My husband was born in Queens, New York, and I promised him that one day we would go and visit his childhood home and school. He left age 7, is culturally Mancunian Irish (his mother babysat for Oasis’ Gallagher brothers who were ‘very naughty’!!).
I made a ‘big apple’ papier mâché for his last Christmas present and presented it to him with a travel guide book inside. He was very confused at first – he thought it was going to be a big ‘Apple’ (IPad), which he wouldn’t have wanted…but of course was delighted that we were finally going to make the trip as he hadn’t been back for over 40 years.
We had an incredible week at the end of June. I don’t know why I had put off going for so long myself, I think because my mother went to a medical conference in the late 80s and brought me a ‘I♥NY’ sticker – and told me how it was both amazing and extremely violent. Anyway, here are some of the highlights:
NYC Pride March – and links to my earlier public health career
The annual NYC Pride March took place shortly after we arrived, and it started at the end of our street (Broadway/5th Ave). We’d pounded the streets on the Saturday including taking in the Stonewall Memorial, though President Biden had opened a new Visitor Centre on the Friday which we had totally missed. I had funded a rural LGBT mental health youth worker from an HIV prevention budget in the late 1990s when I was leading on a portfolio of sexual health, blood borne viruses and mental health which I’d commissioned from Stonewall Scotland, so I was very inspired to see where the Stonewall organisation had begun.
The Pride March was incredible with 2.5M observers and over120,000 Marchers campaigning for their rights and social justice. I kept crying, it was such a moving experience to see the exuberance emerging from pain, and was especially poignant following New York’s AIDS crisis and being the final stage of the original Pride March from Washington DC.
Ellis Island Immigration Museum Medics-turned-Public Health Corps-turned-Psychologists
Secondly, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. When I was a psychology undergraduate in the early 90s, I was taught about the history of IQ testing and how this had been pioneered on Ellis Island for new immigrants to America. I hadn’t realised the scale of the endeavours -12 million people were assessed there over a 62-year period from all corners of the globe. Physicians who were part of the Public Health Service Corps assessed the migrants for everything from ‘limps’ to infectious diseases to their relative intelligence, and were also required to implement government migration policy not just practice ‘pure’ public health…
I hadn’t realised that it was medical staff who were devising the intelligence tests rather than psychologists, and was delighted to learn that Howard Knox, the medic who led on intelligence testing, was actively researching and publishing in psychology journals on subjects such as raising issues around the need to adapt such testing for different cultures. According to the museum, this happened after some tests which involved images of a pet rabbit being buried in the ground fazed most of the immigrants who ‘couldn’t understand why the rabbit wasn’t being eaten’!
Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital comprised both a general hospital and a contagious disease hospital. Its function was to treat immigrants who were ill on arrival, and to stabilise immigrants who were being refused admission before they were deported to their home countries.
Independence Day Fireworks, Bagels, Gelato and more!
As well as being a busman’s holiday in terms of the intersection of public health, psychology and social justice, I did of course have a wonderful time eating food from different cultures every evening and frankly lots of bagels and gelato, as well as enjoying the 4 July fireworks right next where US Airways Flight 1549 landed on the Hudson river 15 years ago.
Back to work post UK Election
We did end up walking over 120,000 steps during the week, so I am glad to be back at my desk and reconnecting with all my wonderful clients.
If you didn’t read my article in the BMJ regarding the UK General Election, you might still find it useful as the new government takes shape and starts to exert its influence click here for last week’s BMJ!
Dr Fiona Day is the world’s only Leadership Coach with advanced coaching psychology, medical and public health qualifications (MBChB, FFPH, BPS Chartered Psychologist in Coaching Psychology, EMCC Master Practitioner Coach & Mentor) and is in a unique position to help you and your teams to flourish. Fiona specialises in coaching medical and public health leaders, is a coach Supervisor, and an EQA Foundation Award Holder. Get 3 hours of FREE CPD with Fiona’s Health Career Success Programme here. Book a free confidential 30 minute Consultation with Fiona here.