# @harvard on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdl4Y_6u16j
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/21647534-harvard-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/legacy-do/8512ebaf2ab6878e814c305d110244b3bf47c11c296d2e76ee71b28b5c670bff.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-05-15T20:20:33.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Harvard University (@harvard) — https://gondola.cc/harvard

## Caption

When the topic of the Great Migration—the migration of millions of African Americans from the South to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West from 1910 through 1970—came up in two of Cecilia Vu's classes, she realized she knew very little about it, even though it was one of the largest internal migrations in U.S. history. 

“It occurred to me, after doing a brief literature review, how little we know about the Great Migration in terms of public health," she said. “I was curious: Did Black Americans who migrated do better than those who stayed in the South? No one was really writing about this, so I decided to.” 

Previous research had shown an increased risk of both adult and infant mortality among the African Americans who migrated out of the South. Vu probed further, examining the links between migration and low birth weight, as well as the connection between migration and mental health disorders. She assumed that those who migrated would have fared better in terms of health, given the fact that moving would have likely afforded them greater economic and educational opportunities. But that’s not what she found. “Moving out of the South did not improve health,” she said.

Cecilia hopes to continue studying racial inequities and public health, and has a job lined up as a data science research fellow at BU’s Center for Antiracist Research. 

“It will allow me to use the rich quantitative skills I’ve gained at Harvard Chan School for racial equity work,” she said. “The data training has been exceptional, and I’m just glad I get to keep practicing it going forward.”

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We're showcasing some of our amazing #Harvard22 graduates. 

#HarvardChan22 

Photo by Kent Dayton

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## Tags

harvardchan22, harvard22

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