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Dr. Oni Blackstock    

Physician & Intersectional Equity Advocate

Dr. Oni Blackstock is one of the leading voices in the fight for racial equity in health care. Inspired by their late mother’s work as a nephrologist and her eventual battle with leukemia, Blackstock and her twin sister, Uché, charted their own paths in the field.

Blackstock found a calling in examining the social determinants and systems of oppression that impact people’s health, most notably HIV/AIDS. This led to an appointment as assistant commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in 2018. While there, she spearheaded the effort to create guidance for providers on mental health, substance use, and depression in the midst of the pandemic, including disseminating guidance about the intersection of COVID-19 and HIV, as well as a “Safer Sex and COVID-19” guide that went viral.

Coinciding with the calls to combat racism inspired by the police killing of George Floyd, Blackstock exited her health-department post in July to found Health Justice, an initiative focused on helping the health-care industry and public health organizations combat cyclical injustice and reduce health inequities.

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