CSWAC Corner: Kimberly Narain
Get to know our CSW Advisory Committee (CSWAC) members through CSWAC Corner! We are proud to have an advisory committee made up of feminist scholars working in various fields from gender studies to public health to film and television. Each month, we’ll feature a CSWAC member to learn more about them and their work.
Earlier, we spotlighted Jasmine Nadua Trice. For the second half of March, we’re featuring:
Kimberly Narain
Assistant Professor-in-Residence, General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research
What are you working on?
My latest study examined the impact of a health insurance plan that lowered out-of-pocket costs for diabetes medications and physician visits on medication adherence among beneficiaries with low household incomes. I’m also working with the UC Population Health group to explore potential drivers of racial and ethnic disparities in hypertension and diabetes outcomes across all six UC campuses, paying particular attention to the role of gender, language and neighborhood context in these disparities.
Is there anything you’d like to shine a spotlight on?
Since authoring my children’s book on structural racism “The Cycle of a Dream: A Kid’s Introduction to Structural Racism in America,” I’ve given several media interviews and done many talks discussing the importance of talking to kids about structural racism. My talk on January 20th,“One Parent’s Journey: Talking to Young Children about Structural Racism with Dr. Kimberly Cauley-Narain,” was sponsored by the Parent Teacher Organization for elementary schools in Milton Massachusetts. This talk was the kickoff event for a series of activities focused on enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for elementary school students in the district.
Where can we find you on social media?
On Linked in and @DrKimNarain on Twitter
Favorite food/quarantine recipes?
Key lime pie
What have you been listening to lately? Music? Podcasts?
My big brother is music manager for the 2x-Grammy-nominated bilingual hip-hop artist D Smoke. D Smoke also happens to be a UCLA alumni. While his music has some of the typical bravado elements that hip-hop is infamous for, he also broaches some unexpected topics like gentrification and the difficulty of trying to craft a unique identity in an industry that wants you to be a caricature. The music is genre-bending and incorporates jazz, R&B, gospel, funk and afrobeat, making it really fun to listen to.
What movie or TV show have you seen recently that you would recommend to others?
I just binge watched both seasons of the Netflix series Gentefied and was blown away. It follows a Mexican-American family from East Los Angeles as they fight to save the family taco shop amidst a rapidly changing neighborhood. I love the intimate dialogue that makes you feel like you’re eavesdropping and the humanizing portrayal of characters like the family patriarch who is facing deportation and the mariachi band member who is struggling to do what he loves despite encountering financial challenges. Lastly, it broaches topics like colorism in the Latino context that I don’t ever recall seeing discussed on this type of platform. As someone who rarely watches TV, I was surprised at how quickly I was hooked.
