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You ever just sit and get so frustrated by inequity that it brings tears to your eyes?
As I finished the last chapter of @thenewjimcrow by Michelle Alexander, I thought about the vast and entrenched roots of white supremacy and oppression and it brought tears to my eyes.
thread
As I finished the last chapter of @thenewjimcrow by Michelle Alexander, I thought about the vast and entrenched roots of white supremacy and oppression and it brought tears to my eyes.
thread
There& #39;s been so much attention given to affirmative action and diversity without fully acknowledging that racial justice does not trickle down. Yes, #representationmatters, and it& #39;s hard to be what you can& #39;t see. But diversity does not equal nor necessarily lead to equity.
Ex: Im the only Black clinical provider in my division. Im the only URM fellow in my institution& #39;s entering class. My presence may be inspiring, but it doesn& #39;t fix the leaky pipeline for Black men and women to reach my position. My success does not undo structural barriers.
I used to describe being pre-med as hurdles and it& #39;s fair analogy here. My privileges allowed me to walk around some hurdles, like education inequity. My parents had the education and finances for a private school with high resources and low student: teacher ratios.
Other hurdles, I learned to jump over. Black and brown students give up their doctor dreams at higher rates than their white peers. I had my physician father and his friends to help me persevere when I too thought I wouldn& #39;t succeed, wouldn& #39;t fit in, or should just give up.
Outside of medicine, my presence as a pediatrician in Chicago doesn& #39;t change the closing of schools, the policing of Black and brown youth, a family& #39;s ability to find work, pay bills, and feed their families, or help a neighborhood feel safe from physical and emotional trauma.
Everything above is an indicator of health, which is is why I can& #39;t just be a doctor and see patients. On days like today, I just sit and scheme about where and how I& #39;ll make my broader impact knowing my efforts will be in partnership with so many across the country who I admire
