May 28, 2021

My patient called me the N-word

"There were many things to be processed about that event. It happened within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, its disproportional effects on the African American community, and a few days after the murder of George Floyd, an African American man...

"There were many things to be processed about that event. It happened within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, its disproportional effects on the African American community, and a few days after the murder of George Floyd, an African American man killed at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer by asphyxiation. His murder was the third in a row of recent and widely publicized, unjust killings around the country. First, Ahmaud Arbery; second, Breonna Taylor; and third, George Floyd — all within a few short months. Their deaths sparked a social zeitgeist that exposed America’s divisions and systemic racism at a level we haven’t seen in a long time."

Toba Bolaji is a surgery resident and can be reached on Twitter @tobabolaji.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "The day my patient called me the N-word." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/03/the-day-my-patient-called-me-the-n-word.html)