The statics are alarming; the score is somber and the stories are horrifying.
“Listen to Me” introduces three women, Ebony, Kanika and Shalon who document their experiences of racial bias in the healthcare industry. Through various images and interviews with families and friends, we hear their experiences of being dismissed at medical facilities despite consistent complaints of medical issues during their pregnancy.
All three had one thing in common. They were grappling with being heard.
[“Patients are feeling like they are not heard and they not being listened to.”]
The title is apt as it follows the trio. One struggled with infertility, another survived life-threatening pregnancy complications and the third, an epidemiologist called Shalon Irving, who the film is dedicated to, died weeks after giving birth in 2017.
Despite consistent complains of high blood pressure, swollen legs and several doctor visits she was ignored and passed away after giving birth. A death that could have been avoided.
It’s a heartbreaking story filled with first hand stories of medical bias in America. It also highlights how Black men grapple with being excluded from conversations whilst their spouses suffer.
The film is co-directed by Stéphanie Etienne and Dr. Kanika Harris, who lost her twin babies.
Both directors who place themselves within the piece have made a documentary chronicling a personal story and an issue that affects many.
Carefully gliding from each narrator, with Shalon’s story told through her mother, it is a powerful personal film that shines a spotlight on medical bias, revealing how racial disparities directly harm patients.
“Listen to Me” premiered on the PBS App and PBS.org as part of Black Public Media’s AfroPoP series in June and is streaming on the PBS website and the PBS app.
For more information, visit listentomedoc.com.
