gee’s Bend Quilt,” and the family history behind it.
Last year, the CSC came together as a community in celebration of Black History Month with an open forum focused on “Hope, Healing, and Resilience.” It was an extraordinary event with shared stories, books, poems, and journeys for many within the YCSC community. With more remarkable stories and poems shared by this year’s participants, this new annual tradition is one to be cherished.
As Davila said about this year’s event, “Our celebration today is an opportunity to center some of our colleagues and celebrate some of what we have done, without losing sight of how much we need to do. It is not under the pretense of perfection, but rather the acknowledgment of the imperfect system we are in, and the desire to continue to change it with grace and fervor.”