‘Our voices are so important.’ Hundreds kneel outside hospital to protest police brutality.

About 200 healthcare workers and activists knelt in silence for nine minutes Thursday to honor lives lost to police brutality.

The demonstration was one of hundreds of protests around the country following the death of 46-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis. It was organized outside of Jackson Memorial Hospital-Alamo Park by the Committee of Interns and Residents, which is part of the labor union SEIU Healthcare.

Among the speakers were University of Miami’s Dr. Armen Henderson, who was detained outside of his home in April; Melba Pearson, candidate for Miami-Dade state attorney; and Lakshmi Ruiz, an organizer with the youth activist group Dream Defenders.

Dr. Shanique Wilson said the protests going on around the country are the most American thing she has ever seen with people of all ages and backgrounds using their freedoms of assembly and speech to speak for a cause they believe in.

She got involved in activism as an undergraduate student and plans to take it with her throughout her career.

“No matter what, the color of my skin means I’m involved,” said Wilson, who will soon start as a gastroenterologist fellow.

Medical staff should represent the people who they serve, she said, hence the name of the demonstration, “White Coats for Black Lives.”

“We have taken firm stances on many political and social issues because our patients need us to stand up for them,” she said. “As far as being a physician, our voices are so important. People stop and listen when we speak.”

Dr. Lily Ostrer, a second-year Jackson resident, said the feeling of being constantly at risk by the coronavirus pandemic is something that black Americans have felt their whole lives because of their race.

“A lot of people have made a calculation in their minds that they have more to lose from enabling our current system of racist policemen to persist than to potentially catch the virus,” she said. “Each person makes their own calculation.”

As a white woman, she feels a responsibility to acknowledge and work against racism in the medical industry.

“It was also an important moment for us to recognize that the same system of white supremacy and racism that enables police murders is also enabling disproportionate health access and healthcare for black people in the United States,” Ostrer said.

Another second year Jackson resident, Dr. Quan Minh Le, said he got chills seeing how many people attended — including many who were not in the healthcare industry — and listening to his colleagues speak.

“This is an important movement,” he said. “It’s very emotional, and I think it is necessary to help with the healing as well as to advance and move forward.”

Le, who was born in Vietnam but grew up in South Florida, said the demonstration was going to happen “rain or shine,” which it did. People grouped under a roof outdoors when it started to rain.

“The idea behind this demonstration was to show a sign of solidarity, to support our brothers and sisters, and to talk about some of the socioeconomic impact and the racism that needs to change in our system,” he said.

Dr. Tobenna Ubu, who is also in his second year of residency, said he is used to feeling targeted due to the color of his skin. He attended medical school in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 during a deadly white supremacy rally.

Ubu helped organize Thursday’s demonstration. He said that healthcare workers have an obligation to support minority communities as part of their sworn oath.

“White Coats for Black Lives is a way to mobilize the voice that I have as a physician and use that platform for equity and justice,” he said. “This needs to stay on people’s minds.”

This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 7:51 PM.