Library celebrates Black History with medical focus

Published 12:00 am Saturday, February 15, 2020

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LAPLACE — Dr. Rachel N. Clark, a Wallace native, suffered an accident that exposed her to the medical field at just 3 years old. The doctor who saved her life was African American, and he taught her that nothing could stop her from achieving her goals.

After graduating from West St. John, Clark attended two historically black colleges: Xavier University and Morehouse School of Medicine. She completed her residency at Tulane in 2018. Clark is now working on her fellowship, specializing in blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia, cancer and other conditions impacting the black community.

Clark was one of eight honorees celebrated at the St. John the Baptist Parish Library’s annual Black History Month program.

Titled “We Have Examined Our History, Now We Are Moving Forward To Heal Our Future,” the program recognized professionals in the local community who have advanced health care for African Americans.

Library Director Andrea Tullos said the 21st Century library is built on three concepts — people, place and platform.

“The library as people reflects the shift from us only thinking about a library as a collection of books, to building on our human relationships,” Tullos said. “While there are thousands of stories in the public library, the most important stories are the ones that our community shares with us.”

Other honorees were Dr. Reginald Ross, Dr. Jamaan Kenner, Krystal Placide Taylor, Janell Herbert Bryant, Patricia Burke Kilbert, Tanyia Tregre and Dr. Russell Ledet.

Black History Month honorees watch the John L. Ory choir perform “We are the World.”

Ledet was unable to attend due to an urgent family matter. He is a graduate of Lake Charles High School and a student at the Tulane University School of Medicine, expected to graduate in 2022. Ledet is also the president and manager of The 15 White Coats, a new service organization birthed from a December 2019 viral photo series of medical students visiting Whitney Plantation.

Dr. Reginald Ross, a Lucy native and West St. John graduate, knew he wanted to be a doctor from the time he was 6 years old. For the past 11 years, he’s practiced medicine in LaPlace. He encouraged the young people in the audience to develop goals and aspirations for a bright future.

“I want you to spend time thinking, planning and dreaming about how you are going to make your own history,” Ross said. “Realize that history starts right now.”

Janell Herbert Bryant, a 1990 graduate of West St. John High School, is in her 24th year of nursing. She didn’t always know her future path, but the decision to study nursing at Dillard University is one of the best she’s ever made.

“Coming out of high school, you don’t always know what you want to do,” Bryant said. “I encourage you to try things. I do admire that now in St. John Parish, they are allowing students to do that in high school.”

As an endoscopy nurse, Bryant has seen African Americans are 40 percent more likely to be affected by colon cancer than any other race. She encouraged adults ages 45 and older to use colonoscopies as a preventive tool.

Edgard native Patricia Burke Kilbert is a 1974 graduate of Second Ward High and a 1978 graduate of Dillard University. She got her first job without an interview because registered nurses were once few and far between. She started as a policy maker at age 23 and retired as a nurse manager in 2010.

“The nurse manager makes sure the standards are enforced, the staff is knowledgeable, you are comfortable and that your rights are being met,” Kilbert said.

She encouraged the audience to exercise, drink eight glasses of water per day, and get seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

As a child, 1998 East St. John graduate Krystal Placide Taylor decided to pursue two life goals: become a hair stylist, and become a nurse. She has succeeded in both, and her health career has included nine years at East Jefferson General Hospital.

“I just want to encourage the young people in here to know that you don’t have to be at the top to get where you want to go,” Taylor said. “I wasn’t an A/B student. I was a C student. I had many struggles, and I kept trying.”

Dr. Jamaan Kenner is a LaPlace native and a fourth year OBGYN resident with LSU.

“Growing up, I was an athlete,” Kenner said. “I also wanted to be a doctor for as long as I could remember. I was fortunate to get a scholarship to Xavier to play basketball.”

Kenner said he relates to young people today, and his journey should be a reminder to never give up on a dream.

Tanyia Tregre moved to St. John 30 years ago after meeting her husband, Sheriff Mike Tregre, at Southern University. In high school, she spent summer vacations volunteering at Opelousas General Hospital. The last summer before college, she volunteered in the physical therapy department.

As a physical therapist, Tregre restores function, improves mobility, relieves pain and prevents or limits permanent disabilities of patients suffering from injury or disease. She said exercise and PT helps improve many ailments that impact the African American community.

The East St. John Interact Club shared information on seven diseases targeting the population: asthma, cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, lung cancer and sickle cell.

The Black History Month program also saw vocal performances from the East St. John and John L. Ory choirs and Nathan Joseph, in addition to a dance by Zanai Byers.