"Come On In the Room" The Coexistence of an American Healthcare System Progression & Black Church Pneumatology that Reclaims Black Bodies in Medicine
Jason Ashe, M.Div, Duke Divinity School, Duke University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Because of the historical commodification of Black bodies at the birth of this nation, the [United States] American healthcare system had embodied an anti-black racialized medical practice, such that discriminative exclusion and exploitative experimentation has contributed to Black inferiority and subjugation. Consequently, as a response to the oppressive sociopolitical powers that existed, Black Christianity as a faith system had to provide a model of resistance to sustain the survival of Black people in this country. Within medicine, Black Christian religiosity offered an inspired prayer language invoking the language of miraculous healing, and communally cathartic rituals, such as using anointing oil and the laying of hands. Through these faith practices, the Black Christian community identified its sources of empowerment and dignity as both theologically and sociologically combative. However, amidst the beauty of this expressionism, the reinforced dichotomy between spiritual restoration and physician assisted healing often motivated Black Christians to seek the counsel of their beloved clergy as consultation regarding the authority and validity of medicine. In other words, Black Christians identified pastors as the first line of defense regarding theological engagement of healing and wellness. This ought to be understood as the interconnectedness of biblical interpretation, spiritual practices, and most importantly, the suffering of Black bodies in the American healthcare system.
In present day society, there still exist a vestigial predated narrative of Black body maltreatment in hospital environments, alongside dismantled confidence in the healthcare system. Contending the generational anecdotes of Black foremothers and forefathers, American medicine, though wishing to impart and disseminate preventative medicine practices in the Black community, is confronted with a Black religiosity that appears unconventional; inherently suggesting that Black Christianity ought to rewrite an account that will subvert religious ideals and uphold the supremacy of medicine. To emphasize, the oppressiveness enforced by a historically ontological White American healthcare system frequently voices a denunciation of Black faith practices in hospitalization [except for palliative and hospice care]. However, through Black bodies should this health system reevaluate and promote the sacredness of faith as catalytic to behavioral changes and transformative healing. Through Black bodies should the American healthcare system utilize the Black Church doctrine to promote an authenticity and interdependence on the practice of medicine to alleviate the psychophysiological effects of fear. The ownership is placed on American medicine to reclaim Black bodies with dignity in a framework where medicine is trustworthy, while not sacrificing the trauma negotiation techniques that Black Christians have adopted as extensions of practiced medicine. The American healthcare system and Black Church communities ought to chart a pneumatological witness that voices a collaborative holistic approach to the care of minds, bodies, and souls of African-Americans. The future of biomedical sciences can include a language for the African-American Christian; and likewise, the Black Church can expand the vocabulary of miraculous healing, understanding that medicine can serve as an appendage to faith focused practices. Verily, medicine and Black Christianity can coexist.
Because of the historical commodification of Black bodies at the birth of this nation, the [United States] American healthcare system had embodied an anti-black racialized medical practice, such that discriminative exclusion and exploitative experimentation has contributed to Black inferiority and subjugation. Consequently, as a response to the oppressive sociopolitical powers that existed, Black Christianity as a faith system had to provide a model of resistance to sustain the survival of Black people in this country. Within medicine, Black Christian religiosity offered an inspired prayer language invoking the language of miraculous healing, and communally cathartic rituals, such as using anointing oil and the laying of hands. Through these faith practices, the Black Christian community identified its sources of empowerment and dignity as both theologically and sociologically combative. However, amidst the beauty of this expressionism, the reinforced dichotomy between spiritual restoration and physician assisted healing often motivated Black Christians to seek the counsel of their beloved clergy as consultation regarding the authority and validity of medicine. In other words, Black Christians identified pastors as the first line of defense regarding theological engagement of healing and wellness. This ought to be understood as the interconnectedness of biblical interpretation, spiritual practices, and most importantly, the suffering of Black bodies in the American healthcare system.
In present day society, there still exist a vestigial predated narrative of Black body maltreatment in hospital environments, alongside dismantled confidence in the healthcare system. Contending the generational anecdotes of Black foremothers and forefathers, American medicine, though wishing to impart and disseminate preventative medicine practices in the Black community, is confronted with a Black religiosity that appears unconventional; inherently suggesting that Black Christianity ought to rewrite an account that will subvert religious ideals and uphold the supremacy of medicine. To emphasize, the oppressiveness enforced by a historically ontological White American healthcare system frequently voices a denunciation of Black faith practices in hospitalization [except for palliative and hospice care]. However, through Black bodies should this health system reevaluate and promote the sacredness of faith as catalytic to behavioral changes and transformative healing. Through Black bodies should the American healthcare system utilize the Black Church doctrine to promote an authenticity and interdependence on the practice of medicine to alleviate the psychophysiological effects of fear. The ownership is placed on American medicine to reclaim Black bodies with dignity in a framework where medicine is trustworthy, while not sacrificing the trauma negotiation techniques that Black Christians have adopted as extensions of practiced medicine. The American healthcare system and Black Church communities ought to chart a pneumatological witness that voices a collaborative holistic approach to the care of minds, bodies, and souls of African-Americans. The future of biomedical sciences can include a language for the African-American Christian; and likewise, the Black Church can expand the vocabulary of miraculous healing, understanding that medicine can serve as an appendage to faith focused practices. Verily, medicine and Black Christianity can coexist.