Speaker 1: Hello and welcome.
I'm Dr. Corticia Boyd here with Chaplain Dr. Michael Chambers today.
We're going to discuss his journey from hesitation to vaccination.
And I want to welcome you, Chaplain, and thank you for being with us today to discuss your
why behind you receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Speaker 2: Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1: So wonderful.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself to share with our viewers?
Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely.
I've been in the ministry for 31 years and served as a pastor from Mississippi to Georgia
to Maryland and Florida.
Also, I have been a great advocate for those who are inundated with injustices as well
as inequities at the same time, I am a proponent, and my mission is to help those who have been
disenfranchised as well as marginalized.
As a part of that process, I engage a lot in empowerment zones for individuals, but
also creating spiritual platforms for them as well.
Speaker 1: Throughout your journey and just throughout your experiences, how has this
impacted your role as a chaplain?
Speaker 2It has impacted my role as a chaplain greatly.
Oftentimes, our lead ministry provide ministry and I do it from the lenses of the viscose
six-eight passage which states what is required of you and for me and as it relates to the
scripture, is to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly before God.
And through those lenses, I've had the golden opportunity of serving veterans who are struggling
with issues of incarceration, those who have been inundated with shame and guilt, those
who are facing the fire within trying to let go and engage in moments of forgiveness as
well, but also those who are grappling with end of life decisions and choices.
God has blessed me with a golden opportunity to serve those in those capacities, Speaker
1: Wonderful and we appreciate that service.
So now let's get into the part where we're talking about the urgency for vaccination.
I know you've shared about the four prisms and kind of walking us through that step by
step journey if you will.
Let's start with the first one.
Speaker 2: Those prisms that not only served as a process that I used to go from hesitation
to vaccination, but also my personal journey.
The first prism is the shadow prism in that prism, I believe in wondering what I term
as a wandering through the sea of injustices and inequities.
For example, as you know, Tuskegee study, syphilis study during that time period in
which hundreds of African-American men were used as human guinea pigs.
It is noted that in history that there were many doctors that were in charge of that study
that were instrumental in landing upon in the various scheme and plot to perpetuate
and continue that whole process.
And from that point and moment in time, that shadow prism, that's not only a lived experience,
but a laboratory, an engagement for those who are in the health care industry.
So, from that point, I know that that is a mile marker of mistrust that helps me to develop
that process.
Speaker 1: Now, agreed.
And that has shown itself to be valid and true within the African-American community.
Absolutely.
So, the next prism kind of takes us into childhood experiences with vaccinations.
Tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 2: And your journey, I term that as the discolored prism and what I mean by that
is actually not only thinking about that and contemplating that and wandering through the
memory lane of Mississippi, as I term it, the place in which I grew up.
I remember very vividly receiving those green and those blue type cards and my parents taking
us down to the health department.
And we were required to have our vaccinations, our shots, if you will.
You could not enter a school unless you had those items in your possession.
And so the discoloration comes from the all the pin marks from the black and the blue
and the red.
And I remember that so much so.
And not only that, but also in a time period in which my dad was stationed in Schwabach,
Germany and our passports, we had our shots, and that discolored card was there.
So part of that process and what gave me additional assurance as it relates to vaccination is
remembering that time through memory lane and Mississippi.
Speaker 1: I think we can all relate to the fact of receiving vaccinations, going to school.
Some even international travel, it's necessary for you to get vaccinated and to go to school
and such.
And so the third prism talked a little bit about the pandemic and how it impacted your
decision to be vaccinated.
Can you share with our viewers about that?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I liken that to the staying prism and remembering very vividly walking
through the Trail of Tears.
I believe that the tears are the language of the soul.
And I had the golden opportunity to serve as an eyewitness to many tears that fell from
the eyes of veterans, their families, staff, employees, friends and families who were directly
or indirectly impacted by COVID-19.
So, I was in those moments, in those times, and that further encouraged me to move forward
in doing something that was necessary for my community and for my family and my friends
as well.
Speaker 1: And I'm glad you share that about, you know, the tears being the language of
the soul.
That's a very powerful statement.
And I think just within our community as a health care system and just within the communities
in general, we've taken the time out right.
To reflect on what's the utmost importance, whether it's personal, but then our journey
and making those applicable decisions.
Now onto the last prism of your journey, we arrive at a place of confidence right where
you are assured and a place of action where you took action.
Can you tell us about that?
Speaker 2: Sure.
I call that the clear prism and being clear eyed at this point, the stage is now time
to move forward and move forward in action.
I liken that to winning by trusting, trusting the sacred text and trust in the God that's
behind the skills of the science and the scientists.
As you begin to think about that and contemplate that so much so ensure that God has gotten
me to this place to move forward with vaccination, but also think about the words of Dr. King
and which summarizes it all for me.
Science investigates, but religion interprets.
And when you begin to think about that, you think about the fact that King said that science
also gives man knowledge for power, but religion gives man wisdom for control.
And through all of that, science deals with the facts, but religion deals with values.
And the two are not rivals.
They are complementary in the process and gaining that confidence that I had to move
forward with the vaccination.
Speaker 1: Yeah, another powerful quote and statement that resonates, I'm sure, with so
many.
What do you want the people to know as you've shared your journey?
What are the takeaways?
Speaker 2: The takeaways?
Well, I would say to them, it's important for us to remember how imperative all of us
to move forward in a place when we seek the advice of our primary care doctors to get
that information from them and don't become inundated with misinformation.
But the capstone for me in this entire journey and struggle is this is to remember the person
of color that's at the table that's not just sitting at the table, but she's at the head
of the table.
We finally know her as Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, who is the lead scientist for NIH.
She is not just a spectator, but she is the pacesetter as it relates to COVID vaccine.
So that's my message to you, for your family, for your friends, for your churches, for clergy,
for those who are just struggling, trying to find an answer as to why we should move
from hesitation to vaccination.
Speaker 1: Chaplain Dr. Michael Chambers.
We appreciate you sharing your journey and being very transparent in doing so.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much.