Advocacy: How the Murder of George Floyd Led Me to Bioethics

"All these protesters are going to spread COVID more," explained the Chair of the department during the morning clinical rounds. "They shouldn't be in the streets; they are destroying their own neighborhoods," remarked a White male attending just one week shy of the murder of George Floyd. The attendees of the virtual huddle, maybe four to five of them people of color, were stifled as the feelings of anger and frustration permeated the call but remained unspoken.

Fueled by anger and pain, I wrote an email to my organization and departmental leadership about the current political environment and how other Black and Brown staff may feel "unsupported" and "unseen," just as I did during morning rounds and days after. I encouraged them to support their staff during this difficult time and to research how best to do so with articles that I attached to the email. The responses I received from mostly White colleagues varied from "sorry you feel that way" to "I'm not a racist" and the most expected "you need to watch your back." Two people of color in leadership roles that are equivalent to my own responded. One labeling themselves as a "bystander," and the other believing that my statement was "strong" but necessary to wake people up.

From March to July 2020, my hospital was one of the epicenters for COVID cases in New York City. Our staff and patients were gravely affected by either contracting the illness, caring for others, or actively protecting themselves from contracting COVID. As all the news stories and articles conveyed, most of the ground healthcare staff are Black and Brown people, and most people that died from COVID are as well. "It's like watching a war zone of Black and Brown bodies," one colleague described.

Though we are an urban hospital, the executive leadership is all White and mostly female, and there is no discussion of diversity, inclusion, racism, or bias. At the time, there was no diversity or inclusion committee nor any public attempts at creating one. One would think with a mostly Black and Brown staff and patient population, that healthcare disparities would be on the agenda of every clinical department and the focus of creating treatment plans designed to suit our needs. Unfortunately, at the time, there was no change in the operation. The dual pandemic of COVID and racism via police brutality still has not affected the leadership enough to have more meaningful, productive, and healing conversations about the healthcare plight of Black and Brown people.

I started out in health care sixteen years ago as a front-line social worker. Today I am the Director of Social Work for Behavioral Health Services. The inspiration for entering my profession was largely due to my family's extensive history of working in the advocacy and healing professions. We are social injustice activists that have chosen professions in which racism impacts oppressed populations, as well as within the professions we practice. In fact, my family members chose the professions of medicine, social work, ministry, education, and the arts to empower Black, Brown, and poor people to combat oppression. We are committed to the liberation of Black and Brown people and want to make the world equal and just.

When hearing their statements about the protests, the lack of acknowledgment of racial injustice, and disregard for the Black and Brown staff members, I was flooded with so many emotions. As stated before, I was angry that the leadership did not acknowledge the current social climate and did not offer any support, especially when there was a great deal of attention and support provided to the staff about coping with the traumas of COVID. These interventions included having peer supporters come to the units for "check-ins," bringing lunches, designating "calm rooms," and referrals to mental health counseling if necessary. This support was not offered to staff during the racial injustice crisis.

I was also disappointed with the healthcare leadership for their lack of courage to have the hard conversations about racism. It felt like the topic was purposefully...