Victoria [00:00:02] Hey, yall, welcome to Night Shift Delirium, this is your host, Victoria, today I'm here with a mini episode. 

Victoria [00:00:14] The country where I was born and raised is on fire. And my heart is heavy as I think of the pandemic. The pandemic of racism, which perforates every aspect of daily living. 

Victoria [00:00:31] And I think about the novel, pandemic, covid-19 and my brothers and sisters who are suffering far greater consequences from the virus than many other ethnic groups and racial groups. I think about the inequality that has contributed and created these poor outcomes as America burns, I watched the man occupying the now notorious and most powerful seat in the world light the fire of white supremacy. It is not lost on me that his greatest supporters lost respect for the White House the moment a black man entered its steps and assumed the position of power. I'm reminded of what it felt like to live in Baltimore during the uprisings after the brutal police led murder of Freddie Gray in 2010, 15 months before the death of Sandra Bland and years after the death of Trayvon Martin, which led to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. I remember the fear and uncertainty of who was protected and who would protect me, and yet again, many cities in America. 

Victoria [00:01:57] Enter a military like state with police and military like gear armed with weapons used in war, funded by the citizens that they claim to protect but clearly work actively to antagonize. 

Victoria [00:02:17] And now, as America burns under the fire of white supremacy, I wear the mask of being a black American abroad, the burden of explanation rests heavily on my shoulders. It's interesting. People seem to think that America is the only home of racism. I can only laugh as I think about my patients here in the UK who've told me that I'm from slave country. Or my colleague, who loudly and I'm going to have to assume proudly stated that if you saw two black men, he would cross the street for fear of what could happen. I reflect on my preceptors in Cyprus who couldn't bring themselves to even speak to a black woman, much less teach one. I think about covid-19 and the poor outcomes of my brothers and sisters and wonder if the providers with their implicit biases even question if that fear affects their treatment. 

Assortment [00:03:26] Black health matters. 

Victoria [00:03:28] This week there were uprisings, there were riots, there was a social media blackout, and everyone had an opinion about the right way to go about it. People questioned the intentions of others, and rightfully so. To the nonblack people, whatever you think about the fire of white supremacy in America before you tell a black person how to process the generational trauma and how to grieve the loss of their brothers and sisters, please listen to what they are saying. Go back to all of the posts and chats and charts and diagrams and reflect on what you've seen and learned, don't center yourself in this fight asking, well, what can I wear and what isn't offensive? That's not what this fight is about. 

Victoria [00:04:31] And if you know me personally, please know and understand that I and so many like me are so tired of having to justify and explain our humanity to people who haven't even taken the time to learn the basic readily available history. 

Victoria [00:04:53] And by time, I don't mean a 30 second video. There are books, there are documentaries, there are podcasts, there are articles, there's no shortage of information. 

Victoria [00:05:05] And if you know me personally, don't ask me about anything that you can Google yourself, it's not my job or anyone else's to explain white supremacy. I'm happy to have the conversation with anyone who is well-informed, but do the work, read the books. I'm not your spark notes, nor is your other black friend. And if it's too much of a bother for you to take the time to educate yourself, well, I guess you can see where the problem is to my fellow beautiful black people. I love you. I see you and your life matters. 

Victoria [00:05:45] And lastly, to all of the people protesting throughout the world, I stand with you in solidarity. Please be reminded of covid-19 continue to social distance, wear your masks, wash your hands frequently use hand sanitizer while fighting this pandemic of racism, because I don't want it to lead to an increase in covid-19 cases. Your life matters, I must say. 

Victoria [00:06:20] I don't believe hearts are what will finally put the fires out, I believe policy well, emotions are unreliable and inconsistent. They change with what's trendy and with what someone personally has said to someone else. I personally hate videos of black bodies circulating. I hate hashtags that couldn't possibly even begin to embody a whole life or a universe gone far too soon. But I know it's important because before all of this, we black people were dismissed as playing the race card as though we weren't dying more frequently. We weren't being believed when we came to hospital. We weren't attacked and antagonized by military like police officers and vigilantes in the community. The protests and the blackouts don't prevent racism, but we needed the disruption, the pause and the forced conversation. We are the news. They can't ignore it. 

[00:07:30] Black lives matter. Black lives matter. 

 Host: Victoria Kyerematen