Check Your Biases
Supriya Gupta
1st Year MPH Candidate - Global Health Epidemiology
One of the first activities Sadé had us do in class was to sit down and write all
the things that came to mind when we thought about Mississippi. By the time five minutes
were up, only four words were scrawled on my sheet of notebook paper: “cypress trees”,
“mosquitoes”, and “racism”.
During a later class session, the Ginsberg Center gave a talk about entering and exiting
communities. “Check your biases”, they said. That word-writing activity immediately
came to mind. Why did I write the words that I did, and more specifically, why “racism”?
I recalled that the Indian people I had grown up around thought that the South was
not the best place to live, because people were more openly racist. As someone who
has experienced—and continues to—experience racism and bullying because of my culture,
I eventually began to associate the South with racism.
As the class progressed, I learned more and more about where we are traveling to,
the people, and the culture. I learned that Clarksdale is rich with history, culture,
and that I couldn’t leave without stopping by a bar and listening to the blues. I
learned that we would be meeting with people from rural communities, people who were
strong, independent, and eager to do what they could to improve their lives. I learned
that 30% of Coahoma County residents are facing food insecurity, and that the biggest
grocery store was a Walmart Superstore. The more I learned, the smaller that association
became, to the point where racism is still on my word list, but it’s at the very bottom.
Am I ashamed that I had that association? Definitely. As I wrote this, I kept second
guessing myself, wondering if this was really something that I should be discussing.
Will people judge me when they read this? Do I deserve to work in public health? But
then I remind myself that everyone has biases, and that the most important thing is
to find and address them. I’m grateful that this class has allowed me to do just that.
Now I can’t wait to travel to Mississippi, and work with local stakeholders to scale
up a food prescription program. I’m excited to see the sights, and even more excited
to meet the people and learn from them and their experiences.