She Was Shot at Church—Now She’s Redefining Her Future

As the sound got closer we were like oh they're popping firecrackers and as it got louder and louder they yelled get down get down get down and as I got down I felt something hit my back and as I got up and I started walking around my back got wetter and wetter and wetter and my cousin Keisha started pointing at my back and she started screaming and crying and she was like Tiffany you've been shot. Today we're joined by Dr. Tiffany Tate, a physician, veteran, author, and advocate whose life story is marked by resilience and purpose. Growing up in Compton, California and overcoming profound personal loss and trauma, she went on to build a career in medicine and service. After life-changing injury ended her surgical path, she found new ways to help others through writing, advocacy, and outreach. In this conversation, Dr. Tate shares her journey, the role of faith and creativity in healing, and her mission to empower the next generation. This is Bay Area Innovators and I'm your host Steve Esparza. Tiffany, welcome to Bay Area Innovators. Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. Great to have you from Riverside, California, Soquel. We're here in Northern California. So you grew up in Compton and I want to start with that. You grew up there and then you had a pretty rough childhood. Your parents were facing addiction to drugs and then you were raised by your aunt. Can you give us a bit of a sense, you know, about your growing up and what really inspired you to become a physician? Yes, my maternal aunt, who I lovingly call my mom T, she was always dedicated to helping and serving people. And my grandmother believed in being fruitful and multiplying. She had 12 children, six girls and six boys. So while I was born an only child, I never really had that benefit. And my aunt, my mom T, was a single parent with two kids. So I was her bonus child. I always called myself her gift. And so I grew up one of three. And she always taught us to give back and to serve the community. And I would volunteer with my church mission, feeding the homeless. And I would see a lot of sick people. And I was really good at math and science per se. And I figured one way that I could help them, aside from feeding them all the time, which I really knew was impractical, would be to become a physician. So give us a bit of a sense what life was like for you when you were growing up in Compton. In the words of Langston Hughes in his poem, Mother to Son, life for me ain't been no crystal stair. And so it was definitely a challenge. My mother, my biological mother, she was always there. But I had the misfortune of watching her struggle with her addiction. She was in and out of rehab. And she would sometimes be verbally abusive, not necessarily because she was intentionally trying to do that. It was a product of her addiction. And she struggled with alcoholism as well. And I would witness her use drugs and things like that. But she served as a model of what not to do. Some people follow in their parents' footsteps. But I knew that that was something I did not want to do. I never met my biological father, but I knew that he was one of the homeless people on the streets. And I always wondered if he was one of those people that I was feeding, because I never knew what he looked like. And it was something that I definitely had to struggle with growing up. And unfortunately, I was also abused by other people growing up as a child. Wow. How did you get out of that environment to make it in so many ways, you know, as a doctor and as a publisher and as a writer? What was the factor that you think helped you to get out of that environment? I would say when you are growing up in an area like Compton, a lot of people will try to put you in a box and will try to classify you and characterize you. The only person who can put you in a box is you. I say break the box, destroy the box. Don't let anybody put you in a box and achieve your dream. Focus on it and don't limit yourself. You can do whatever it is that you want to do as long as you work hard, make it feasible, make it achievable. As long as you put in the effort and the work, you can do it and surround yourself with people who are like-minded because time is going to pass no matter what you do with it. And if you focus and you work hard, you can achieve your dream. I remember when I would be at the bus stop, I always had a book in my hand and people would make fun of me and people would laugh at me. But I knew that I wanted to go to college. So I studied hard and I worked hard and I made it possible. So as long as you don't limit yourself, you can achieve your dream. I know it was my faith that really helped propel me and I had a lot of positive role models. My mom, she never went to college, but she was a hard worker and she worked for Lucky Supermarket at the time and she was a manager and she taught me to always work hard. I was a babysitter. I was a courtesy clerk at Lucky Supermarket and I always knew that if I wanted something, I had to work hard to achieve it. And I remember watching all of those commercials. Jesse Jackson would always say, you are somebody. So there was always that positive reinforcement saying that if you want to believe it, you can achieve it. And when I eventually graduated and went to UC Santa Barbara, go Gauchos, I knew that it was something that if I thought about it and I worked hard for it, I could achieve my dreams. Now, I got to ask you about the importance of faith in your life and the role it played for you to do well. Can you talk about that? Absolutely. Absolutely. It was interesting because I did not grow up in the church. Most of the people in my house did not go to church. I wasn't raised in the church. My mom's son, he dated a woman who went to church and so we went to church with her family. And so that's how I ended up kind of going to church. And I remember my first interaction with religion was at a picnic. There was a mime ministry and they were performing. So you should never discount doing community events because they were performing to a wine and song called Tomorrow. And I remember they were saying, you know, Jesus said, let me in. And you said tomorrow, but you don't know if tomorrow is promised. I was like, hmm, this Jesus sounds like something I want because I remember sometimes I would cry in the corner when my mom was high or drunk and I would spend the weekends with her and I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it because she would drive drunk or, you know, under the influence. And I was scared because I didn't know who to talk to because I was a child. And it was something that I knew I knew to pray because I had that encounter as an elementary school kid in a park. And so I knew to pray just from that incident. And I grew up from that. And also you're involved in a drive by shooting that actually injured you. Can you can you talk about that? What did you experience and what did it feel like? Absolutely. Who gets shot at a church event? Me. We were in an area of Compton called Fruit Town and we were at a home church prayer event. And I believe it was by the grace of God that I didn't end up paralyzed. It was around right before the 4th of July. And we heard this popping sound. And as it approached, I was sitting on the sofa. My back was adjacent to the window. And my cousin Keisha was there with her daughter who was in a little handheld carrier on the sofa. And the minister had just finished praying and giving a word. And a couple other people were across and on different sofa and love seats. And as the sound got closer, we were like, oh, they're popping firecrackers. And as it got louder and louder, they yell, get down, get down, get down. And as I got down, I felt something hit my back. And as I got up and I start walking around, my back got wetter and wetter and wetter. And my cousin Keisha started pointing at my back and she started screaming and crying. And she was like, Tiffany, you've been shot. So she started crying. I started crying. And we were all amazed and afraid. And so they called the ambulance and they were like, you should be paralyzed because it was to the right adjacent to my spine. And they wanted me to go to the hospital. But I was young. I had Kaiser and I did not want to go to the community hospital nearby. It was Martin Luther King Hospital. And at that time in the 90s, it had a negative connotation because most of the people who went there were near death. And so I was like, no. And Keisha was afraid to call my mom T because she didn't want to say I got Tiffany shot. And so it was a very traumatic experience for me because I had to go to school walking with a cane for a couple of weeks because the muscles in my back were traumatized and spasms from the bullet. But it was truly a miracle because the people who responded, they said, you should be paralyzed and you need to go in there and we need to dig out the bullet and figure out where it is. But I was young and I refused to go. I'm like, I'm going to Kaiser and a full circle. I ended up working at Kaiser as an adult. So you did end up going to Kaiser? Yes, I did end up going to the hospital when my mom T left work to come and get me. How old were you at the time? I want to say I was like between ninth and 10th grade. And then you end up going to medical school and then you also joined the military. How did that come about? Well, it's interesting because when I was raised by my mom T, because she had me since I was two years old, I grew up on government assistance per se. And when I went to medical school, I joined my second year. After my first year, I received a letter telling me how much I was going to owe. And I was looking for scholarships to help me. And I was thinking, okay, I can go with the National Health Service Corps or I can join the military. And I figured since the government had supported me, I wanted to give back to the government. So it seemed like a no brainer for me. And I love the ocean and I love water. And so I decided to join the United States Navy. And it was interesting because I've had family members in the military, but they were like, oh, well, we've served so you don't have to serve. And when I called home, I called my mom T. She was like, oh no, we support the military. We no longer join it. And I was like, no, I'm going to join the military because I feel it's what I need to do. It's a really very touching story. It's very amazing. And then you ended up being an OBGYN, a surgeon. And then you had another tough time when you had an injury at your hand that forced you to retire. Can you talk about that? Yes, I was working and I fell out of a trailer. And I was already a disabled veteran, but falling and injuring so many joints. I worked injured for two years, but I had to undergo six surgeries. And by the time I came out, I ended up with a frozen wrist and I can't bend the right wrist, but I can bend my left wrist. And you can't be a right-handed surgeon without your right hand. And I would drop specimens and things like that. And when you become a physician, you have to first do no harm. So I'm not going to try to operate or work on a patient if I'm going to be a risk to the patient. And it was very traumatic for me. And I remember I ended up after one of my surgeries having post-operative pericarditis, and they called a respiratory code on me. And that was my come to Jesus moment. And I remember being on the same floor at the hospital that I worked at at Kaiser, being at a diagonal from the same room that my mother died at on the same floor at the hospital that I worked at. And I had a negotiation moment with God and I was like, okay. I said, one day I would write my biography. And so I was saying, if you let me live, I will start and I will write my biography. And then we can get this going and I'll come out and I'll write my biography and I'll get back to work. And then when I came out, I ended up writing poems. And so I was like, okay, what is this, God? This isn't my biography. And these are poems. I am a surgeon. I'm not a poet. What is this? And then I ended up with my first book. And I'm like, okay, this is crazy. And that was flowetry, right? Yes. Yes. 108 poetic flows on life, love and liturgical issues. And liturgical is just religious issues. It's kind of like my negotiation with God, because life is a journey. You have your ups, your downs. So if there's one lesson you learned in Compton and that took you out of that rough environment, what would you say it was that brought you to, in so many ways, success? I would say that when your life takes you on a journey, and you go through something, you have to go through something to come out of it. And you can overcome any obstacles that you face. You just have to be determined. And as long as you have that determination, that grit and that tenacity, you can achieve any dream that you want. You just have to put the work in. That's great. Let's talk about your other books. So you had flowetry. And then what was your second book? My second book was Bad Touching. And it was a work that took a lot for me to come out and write about. When I mentioned before I was abused, I was basically assaulted as a child. And Bad Touching was me finally disclosing that sexual assault in my 40s. I did not talk about it. So a lot of people talk about what happened with Epstein and even what's happening currently in current political climate. People want to blame victims, but people will disclose what has happened to them when they're ready to disclose it. And I felt a lot of times right now, it's hard for victims to talk about what is happening to them. And there is no wrong answer. And trauma is so prevalent in our society that you have to let victims disclose it when they're ready. So tell us a bit, was it a relief when you were able to disclose it, to talk about it, to help others possibly make them able to talk about it? Was it a relief? Yes. And I felt that if it could help anybody, it's a benefit. I've had children who have read the book, disclosed their abuse. And I've had adults who have read the book have a cathartic release. Women in my church who have read this book have broke down and cried. And so I have seen that no matter the age, this book has been healing. And it's sad, but it's also victorious at the same time because abuse is so prevalent. And if it can empower a child to speak up and speak out, and I've been amazed because some people are saying, no, this should just be handled within homes. But the reality is what I've found as a physician, sometimes in homes, people are saying, don't tell anybody. And that's the problem. And kids need to know that they can tell their teacher, they can tell a pastor because these are mandatory reporters and they need to know where they can go to get help. And if this book can help them, it's great. And even though it's the story about two little girls, I've had a young boy read the book and disclose his abuse. And the statistics show that it's one in four girls and one in 13 boys in the United States. That's a high number. Yes, that's huge. So in 2024, you received a certificate of recognition from the California legislature for your work on exposing and, I guess, child molestation. Tell us more about, you know, of course, the predators, unfortunately, they prey on these kids and they kind of know how to pressure them and to influence them and tell them not to talk about it. Tell us more about how kids can, you know, they're so young sometimes, but how they can stand up for it and what they can do to avoid this horrible crime. The best thing is education. And a lot of times, parents don't know how to have the conversation to educate children. That's why I wrote this book. Even if they don't want to use my book, they can have the conversation with their youth or get someone else's book. My thing, especially as a survivor, is to talk about it. It took me until I was in my 40s to speak up. And my mom was very upset because she didn't know until I got in my 40s that it happened. Now, the reality is you may not know what's happening to your child until she got or he got or became an adult. But you want them to talk about it. And if they do bring it up, investigate it. Believe them. Have these books around on the table. Let them read it. And if there's an assembly, let them attend it. Knowledge does not create abuse. The lack of knowledge is what fosters it, because then it allows them to be manipulated. Yes. And then you moved on to Little Engine Mia, right? And what was that book about? So Little Engine Mia is about a little engine train, little train that gets bullied on the playground. And the reality is bullying can begin as early as preschool age, from like three to four. And research shows that over 20%, which is a pretty significant number, students can start to have that, especially from ages two to five. And if we want them to grow up being healthy without these issues, we can tackle this and educate them on not growing up to be big bullies. So I figured, okay, to make this world better, one book at a time, let's start educating them, making them have better interactions, identifying these traits, so that we can negate this problem early on. And that's why I wrote Little Engine Mia sings. And then you move to money. So it's a very interesting range of topics that you chose. Then you move to money matters for kids, right? Yes. You can start teaching children about money as early as the age of three, because they start to get these concepts, you know, they want, and they hold their hand out. And they have this expectation. And I know when I was training up my children, I wanted to make sure that they understood that what I have is what I have, and that they need to start getting their own and building their own, because we have different expectations here. And they can start developing core financial habits by the age of seven. And I think it's important for us to start teaching these principles early. And so money, money matters, teaches children about saving, tithing, investing, and you can start teaching them about needs versus wants. These basic concepts can really help them be better, financially savvy teens, as well as adults, because let's face it, a lot of adults do not know how to manage their money. So if we can start teaching them younger, they can be more productive adults. What the what age range are the books for? I will tell you, you can start these books in elementary school, but I even had one of my medical school friends who called me was like Tiffany, I never understood the rule of 72 until I read money matters. So I will say that even adults can benefit from these books when they are reading them to children, or when they're just reading them for themselves, because you they can they can be lifelong learners. And then your last one, the most recent book is a perfectly perfect which has to do with the impact of social media, which seems to be so huge. There's there's lawsuits against meta and you know, Facebook and all of this for for the impact that social media has on kids. Tell us about that. Tell us what you what you accomplish. We try to accomplish through that book. Absolutely. In today's age, I was looking at how many children are struggling with anxiety, depression, and the urge to be perfect is just way too common. And they look at social media and they look at other people. And there's this struggle to get these likes. And even in elementary school, they are struggling to compare themselves to other people, whether it's YouTube, whether it's video games, whether it's in classrooms, they, they have this image of what the perfect vision of beauty is, or the standard is, and it's all over in their environment. And so the internet social media, it plays a very frequent and measurable role in shaping how children and teens see themselves. And a lot of times, it's driving how they how they can, how they can function within society. And I see that as problematic, because this regular influence is detrimental to their psyche. And what can we do? And what can I do to help fix this? So I've been trying to say I wanted to write a book to make the world better. One book at a time, one theme at a time, because self image is widespread. And by writing perfectly perfect, it's a way to help children realize that they are good enough as they are. Absolutely. Now, you've been in the health, medical field health environment for for many years. Would you have any advice, any suggestions of how the California healthcare system can improve or what can be done better for California? I have a lot about the healthcare system overall. California is a healthcare desert in certain pockets, especially in my district. And I would love to see more telemedicine for to improve access, especially in some of the rural areas. I would love to see more mobile medical clinics, because that would help. And I would love to see more physicians, more physician access, because a lot of times when people call to try to make an appointment with their primary care provider, they just can't get one. And you can say, well, why don't we just have more nurse practitioners, more physician assistants, more mid-level providers? Yes, we can have those, but they cannot practice independently. They need to be supervised by a physician. So we still need more physicians. And then, of course, you are running for California State Senate this year. Tell us a bit about what what you plan to bring as a candidate and what your platform is. Yes, as a candidate, I definitely want to make sure that healthcare is more affordable, more accessible. I also want to make sure that Californians have a livable wage. Also, I want to address the transportation system. I think it makes no sense that we just keep building more roads on the highway. I think we need to decrease our carbon footprint. New York has all these subways, and San Francisco has accessible transits, but we need to have more of that throughout the state of California. That would help if we could actually have a rail. I know that we were trying to get funding and that was shut down by DC, but California is like the fourth largest economy in the world. We need to utilize some of those funds to make sure that we build our infrastructure here to make sure it is improving the lives of Californians. And I think that that will help improve people who are suffering from asthma, COPD, and it will decrease our carbon footprint. I think that's very important. And we want to make sure that we have better green jobs so that we have not just jobs, but careers. It makes no sense for Californians to have to work two to three jobs to survive. We need to make sure that people have solid careers. And if we can bring that funding here to make sure we have those careers, that would be a benefit to California. And we need affordable housing. We have seniors who have empty nests, but the housing, it costs too much. And we have college graduates who can't afford housing. All they can afford is rent, and the rent is too high. So we really need to figure out what we're doing, how we're doing, and do it better. Tiffany, we thank you so much for your time. Thank you for your service and for giving back to the community and to society. We appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me. And to learn more, visit my website at drtiffanytate.com. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for watching another episode of Bay Area Innovators. If you enjoyed this episode and you know someone who should be on our show, please send us an email at sfbay.epochtimes.com. We would love to hear from you. Thank you, and see you next week.