Smithsonian curator Teddy Reeves gives keynote at RRH Black History month program

Rochester Regional Health celebrated Black History month on Wednesday with a special program called Black Excellence: Past, Present, Future. The event, held in the TWIG Auditorium at Rochester General Hospital, featured performances from Antioch Missionary Baptist Church’s youth choir and a keynote address by religion and spiritual expert Teddy Reeves. Reeves is a native Rochesterian who is currently a curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. In his 45-minute presentation, Reeves spoke to room of medical professionals about the roles African Americans played in building and sustaining America’s labor and medical forces. “The demand, the protest, the fight of people of African descent in this country, is to be seen as human,” Reeves said. “To see how this system was built on our backs, and that our labor contributed to the thriving of this nation.” Reeves also underscored the importance of African Americans prioritizing rest as a reward for their labor, and as a holistic remedy towards health and wellness. “We deserve to rest our minds, rest our bodies, recenter our spirits, and ground ourselves for the work ahead,” he said. “For me, it is imperative that we take this time, that...