The past few months have been a roller coaster of emotions for many of us.
The United States began to shut down on my birthday while I was still vacationing in South Carolina. My drive home was surreal, to say the least.
As we began to understand that self-isolation was about to have a whole new meaning, we turned to technology to help us stay connected.
Just as we were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and restrictions were starting to slowly lift, we were plunged down the roller coaster hill yet again, this time by the death of a black man named George Floyd.
This one hit me hard. Minneapolis is my home — born and raised.
Systemic racism is affecting all of us, whether we realize it or not. I see it in the brain injury community — people of color are less likely to be listened to and get treatment for their injuries.
Minorities under the age of 65 and 25 are dying at 2x and 5x the rate of similar aged white folks, respectively.
Dr. Mark Heisig wrote in an Instagram post, “With overwhelming margins like that, it cannot be blamed on choice, behaviors, or factors within individual control. In America, your culture and environment are largely handed to you by birth. Same country, different skin color, different world.”
The moral of the story: We need to do better. We need to acknowledge this glaring gap in the healthcare of our fellow people of color. We need to lift each other up, and help one another get the resources and care they deserve. The color of our skin should not have any bearing on the treatment we receive from the healthcare system. #blacklivesmatter
