More than 200 students, faculty, staff and guests attended a thought-provoking keynote lecture by Gabrielle Pina, DO, FAAP, titled “I Have a Dream… Deferred” on Wednesday, February 4, 2026 as part of the UCR School of Medicine’s celebration of Black History Month.

The event was held in partnership with UCR African Student Programs and sponsored by the School of Medicine Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Photos from the event can be found here.

Pina, who is a native of Inland Empire, is the co-director of the Health Equity, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism Thread at the UCR School of Medicine as well as a pediatric hospitalist, associate program director for pediatrics and residency director for the primary care track, medical director of Diversify, Include, Mentor and Educate at Loma Linda University.

Pina’s keynote revisited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” Speech delivered on August 28, 1963 during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Using audio clips of the speech, Pina placed Dr. King’s words in a historical context, encouraging the audience to look past the familiarity of the speech and focus on both the history and the significance in the present day.

King mentioned the Emancipation Proclamation during his speech, but Pina reminded the audience that the landmark executive order in 1863 that ended the Civil War didn’t free everyone, emphasizing that Indigenous people living in what is now Oklahoma were forcibly removed by the government. In addition, she acknowledged the length of time it took for word of the proclamation to reach Texas two years later on June 19, 1865 – a date that is now recognized as Juneteenth.

Tying the presentation into medicine, Pina addressed the differences between equality and equity, and that equality does not account for where people are starting. She showed data that revealed a double-digit decline in minority medical school applicants after the Supreme Court’s ruling that race and ethnicity could no longer be used as a factor in the admissions process.

“That should break your heart. You will have less Black and Brown kids being treated by less Black and Brown physicians. That should be troublesome,” she said.

“Sixty-three years later, how far have we come? We are not yet done. We are nowhere near,” she added.

The presentation concluded with a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem. Many members of the audience sang along with the song, providing a moment of reflection and the call for social justice and equity.

Associate Dean, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Denise Martinez, MD, and CAP Intern Anisha Haque contributed to this article.