BHM: Dr. Lydell Lettsome

DELAWARE – Dr. Lydell Lettsome is a board-certified surgeon at Bayhealth Kent and Sussex.

Dr. Lettsome has dedicated much of his time to furthering equity in the medical field, creating the non-profit organization Vanbert Health Equity Project. He also sits on the National Disparities Committee of Alpha Phi Alpha.

“African Americans, there’s this stigma both internal to our culture and outside our culture that if we’re proficient in science, that we’re proficient in science you’re somehow an anomaly and that is not welcoming so how to we change that expectation that being proficient in science and being proficient in math does not mean you are somehow less African American. We have a lot of stem programs building up in the country but how do we change those stem programs where there are not exceptions — that’s just what every African American child gets when they go to school and that the culture affirms it the same way in their ability to catch a football or run the hundred yard dash in eleven seconds,” said Dr. Lettsome.

Through his organizations, Dr. Lettsome has written books and created videos regarding disparities in healthcare. He also educates people of color on their higher risks of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and Covid.