Interview with Tamela Brandenberg
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Interviewees
Brandenberg, Tamela
Interviewer
Washington, Olivia
Producer
Washington, Olivia
Description
This interview was conducted as part of the East Marshall Street Well Project. Olivia Washington, a junior who has worked as a fellow on the East Marshall Street Well Oral History and Memorialization Project, interviewed Tamela Brandenberg, IT Project Manager at Houston Methodist Hospital who became involved in the East Marshall Street Well Project as a first-year student in VCU’s Masters of Health Administration program.
In this interview, Ms. Brandenberg discusses her background, including her transition to Richmond for graduate school and how the Masters of Health Administration program at VCU has shaped her view of the East Marshall Street Well Project. She reflects on her initial reactions to learning about the East Marshall Street Well's history and the complex emotions it evoked, such as sadness and anger. Throughout the discussion, Ms. Brandenberg emphasizes the importance of advocacy, ethics, and patient empowerment in healthcare decision-making. She also reflects on how the project has impacted her perception of VCU and Richmond's history, and highlights the importance of acknowledging and learning from past injustices. As an early student researcher on the East Marshall Street Well Project, she highlights a particularly memorable moment: her time serving as a pallbearer to carry the Well remains from the Smithsonian back to Richmond. Finally, she expresses her hopes that the project will inspire others to recognize the value of supporting similar initiatives and learning from past mistakes to create positive change at VCU and beyond.
Biographical Note
Olivia Washington is a Junior double majoring in Applied Psychology and Sociology, with a minor in Health Humanities. She has been a fellow on the East Marshall Street Well Oral History and Memorialization Project for two years, and has worked on projects ranging from poster presentations to podcasts. With a focus on public health, she has worked at the Virginia Department of Health for nearly two years as a Youth Advisor.
Tamela Brandenberg is an IT Project Manager at Houston Methodist Hospital. Though she obtained her bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University in 2012, she is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. She moved to Richmond in 2019 to obtain her graduate degree and became involved in the East Marshall Street Well Project as a first-year student in VCU’s Masters of Health Administration program. She graduated from VCU in 2022.
Note
This interview description and biographical information was written by Olivia Washington.
Corporate Name Subject
Hampden-Sydney College. Medical Department--Corrupt practices; Virginia Commonwealth University--Corrupt practices
Topical Subject
Reparations for historical injustices; Human remains (Archaeology)--Repatriation; African American cemeteries--Desecration; Body snatching; History--Virginia--Richmond; Medical colleges--Corrupt practices; Universities and colleges--Corrupt practices; Racism in medicine; Racism against Black people; Public history; Community organization; Health services administration; Patient advocacy
Place of Interview
Recorded Remotely
Genre
oral histories (literary genre)
Local Genre
oral history; sound recording; text
Type
Sound; Text
Digital Format
audio/mp3
Language
eng
Rights Statement URL
Rights
This material is protected by copyright, and copyright is held by Tamela Brandenberg. You are permitted to use this material in any way that is permitted by copyright. In addition, this material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Acknowledgment of Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries as a source is required.
Collection
East Marshall Street Well Oral History Project
Contributors
Virginia Commonwealth University
Source
"Interview with Tamela Brandenberg," East Marshall Street Well Oral History Project, M 573, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University.
File Name
emswoh_brandenbergtamela_interview.mp3
Disciplines
African American Studies | Digital Humanities | History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Oral History | Social History | United States History