I still remember walking into my med school classroom the week that Philando Castile & Alton Brown were killed mercilessly on film. While a gray cloud settled over the section where my URM friends & I sat, the rest of the room appeared "business as usual" 1/

#BlackLivesMatter

I don't believe that our white classmates didn't care. Some of them were activists in their own right and vocal about racial justice issues. But while they went about their regular days, chatting eagerly between lectures, my section embraced & checked on each other's spirits. 2/

Trauma accumulated from witnessing racial injustice on the news, videos circulated on social media & in personal lived experiences is not shared equally. My friends & I could not focus that week. I imagine other Black students now feel this w/ #AmyCooper & #PoliceBrutality in MN.

Fighting this lethal & emotionally-draining status quo needs to be done on levels. Macro-level: policymakers engaged, systems that uphold impunity for institutions like police must be challenged. These efforts need to be complemented with micro-level interventions on the daily 4/

Stop any #AmyCooper you know personally from weaponizing whiteness to oppress Black ppl for personal convenience. Her actions could have created a modern-day #EmmitTill tragedy and for what?! I'm so happy Christian Cooper had the foresight to record, but he should not have had to

And check on your Black classmates, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc. Schools, recognize that some of your students may not be on their A-game in the moment. I still hold dear those moments when my classmates & mentors acknowledged this trauma and offered solidarity & love.

Of course these macro & micro level action steps are only the first steps in fundamentally changing the course of this damaging narrative. But they can have tremendous power as launching points into the greater battle.