Medicine is my Form of Protest
8 weeks ago, I found out that I was accepted into Medical school. I became overfilled with joy until I began to think about the context of my medical school acceptance. I not only got accepted into medical school in the midst of a global pandemic that is disproportionally affecting Black and brown people in America but also during a civil rights movement that is fighting against police brutality and structural racism, which has been ingrained into the fabric of our society.
Overnight, I had to focus on transitioning myself into a medical school student. I had to stop volunteering in u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶s̶e̶r̶v̶e̶d̶ neglected communities that were disproportionally experiencing food insecurity due to unemployment caused by the virus. I no longer had the time to protest in the frontlines, and I began to feel guilty about all of this.
I felt uneasy about my next steps, but I knew I had to take my opportunity and do right by myself and my community.
Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare — AUDRE LORDE
Today in class, we were asked what the White Coat means to us.
To me, a white coat is not a status symbol nor is it something that I am prideful about. It is the culmination of all the work I have done in order to get to a point where I can improve the lives of others. For me, it means that I am empowering myself so that I can one day empower my community. It means that I can better contribute to my community. There are fewer black males in medicine today than there was in 1978. My white coat represents my ability to become a role model for young black boys in America who may not think that they belong in medicine.
You do belong! We are in control of our destinies and our narrative. Let's show the world what we’re made of.
Medicine is my form of protest.
Black Lives Matter
