Black Women in Medicine

New Haven native Crystal R. Emery’s film “Black Women in Medicine,” which shows the extraordinary lengths to which women will go to reach their dreams held it’s world premiere on Friday, August 26 at Village Cinema in New York. The film is inspirational in the stories it tells of women who succeeded in a male-dominated field against all odds. The filmmaker herself is a quadriplegic who has not let loss of the use of her limbs stop her from inspiring others to challenge their limits, whether they be self-imposed or other-imposed! Whether it be her campaign, Changing the Face of Medicine, to get more Blacks to choose careers in healthcare, or her work with youth in the arts, Crystal is changing lives. In fact, she was recently published in TIME magazine about her life as a minority thrice-over, how it impacts the ability for people to see her talent and whether she lets it stop her.

The film is also timely given the #OscarsSoWhite controversy earlier this year. The reality is that the situation is bigger than just the acting nominees. There is a dearth of Blacks and Black content in all the Academy Awards categories and “Black Women in Medicine” is poised to help fill the void. The film also screened in Los Angeles following its New York run, ensuring it’s eligibility for an Oscar nomination.