DOCTORS' LOUNGE
DOCTORS'
LOUNGE
WHITE COATS
FOR BLACK
LIVES
IN THE INTEREST OF ENCOURAGING HONEST AND OPEN DIALOGUE ON THE HIGHLY VOLATILE NATIONAL PROTESTS GOING ON ACROSS AMERICA,
GLMS MEMBERS OFFER THEIR UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE AND PERSONAL OPINIONS ON THIS IMPORTANT TOPIC.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT YOUR OPINION, PLEASE SEND TO [email protected].
Louisville Medicine Editorial Board follows The Associated Press Stylebook for style guidelines. As of June 2020, AP style is to capitalize Black in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, to convey
an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa. AP style will continue to
lowercase the term white in racial, ethnic and cultural senses. Louisville Medicine will continue to follow the guidance of the AP Stylebook. For more information on this decision, please
visit apstylebook.com/blog_posts/16.
As an African American man, it
is fitting that I write this article
about Black Lives Matter on
Juneteenth. Although the Emancipation
Proclamation officially
outlawed slavery in 1863, we commemorate
the first Juneteenth,
June 19, 1865. It was then that
Union General Gordon Granger, commander
of the District of Texas, announced federal orders to the people of
Galveston, Texas. He proclaimed that the Civil War had ended and
all slaves in Texas were free, making Texas the last state to abolish
slavery. Juneteenth has since been celebrated yearly. Many cities and
states recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday (more of them now,
since the death of George Floyd sparked protests around the world).
28 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
BLACK LIVES DO MATTER AUTHOR Lewis Hargett, MD
One of Martin Luther King’s famous quotes was, “Darkness
cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive
out hate: only love can do that.” For years, America has attempted
to ignore issues of race, to bury awareness of the daily prejudice
and injustice experienced by African Americans. The loss of lives,
particularly of African American men by police, law enforcement
and “public citizens” has taken a toll on African American communities
across this nation. This is slowly changing as advancing
technologies have enabled people to film the acts of violence and
injustice on cell phone cameras, and stream it live for the world to
see. The hate caused by racism and prejudice is slowly being eroded
away. The horrific events broadcast across this nation and world,
over the past several weeks, have shocked us to the core. America
has had to take a hard look at herself. People have responded, not
just Black people, but people of all colors and races, in numbers not
seen since the Civil Rights Marches of the 60s. There has been an
outpouring of love and support, and urgent demands for change
not just here but from many countries.
According to its website, The Black Lives Matter Movement was
started in 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in
the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The Movement promotes
peaceful demonstrations. BLM advocates against police violence
against African Americans, and for making equality of civil rights
a reality. The Movement has grown over the years and there are
chapters in the US and abroad.
Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna
Taylor are all African Americans who have died young at the hands
of police and “public citizens.” These losses had already rallied