WC4BL chapter launches with arts workshop

When the Jonathan Daniels Chapter of White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL) at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences was planning its inaugural event, it wanted to introduce the organization, honor its namesake mentor, and provide a fun and compelling program for participants to enjoy.

It accomplished all three objectives.

The event, “Behind the Masks,” featured an art workshop that creatively combatted impostor syndrome.

“Being a new chartered club on campus, we wanted to show our stripes through this wonderful workshop where we could all come in and eat food and enjoy ourselves and share our impostor syndromes with each other,” said Shawn Gibson, a fourth-year medical student who is one of six original co-presidents/founders of the chapter, along with Michael Augustin (Class of 2025), Kwaku Bonsu (Class of 2025), Valeria Marquez Luna (Class of 2025), Sherice Simpson (Class of 2023) and Nina Valenzuela (Class of 2023).

Gibson came up with the idea for the program from a workshop he took during his third year of medical school.

Jennifer A. Meka, director of the Medical Education and Educational Research Institute and associate dean for medical education, brought to the Jacobs School a former colleague at her previous medical institution, Mark Stephens, MD, of Penn State College of Medicine, whose Unmasking Project encourages medical students, professionals and community members to use the visual medium of mask-making to examine core elements of true (inner) and projected (outer) selves as a means to develop an authentic professional identity.

“We received a lot of great feedback from the attendees at our event and it was beautiful to watch everyone create their own art and explain their mask to each other,” Gibson said. “Having the event in the cafe lounge (on the second floor of the Jacobs School building) fostered a welcoming, family environment — one that we intended to create when planning for this event.”

“I think it was great way to relax and interact with our colleagues who support this club,” Bonsu said. “As a new chapter at the Jacobs School, this event was our way of introducing ourselves to the student body and meeting the people interested in serving the Buffalo community with us.”

“I think the event was received in a really positive light,” noted Marquez Luna. “It was our first event, so it was really important for us to make sure that the school and student body knew that we were there for them and with the purpose of bringing the school community and the larger Buffalo community together. It was a truly wholesome event.

“The event definitely met my expectations,” Marquez Luna added. “Everyone was laughing, getting to know each other, and embracing the creativeness of the event. It gave an outlet to make something beautiful out of a simple mask, and I hope that it continues on for years to come.”

About 40 people took part in the event.

“I think our first event was well received,” Simpson said. “I feel that the students and faculty connected well, and we had a fun time of a creative expression.”

“I think for many this event was pretty therapeutic. Throughout the evening, we received positive feedback that we should do this more often and this is so relaxing,” Valenzuela said. "At the end, I think people enjoyed seeing what everyone came up with for their masks. Some incorporated the flags of their heritage, others were pieces of abstract art. Each one was unique, meaningful and beautiful. In fact, several attendees donated their masks to the Office of Inclusion and Cultural Enhancement for display. 

“It’s my hope that as our club grows, it will continue this new tradition,” Valenzuela added. “I look forward to seeing what’s next for us and in what ways we can give to our community.” 

The chapter is named in honor of the late Jonathan D. Daniels, who served as associate director of admissions at the Jacobs School and was a mentor to countless students at the school. Daniels died in a fire last July at his North Buffalo home, along with two of his adult daughters: Jordan, a 2022 graduate of the UB School of Management; and Jensen, a 2021 graduate of Buffalo State College.

He is survived by his wife, Janessa E. Givens Daniels, senior associate director in the UB Office of Financial Aid; and daughter, Jillian, a 2020 alumna of UB’s College of Arts and Sciences. Both were in attendance at the Behind the Masks event.

“It meant a lot to have Mrs. Daniels and Jillian in attendance,” Bonsu said. “This chapter of White Coats for Black Lives is named after the late great Dr. Jonathan Daniels, who was very important to a lot of us here at the medical school and to the Buffalo community as a whole. It is significant to have the support of the family of the man who is an embodiment of the mission statement of our club.”

Simpson explained that students wanted to start the chapter in honor of Daniels’ legacy, “and it was truly a gift to have his loved ones there to support us and for us to support them.”

“Having Mrs. Daniels and Jillian attend was a special treat for me personally,” Gibson added. “We spoke about the importance of this club and Black Men in White Coats (the other club in Daniels’ name) and the impact that both clubs will have on the medical school and the Buffalo community at large.

“Having both Mrs. Daniels and Jillian there felt like a family reunion — reconnecting with family who are very supportive of me and many others during our journey through medical school.”

The chapter moved into the community at large with its second event: a community town hall on March 1 at Hopewell Baptist Church.

“This is step one, where we want to introduce ourselves to the medical school,” Gibson said of the Beyond the Masks event. “This is a chapter that’s student run, but we’re here for the medical school and the residents. We’re really big on social justice, we’re really big into the Buffalo community.

“By first introducing ourselves on campus and letting everybody know who we are, this allowed us to go out on March 1 with that support already from the medical school — medical students and residents — and go into the community and have a listening ear.”