Janis Faye Hutchinsonis a native of Birmingham, Alabama and a graduate of the University of Alabama (BA, MA), University of Kansas (PhD) and University of Texas Health Science Center (MPH). I am a Full Professor in the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies at The University of Houston-University Park. As a biological/medical anthropologist my research interests include condom use, HIV/AIDS, racism and health, family talk about chronic illnesses, and health issues among People of Color. My publications focus on these topics as shown in: Racism in the Academy (2012 with Audrey Smedley), The Coexistence of Race and Racism: Can They Become Extinct Together (2005), Power, Race, and Culture: The Evolution of a Black Anthropologist (2005), Cultural Portrayals of African Americans: Creating an Ethnic/Racial Identity (1997 and over 30 journal articles. I am the former President of the Association of Black Anthropologists, Co-Chair of the Commission on Race and Racism in Anthropology, Advisory Board Member for Race: Are We So Different? traveling museum exhibit and consultant for NIH, NSF and the Ford Foundation.
I am President of Ujima: Unleashed and Unbound (U3). We were founded on October 12, 2012 when nine African-American women met at a restaurant in Montrose to discuss forming a lesbian organization. We felt that Houston lacked a public social outlet for black lesbians that was positive and that catered to us. What we ended up doing was discussing sisterhood and what it meant on a personal level and in an organization. As we discussed sisterhood certain key elements were repeated such as friendship, “spirit that grows through good times and bad”, companionship, nonjudgmental, being on the same page, community, responsibility, respect, “being my sister’s keeper”. By 2013 four women, Patricia Tucker, Mya Blackmon, Michele Hayes, and Janis Hutchinson, followed the principle of Ujima as a part of U3. After a year of discussions we decided to concentrate on three ways to serve the LGBT and African-American communities: 1) we work with individuals and families to help them meet their needs; 2) volunteer at centers for homeless youth, women’s centers, and retirement homes; and 3) support other organizations that serve the community. With this U3 was born.
I am also a board member for the Lesbian Health Initiative of Houston, Inc. (LHI) and Chair of the African-American Outreach Committee. LHI, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1992, is dedicated to eliminating barriers to healthcare and promoting health and wellness for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) – identified women and transgender men through Education, Access and Advocacy programs. LHI’s African American and Latina Outreach Committees were established in 2013 to address the needs of LGBT individuals and families with higher health risks including obesity and breast cancer mortality rates and that face disproportionate barriers to healthcare including lack of insurance. Since the inception of this committee LHI has substantially increased the number of LGBT African American clients receiving screenings including mammograms and the number of African American volunteers. Through this effort, the African American demographic diversity of LHI’s volunteers, clients and Board of Directors is very close to reflecting that of the Houston area population.
It has always been my goal to build community and to improve the lives of individuals and families. My participation in the organizations above along with being a certified voter registrar and what I call facilitator of information flow contributes to the health of our communities.