Interview: Seynabou Denise Niang (Atlanta, GA)

My name is Seynabou Denise Niang, a recent college graduate of Spelman College from Dakar, Sénégal, West Africa. I obtained my Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology with a concentration in Public Health. During my matriculation, and post-graduation, I was afforded the opportunity to study and conduct both qualitative and quantitative research under many organizations such as Sexual Health Empowerment Program under the Department of Psychology at Spelman College, AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta, and the Center of Disease Control and Prevention under the National Center of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; specifically under the Division of Community Health. My areas of expertise are health disparities among minority populations, sexual health promotion and prevention, and prevalence of mental illnesses among African American women, including Muslims.
I aspire to become a Public Health practitioner and philanthropist focusing on health promotion in West African countries, primarily my beloved home, Sénégal. I strive to master ingenious ways to implement health care policies that benefit all citizens, regardless of economic standing. With the grace of Allah, I will work to eradicate health care inequities in Sénégal and other West African countries through establishing community- inspired health clinics in rural and suburban neighborhoods, along with implementing laws and policies that protect citizen’s health care rights by minimizing oppressive socioeconomic factors that breeds inequity. I truly believe that the most efficient form of activism and advocacy against oppression must be intersectional, therefore my pursuit of liberation of all forms is deeply rooted in the spiritual pursuit of the freedom Allah has bestowed upon us all.