Virginia Martinez
Sociology PhD Student
L. Virginia Martínez (she/her/ella) is a third-year Sociology PhD student. Virginia received her BS in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Salem State and earned an en-route MA in Sociology from Northeastern. Her work is at the intersection of race, gender, health, and Afro-diasporic spirituality, broadly exploring healing practices and rituals, shedding light on their spiritual and cultural significance within the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. This includes oral histories passed down by elders and spiritual practitioners, focusing on love, joy, nurture, maternity, and spiritual care within La Veintiuna División (21 Divisions), a creolized spiritual practice in the Dominican Republic. Her previous research examines how institutional and structural racism and sexism influence medical practices, health outcomes, and policies, particularly among Black and Latina women. She draws connections between the legacies of slavery and medical sociological theories to explain the persistence of menstrual, maternal, and reproductive health inequities from the Antebellum period to the present.

martinez.vi@northeastern.edu
Areas of Research: Afro-diasporic religions and spirituality, oral histories and storytelling, reproductive justice, intersectionality, medical sociology
Faculty Advisor: Tiffany Joseph