PhD Thesis
 

Provisional PhD Thesis Title: Race, Health, and Women’s Rights: Lessons from the Black Women’s Movement in Britain, 1970-2000

Expected Completion Date: Fall 2027

Naomi is a PhD candidate at the Department of International History and Politics and research assistant to a Swiss National Science Foundation funded project on Race and Ethnicity: Sexual Health and Reproductive Experiences (RE:SHaRE) supervised by Dr. Caroline Rusterholz. Naomi’s research focuses on activism led by and for racialized communities that informed experiences around sexual and reproductive health (SRH). From the 1970s onward, Women of African, Caribbean, and Asian descent in Britain organized and set up groups and, in part, mobilized to denounce racist practices in connection with SRH. From the 1990s, some of these women’s groups set up their own SRH services. Drawing upon archival materials from these activists, medical articles, media analysis, urban policies, and oral history interviews with key members of activist groups during this time, this research takes on a reproductive justice framework and initially asks: To what extent was SRH activism instrumental in the illumination of racist practices in SRH services and broader linking urban policies? How did the setting up of Black and POC-led SRH services answer the SRH needs of their communities? To what degree did the circulation of theories and frameworks from international women’s health activism shape British SRH activism?

Naomi, alongside her research team, is collaborating with a number of organizations that have and continue to center the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color in Britain. The growing list of these organizations can be found on the RE:SHaRE webpage. 
 

Profile
 

Naomi’s portfolio includes re-imagining land reform practices, archival research and oral history, as well as conducting impact and gaps analysis of policies and initiatives that aim to be harm reductive.

Naomi is passionate about applied and collaborative research methods and enjoys pushing the creative boundaries for mixed-method research approaches. She bridges her research with community building practices and community engagement initiatives that strive for racial justice, equity, and inclusion. 
 

Relevant Publications and Works
 

• Samake, N. (2022) “Dark and Light at Airport City” in What is Critical Urbanisms? Urban Research as Pedagogy. Zurich: Park Books.
   

Academic Work Experience
 

• Research Officer at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University, 2022-2023
• Graduate Researcher at the African Centre for Cities (ACC), University of Cape Town, 2020