Today we’d like to introduce you to Briana Boykin.
Briana, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I look at it as I have several journeys that I travel on simultaneously. I am on the path to adding to roughly 6% of Black doctors in America. I am also a community activist working towards closing the gap in equity that so heavily affects the Black and other minority communities. In 2015, my partner Shunte’ Dennis and I founded UmojaLife, a non-profit organization with a focus on community building and closing the gap in equity eclectically. I am currently working on my Master of Public Health at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health and then applying to medical school. As I grow as an individual, I grow as a health provider and simultaneously as a community health leader and activist. I am also a visual artist.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey has been anything but smooth, and one of my goals is to mentor to those coming behind me so that their journey does not have to be as up and down as mine. In middle school, a counselor told me I should not try to be a doctor because I did not fit the demographic and should look at the community college. Later, I graduated from the University of West Georgia, then attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for a post-baccalaureate in premedical studies. Throughout those parts of my journeys, I struggled with support and finances. To the ladies out there struggling to balance higher education, working, and maintaining self-care, I see you and I am sending you love. My biggest advice is what is for you is already yours, as long as you do your part you will receive it! Never give up.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about your business – what should we know?
UmojaLife is something like my baby. Since we started, we have hosted free clinics, Black business workshops, community disaster relief efforts, and worked with TheRemnantATL’s back to school give away. UmojaLife also hosts an annual Juneteenth Fest in Atlanta where we bring out local Black-owned businesses, visual artists, restaurants, and indie artists. As I grow, so does UmojaLife, and I am extremely excited to see all of my plans for our community come to fruition. In regard to healthcare, currently, I am working on what myself and some colleges call “Building Black Data.” Our aim is to focus our research in filling the gaps in Black disparities. These projects range from community health, the effects of racism in social media, all the way to trauma medicine and the roots to violence in our communities and how to truly solve the problem by helping, and supplying resources. I am extremely proud of both my community work and my growing work in the realm of clinical and community health. It is what keeps me going.
Do you recommend any apps, books or podcasts that have been helpful to you?
Growing up Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou were my favorite authors. Currently, therapy for Black girls and Oprah’s super soul podcasts refill me and help me think intuitively. My favorite book right now, that I suggest everyone read for recreation is Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, amazing book with an amazing message about how we as a people can use our magic from within to conquer all challenges presented to us. For inspiration, I read books by Paulo Coelho the author of the Alchemist and Warrior of the Light. Career-wise, Michael Marmot’s The Health Gap was very inspiring, as well as, Dr. Tweedy’s Black Man in a White Coat. All of these different mediums fill me in different ways that play off of each other seamlessly. The mindfulness of Super Soul and Dr. Joy’s Therapy for Black Girls helps me with internal self-awareness and human/patient empathy. Paulo Coelho’s books assist with my persistence and dedication, as well as, my ability to mentor, encourage, and lead others. Dr. Tweedy’s and other messages let me know I am not alone in my struggle as a Black American trying to make a positive change in the way America sees health. While Marmot reminds me why I am working so hard and that change is necessary.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://umoja-life.squarespace.com/
- Email: briana.boykin@emory.edu
- Instagram: TrillMD
- Other: UmojaLife
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
