“Actress Jessica Biel is the latest A-list celebrity to come under public scrutiny after she was spotted at the California State Assembly lobbying against a public health bill that would make it harder for parents to opt out of vaccinations for their children..” Read article here: As a doctor, I know how dangerous Jessica Biel’s vaccination views […]
Author Archives: SamaraLinton
The Colour of Madness| Synergi Collaborative Centre
“While we have seen an increase in the attention paid to racial disparities in mental health, for example through news reports, audits and task forces, we are only at the beginning of our journey. The Colour of Madness is but one drop in the ocean of voices that need to be heard.” Read blog post here: […]
Mental health support for NHS workers is just sticking a plaster on a gaping wound | Metro
The Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has proposed a set of measures to improve the mental health of NHS staff, including a 24-hour advice and support service. As a junior doctor, I can’t help but wonder if these interventions are merely a plaster on top of a gaping wound. Read article here: Mental health […]
“THE FUTURE OF STEM IS FILLED WITH WOMEN WHO LOOK LIKE ME” – #SHAKEUPSTEM| Fawcett Society
The proportion of women working in STEM has been increasing year on year, and this increase is even greater when we look at women from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. Read article here: “THE FUTURE OF STEM IS FILLED WITH WOMEN WHO LOOK LIKE ME” – #SHAKEUPSTEM| Fawcett Society
My Label and Me: Being a junior doctor is both exhilarating and tedious, exciting and mundane | Metro
When I tell people I am a junior doctor, I am met by a mixture of admiration and pity. ‘Your parents must be so proud.’ ‘Have you had to give mouth to mouth?’ ‘Do you think I should see my GP about this rash?’ Yes. No. And, probably… Read article here: My Label and Me: […]
The realities of travelling as a black woman | The Skinny
Most of us have a love-hate relationship with Facebook’s “On This Day” feature. Sometimes, the algorithm gets it right and we find ourselves snorting with laughter during an important meeting, at others we are confronted with images of an ex we had hoped to forget. And then there are the holiday memories: clichéd yellow-red sunsets, […]
Motherhood, Migration And Mental Health: Justina Kehinde’s UMUADA | Black Ballad
UMUADA is an exploration of mental health, migration, and motherhood against the backdrop of an urban-African diasporic family. Led by a cast and creative team of Black British women, UMUADA is headlining the 2018 Play Mill Festival at the King’s Head Theatre this July, following its powerful debut at the Bunker Theatre. Black Ballad spoke […]
Meet The Queer Black Women Shaping Today’s Britain| Black Ballad
“My name is Phyll Opoku-Gyimah. I identify as a mother, a black woman, a lesbian, a trade unionist, a lover.” Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, also known as Lady Phyll, is one of the UK’s most prominent black lesbian activists. Lady Phyll is the co-founder and Executive Director of UK Black Pride, a trustee of Stonewall and Head […]
Black Church, White Church: Finding My Home As A Black British Christian | Black Ballad
When I think back to the Sundays of my childhood, I think of the minibus that my dad drove every Sunday. I remember him navigating the hilly roads of the island countryside, picking up smiling, chatty and immaculately dressed passengers along the way. I remember the children bickering in their frilly frocks, wrinkled men in […]
Why We Need To Write Our Own Mental Health Narratives | Black Ballad
It is perhaps unsurprising that in a world where prejudice and discrimination are rampant, merely existing can invoke trauma upon our minds and bodies. I find myself thinking about this a lot, the difficulties of simply existing as who we are. Maybe it was my experience of immigrating from rural Jamaica to inner-city London and […]
