DOCTORS' LOUNGE
(continued from page 29)
It’s hard to describe the emotions in the air at the protests in
Louisville. There is so much raw anger, frustration and anguish that
the Black community feels, and it is entirely justified. It’s impossible
to say there isn’t a problem when Black mothers tearfully plead
with the police to stop murdering their innocent children. Go out
there and chant the names of those who have been killed and try
to convince me that their anger is unjustified, that we should try
and avoid making things political, that the pain and injustice the
Black community experiences should be tempered in exchange for
White comfort and convenience.
Despite the peaceful nature of these protests, the police have
consistently escalated to violence, shooting tear gas into the crowd,
firing rubber bullets and using their batons to forcefully push us
away from the police precinct. Videos have emerged showing the
Louisville Metro Police Department destroying milk jugs and water
bottles that had been set aside for the protests. This behavior and
the responses of so many others, the criminal element who take
advantage of the moment, is reprehensible.
I can only imagine how exhausted and heartbroken my Black
friends must be, and I’m so sorry this is a problem that we continue
to ignore and perpetuate with our actions - or inaction.
I am endlessly frustrated with friends and classmates who avoid
talking about politics and racism because it’s uncomfortable and
“not the right time” or “not the right space,” who are noticeably
absent in any discussions we may have about racial inequity, who
don’t understand that Black people do not get to choose when to
be political. They are so insulated by their privilege that they can
scroll past endless stories, carry on with their lives, and avoid any
self-reflection that acknowledges they are complicit in a systemic
racism that continues to take innocent lives. Good intentions simply
aren’t enough and will never be good enough to dismantle an institution
that discriminates against people based on their skin color.
I can do better, and my non-Black friends, colleagues and family
can all do better.
There is an absolute bare minimum responsibility we have. To
help, vote, 5 donate to causes that support the Black Lives Matter
movement, 6 call and hold accountable your local government officials,
and have uncomfortable conversations with your friends and
family about racial issues. Protest if you are able-bodied, read about
Black history and Black activists who have been fighting for this
cause, for equitable treatment for hundreds of years. Confront your
own racial biases, acknowledge them, and take steps to address them.
Those in the medical community must proactively combat racial
health-disparities and be willing to call out anyone who provides
less than equitable treatment to every patient.
I admire this paragraph from Martin Luther King, Jr. 7 that was
true 60 years ago and is still true today.
“First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been
gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached
the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block
in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens’ Counciler
or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted
to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which
is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence
of justice; who constantly says: ‘I agree with you in the goal you
seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action;’ who
paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s
freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly
advises the Negro to wait for a ‘more convenient season.’ Shallow
understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than
absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm
acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”
References
1. https://www.nytimes.com/article/ahmaud-arbery-shooting-georgia.html
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/nyregion/amy-cooper-christiancentral-park-video.html
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Breonna_Taylor
4. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/four-years-after-colin-kaepernickkneeled-nfl-quarterbacks-are-starting-to-speak-out/
5. https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/
6. https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/about
7. https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
Nicholas Chen is a third-year medical student at the University of Louisville School
of Medicine.
THE WHITE COATS FOR BLACK LIVES MOVEMENT
A conversation with Tawana Coates, MD, MPH
A conversation with Tawana Coates, MD,
MPH, (PGY-3 OB-GYN) about her role in
helping organize the recent White Coats for
Black Lives event in our community. The White
Coats for Black Lives movement aims to show
that health care providers such as doctors,
pharmacists, nurses, nurse practitioners, lab
technicians, medical students and many more
are supporting communities that have suffered from centuries of health
disparities, systemic racism and targeted police brutality.
Louisville Medicine: What went into organizing this event and
how did it come together?
Dr. Tawana Coates: The idea for the event was started by two African
American residents, myself and Dr. Terri Mason. We had been in
contact throughout the weeks about how we as African American
30 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE