"What kind of human being do you want to be?" Keynote by Cornel West and Reception at the Colorado Governor's Mansion - 2010 American Public Health Assoc Conference, Denver, CO)

He was electrifying; he was soulfully authentic and gesticulated with his entire body. 
Cornel West was awesome as the keynote speaker at the American Public Health Association conference on November 7, 2010 at the Colorado Convention Center, Denver, CO. He spoke with fierce conviction and mighty grace about current social justice issues. He asked us deep philosophical questions, challenged us to find the determination to address society’s critical problems, and expounded upon the impact of systemic racism on health. He asked “What kind of a human being do you want to be?” and declared that it is in learning how to die, one learns how to live, a statement I live by. Because the theme of the conference was social justice, he urged us to examine our lives, invoking Socratic dialectics, and to be on the constant and vigilant search for justice. 

As a social activist and artist, I was inspired by his speech and enthralled by his creativity and intellectualism. Dr. West’s provocative lecture was refreshing in his authenticity and demonstration of ironclad will in his words and full body gesticulations. Watch the youtube video of his speech and you will see how he exudes soul, creativity and  incisive wisdom. His challenges to lead the examined life are words to live by for social activists of my breed. One of my heroines, Yuri Kochiyama, the Japanese-American civil rights activist who worked alongside Malcolm X, says activists must hold themselves to a higher ethical standard, than ordinary non-activists because an activist's credibility is their most precious asset as he/she attempts to change the status quo. This raised bar, I think, is a rather high one to jump for anyone. But as anyone who knows me will attest, I am up for challenges and willing to make some sacrifices along the way.


I have asked myself the Socratic questions, and this I owe to 2 years of honors philosophy class in high school, which I must admit was pivotal in the formation of my life beliefs. It was important to me to hold my beliefs in the "right way" per John Stuart Mill, who said that it was most critical to question the basis of the most conventional, ubiquitous beliefs. Being a critical thinker, I know that the truth is often obscured by culture, commercialism, and the lack of volition to find the truth. Most of society does not hold their beliefs about mental illness in the "right ways."


The cultural stigma and the social conditioning surrounding the mental illness cannot be conquered through clinical research. It must be addressed by media, because media impacts culture. It seems that preventive medicine often overlooks cultural change as a means of prevention. Many of our lifestyle choices: the foods we consume, the amount of time spent exercising, how we view our illnesses and remedies, and where we go are greatly influenced by culture, but yet medicine fails to address cultural change.  


We already know that stigma prevents people from, not only seeking the help they need, but also from acknowledging the problem at all. Denial runs very deep when there is shame involved. Shame is one of those emotions that some people would rather die than experience.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/world/asia/11psych.html?_r=2&emc=eta1

Dr. Georges Benjamin, the Executive Director of American Public Health Association, said in his opening speech that about 30% of the origins of African-American health disparities is rooted in culture, but rarely is funding ever allocated for cultural change. I could not agree more. The stigma of mental illness among Asian Americans is rooted in culture, but yet, funding does not go toward cultural change in our communities. Majority of disease prevention funding goes to clinical research, which is only 10% of the problem, according to his analysis. I understood very clearly why my efforts as a media activist are so under-appreciated and under-funded.  The national health system does not address the cultural aspects of our health problems, such as diet, lack of exercise, stress management, and beliefs in the same way that clinical research is. The dietary problems of America and the stigma of mental illness are inculcated in our lifestyles and cultural norms. I found his analysis astute and interesting. But he offered no solutions, only that there is the need for change. Who in the realm of public health is funding cultural change? What has yet to be done about it?

Another resounding theme throughout the conference was racism and how it impacts health. There was a consciousness pervasive about race and racism among the attendees, scientific sessions, socials, workshops and discussions. I thought it appropriate for this reason, that I screened my film at this particular conference because Can, the subject of my film, frequently speaks about the childhood experiences of having been bullied and called "chink." Though the pain happened decades ago, he cannot seem to resolve that anger and heal those wounds. He attributes his present day depression to those experiences in childhood. The impact of racism on individuals is trauma, similar to and sometimes equivalent to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The first and only large-scale study of Asian Americans with mental illnesses, The National Latino and Asian American Study (NLASS) confirms the positive correlation between childhood experiences of racism and mental illness among Asian Americans. I am certain the results would be the same for Native Americans, African Americans or Latino Americans, because universally, racism is deeply wounding for all, including its perpetrators. Most recently, through the documentary film “Traces of the Trade,” I learned that, interestingly, racists also are wounded by their misdeeds.

As a member of the Mental Health Section of the APHA, I was invited to the Colorado Governor's Mansion to honor the First Lady of Colorado, Jean Ritter, for her mental health advocacy work. What an honor it was to be invited. The Mental Health Center of Denver rented the Carriage House of the Mansion and it was a lovely evening of connecting with other mental health advocates, psychologists, directors of various mental health non-profits, and other mental health professionals. I met lots of interesting people there and I was quite enthralled with the whole evening. 

At the Colorado Governor's Mansion where the First Lady of Colorado was honored for her mental health advocacy work. From left to right, Batool Fatima, Doctorate of Public Health, Boston Univ.; K. Bartholomew, PhD, JD; Usha Sambamoorthi, PhD, an honoree for her mentoring work;  and Pearl J. Park

Only about 30 showed up for my screening, which was a bit disappointing considering that there were 12,000 conference attendees. My screening was running simultaneously as about 50 other scientific sessions, workshops and socials so I was not surprised to see a low turnout. The schedule for the conference was literally the size of a phonebook, and I personally had difficulty deciding which sessions to attend because there was such a large spectrum of choices. But overall the responses were very positive. A medical anthropologist from Harvard lavished praise and said to call him when the film is done. Because this is a highly, educated crowd with teaching and clinical positions, I feel that the screening was, indeed, very worthwhile since these viewers will be able to apply their learned knowledge in their practice and teaching. They are key opinion leaders, who will influence their circles and disseminate the information.

During the question and answer period after the screening of my film, an Asian woman asked me if I had shown the film to any Asian American audiences and I responded that I had and that it was met with overwhelmingly positive responses. I later learned that she broke down into tears shortly after I had answered her question. She continued to sob in her chair as her friend next to her comforted her. Though I did not know why, it affirmed for me that I was striking a deep, untouched emotional nerve in people simply by showing my film. 

Pearl answering questions at her screening.

Do you know that at every social, there was lots of high-fat, sugary foods? I could not find any whole grain carbs. The available food throughout the conference was one of the worst in terms of nutritional quality, I've ever had to be subjected to at a conference. The food itself was a public health threat, ironically. Hot dogs on white bread, sodas, pretzels, and candy were available at every concession stand throughout the convention center. Because there was no official lunch break, most people ate lunch in the convention center. How ironic that someone teaching a session about the need for a better diet should have to eat a hot dog, which has sodium nitrates and dextrose, for lunch. The hypocrisy was so in-your-face, nearly impossible to ignore, because the same people conducting sessions and research about various public health issues and preaching about how the obesity epidemic is affecting America were fat themselves. It was possibly one of the strangest sights I've ever seen. Several of the executive management of the American Public Health Assoc are overweight. One of them is so morbidly obese so much so that he is probably 1/3 as wide as he is tall. He spoke about the child obesity epidemic in America in his opening speech. Doesn't he experience cognitive dissonance at some level? I get very frustrated when I see medical doctors, doctorates of public health, advanced nurse practitioners, and all those whose primary occupational responsibility is to care for the health of others who cannot apply that knowledge to their own lives. They should serve as role models for their community, but instead, they are a part of the problem. That said, there is a bit of hypocrisy in each of us, but I guess I hold the privileged and powerful to higher standards of behavior. These are among the scientific elite, who have studied critical health issues and made a lucrative career on health. Most are PhDs, DrPH, and MDs. Common sense dictates that people should walk the walk before talking the talk.

I realize that 60% of the American people are overweight; much of it has to do with corporate America's takeover of grocery stores. There are so few unprocessed foods in supermarkets, particularly the chains like A&P, Safeway, with the exception of Whole Foods. Everything has corn (maltodextrin, methylcellulose, cellulose are just many of the guised names for corn) and sugar in it. Corn, because it's subsidized by the government. See http://www.kingcorn.net/ for a documentary film about corn and its many incarnations in the grocery aisles. Many of those fat are middle-aged just like me. Many low-earning and uneducated people are obese because they do not have access to or cannot afford greens. Or they simply do not know the harmful effects of high fat and high sugar consumption. Income and education corresponds with having choices and being informed.

But the exec. management of the Amer. Public Health Assoc. aren't ordinary people. They're high-earning MDs, DrPH, PhDs, who are among this nation's scientific elite, research critical health issues, and wield a great deal of power both in leading a 12,000 plus people.  The leadership of APHA lobby Congress for better health policies and are responsible for leading the nation to better health. Dr. Benjamin (ED) has got to feel uncomfortable fighting for public health policies and essentially doing his job in the condition that he's in. I guess I hold these people to a much higher standard of ethics, because of their positions and their power.

That said, I am not without my own hypocrisies as a former smoker who tried to quit for 7 years before finally quitting. I smoked on and off for 25 years. I would do yoga for a 1.5 hours and then come home and have a cigarette. The intense feeling of self-loathing was just unbearable. I could not reconcile my behavior with my conscience; nonetheless, I was helpless to this addiction, which felt like it was somehow shackled to the core of my being. So I do have empathy and compassion for the above-mentioned public health officials for their plight because they must feel just awful and terribly embarrassed to be presenting such academic knowledge about health issues while obese.