OU’s White Coats Kneel for Black Lives
On June 5, nearly 450 members of the OU-Tulsa, OU Medicine and OU Health Sciences Center communities gathered in solidarity to participate in the nationwide #WhiteCoatsforBlackLives effort to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement and to reject racism in all its forms.
Each campus hosted its own event where participants heard from faculty, staff and students and kneeled for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to honor the life and memory of George Floyd.
On the front lawn of the Schusterman Center at OU-Tulsa, participants gathered to listen to Dr. Monica Henning, Dr. Jabraan Pasha and School of Community Medicine medical student Nile McCullough.
The OU Health Science Center’s event was held at Fountain Park, and speakers included Dr. Robert Salinas, Dr. Carrie McClain, and medical students Garrett Eakers, Ariana Bruner and Baffour Kyerematen.
Dr. Salinas, assistant dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement at the College of Medicine, shared his thoughts on the event.
“I think the #WhiteCoatsforBlackLives event was needed to remind us that as academic health care centers, we too have a responsibility to speak out against continued health care inequalities and inequities,” he said. “Acts of racism have no place in our society.”
Other participants took to Facebook to share their appreciation and gratitude for being allowed the opportunity to show that Black Lives Matter and racism will not be tolerated on either campus or in the OU community.
One participant said, “Thank you health care team! A very beautiful and emotional support today. The heat of the sun did not stop us from kneeling … so glad to be a part of this event. Thank you everybody!”
Article Published: Wednesday, June 17, 2020