Black History Month Caregiver Profile: Brittany Music

Brittany joined the Adena family in 2016, having graduated in 2013 from Waverly High School and studied phlebotomy in 2015. After also graduating in 2022 from Adena Health’s medical assistant program that is operated in partnership with Pickaway-Ross Career and Technology Center, she started working as a certified medical assistant in dermatology.

As we celebrate Black History Month and the importance understanding plays in the embracing of diversity, Brittany shares her experience as a woman of color.

Feeling out of place

Brittany’s childhood was spent growing up in Waverly, the adopted daughter of a white woman who she described as “phenomenal.” Despite reminders from her mother of how beautiful she truly was, she quickly recognized how little diversity there was in her school and found it difficult to be the only Black student in most of her classes.

“Living in a small town, I was not accepted by many,” she said. “In school, kids would not associate with me and often called me racial names.”

She felt that she did not receive the help she hoped for in dealing with those situations when she would elevate her concerns. As a result of her experiences, even with the words of affirmation from her mother to try and find comfort in, she spent years staying to herself and removing herself from spaces and situations in which she would experience dislike or hatred simply because of the color of her skin.

Going it alone

Her experience after joining the work force held many similarities to her experiences in school.  She encountered customers who would ask that she not take care of them and who often requested that white employees assist them instead. It was another chapter in what has been a 29-year struggle with periods of feeling alone as the result of that treatment and finding the strength to overcome that.

“I can do life alone,” she said. “It was only my adoptive mom and me for years. Mom often told me I was beautiful and it’s not about the color of my skin. She also reminded me that while words do hurt, they also can make me stronger. I carry her words with me today.”

Hoping for future change

While there have been times in her life in which she recognizes she’s taken actions she didn’t particularly want to simply to keep the peace, Brittany continues to hope that one day such actions will no longer be necessary.

“There have been times when I adjusted to the hate just to accommodate prejudiced people,” she said. “As an adult, I have been asked to leave the room because of the prejudice of white people coming in who would be uncomfortable around me. Their hate for me won that day as I left the room so they would not be in the presence of a Black person. I am only 29 years old, and often wonder if this hate within the hearts of many will every leave.” 

Finding strength

Despite those types of experiences, Brittany has come to recognize the strength within herself.

“My biological mom was in and out of my life for years due to addiction,” she said. “When I was 23 years old, she came to live with me.  I was strong enough to take care of her until she took her last breath. I am strong enough to find my own worth. I am strong enough to understand the value I bring to the table, and  I am strong enough to know I can achieve any goal regardless of the hurdles I may have to clear. 

“I am Black History.”