Black experiences in health education: DPT student James McLean
We asked Black students, alumni, faculty and staff in the Wayne State University Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to share – in their own words – challenges they've faced in professional health education or clinical practice.
James McLean '23
Program: Doctor of Physical Therapy
Hometown: Detroit
High school: Cass Tech
During 2020, when racial tensions were high after the horrific situation with George Floyd occurred, some of my coworkers who I had known for years and considered my family were saying some very ignorant and outright racist comments. These coworkers were mostly twice my age and technically my superiors at work.
After much thought and consideration on how to approach the situation, I decided to face it head-on. I wrote a letter to them that included facts about what was happening and challenging the criticisms of the Black Lives Matter movement. It was very hard for me to share the letter because I thought it would have been met with a lot of indignation; however, it was very well received.
I am so glad that I, just like my ancestors, decided to speak up for what I believed in and demanded change.
Read James McLean's letter:
Let me start by saying that I am forever grateful for every single person here. I started working here when I was 19 years old. I have grown so much in these last 4 years and it is largely due to everyone here. When I first started, I was so unsure about many things, but now I have reached clarity on so much. You all have helped me more than you know. The encouragement, kindness, and honesty from you all have meant the world to me and I am forever changed for the better. We have all celebrated and grieved with one another over the years and I truly feel a deep connection to the people and the energy here. You have all instilled a wealth of knowledge in me that I could not have gotten anywhere else. The confidence and experience that I carry into this next phase in life have a great deal to do with each and every one who I have worked with here, past or present. I regret that this virus has separated us during this time when I would love to have spoken to everyone in person. I have done so much with you all by my side, but now more than ever I need you to stand next to me and the other Black people who are fighting to end racism and prejudice in all avenues of society.
I recently realized that I failed you all. As one of the only Black people on staff, and for a while the only Black staff member, I should have said more. Diversity is very important, but it is only beneficial when everyone, especially those who are underrepresented, presents diverse views and perspectives. This is something that I failed to do. Any diversity and inclusion exercise [this workplace] will send out will not give you the information like I, a primary source for the Black experience, can give you.
As one of the Black people in this department who knows everyone personally, it would be a disservice to you all if I left here without giving you my take on recent events and detailing why Black people feel the way we do about certain issues. It pains me to see some of the egregious dialogue going on and misinformation going around about Black people and about our relationship with America as a whole. Whether you agree or disagree with what I have to say is completely up to you, but please keep an open mind. As we grow as a more diverse department and society, it is imperative for those who are less represented in society to be given space and opportunity to not just be heard but understood. You must be able to see someone else’s perspective in order to truly come up with proper solutions. We must not shy away from discussions on race because when you generalize, you are masking issues and discrediting the experiences of people who need to be heard. Instead of listening to react, we need to listen to understand.
Before you say things are not a white and black issue (race issue), ask yourself, “Why do the majority of Black people feel like race is a problem and I do not?” Race determined so much even before this country officially became America and it is a social construct that left a permanent stain on this country that people would rather ignore than clean up. When Black people say Black Lives Matter, it is because Black people have always been mistreated on United States soil. Black people are one of the only people in America who had to fight for our humanity. Black people were freed from bondage and given nothing. When Black people attempted to gain financial and social independence in Tulsa, it was a mob of White Americans who burned it down in 1921. Black people have been denied access to education, Black people were publicly lynched, Black people have been relegated to poor/unsafe neighborhoods, Black people have been incarcerated at a disproportionate rate, Black people are more likely to get harsher sentences, Black women are more likely to die during labor, Black people are more likely to be mistreated by police and healthcare personnel. There are tons more examples of how Black people have been mistreated solely based on race throughout history, but I will leave that up to you to research at your leisure if you would like because this letter would be much longer than it already is otherwise.
It is not enough to not be racist; we must be anti-racist. Some people are under the interpretation that racism is just overtly hating minorities, but it is much more than that. Racism is blatantly ignoring and gaslighting people of color and their issues. Racism has been allowed to persist because we are choosing to ignore data, manipulate data, and shy away from conversations that make us uncomfortable.
It has made me extremely sad to see my adopted family using rhetoric that I, and many other Black people, deem as harmful to the movement that was started to help us protect ourselves. Black Lives Matter was created shortly after the murder of Trayvon Martin to highlight the injustices and racism that Black people face by merely existing in America. This movement holds a special place in not only my heart but also the heart of my peers because it sparked a collective awakening that we may not be safe and our deaths are not seen as significant enough for some people to be in trouble for. This movement addresses crime within our own communities all the time as well. Many people bring up “Black on Black crime” (and completely ignore “white on white crime”) to deflect from a major point and justify the mistreatment of Black people by law enforcement without taking into account that, for one, people are more likely to commit crimes against those in their communities regardless of race. Moreover, they also ignore the fact that it was due to white people that many of these communities are segregated. Shortly after this movement gained traction and expanded into a space where Black people could educate one another, share pertinent information about current events, and be an avenue for self-love, it was demonized and considered divisive. People feel like Black Lives Matter is excluding all other races from the conversation, but it is not. It is highlighting the issues that Black people face while also exploring the issues other minorities face and addressing them (for example people locked in cages at our border and issues in Yemen).
People who have sought to silence the Black Lives Matter movement have come up with several iterations of ______ Lives Matter. For example, “All Lives Matter” gained much steam shortly after Black Lives Matter began to become more popular. Some people felt Black Lives Matter was divisive without taking into account that Black lives have historically been shown to mean less than other groups. Instead of All Lives Matter supporters joining in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement they chose to side with the people who are disproportionately killing us: law enforcement. They made their stance against Black Lives Matter and do not do the work necessary to prove the message they are portraying. Some people assume that they are being inclusionary when they do this, but it is actually being used by racist people to silence Black Lives Matter and depict Black Lives Matter as a device to incite a race war. To put it simply, Black Lives Matter is not to say that ONLY Black lives matter, but that Black lives matter TOO. In addition, although this movement is largely focused on police brutality, this movement tackles other issues that negatively affect the Black community as well. Do not try to depict this movement as a one-trick pony in an effort to discredit the movement designed to protect Black people and people of color.
Black Lives Matter, for most Black people, has expanded and seeks to shed light on not just Black deaths, but the experiences that come with being Black in America. Black people are more likely to have the police called on them for innocuous reasons. Additionally, Black people’s interactions with police are more likely to be negative. There are far too many videos that I have seen of Black people having guns pointed at them or just being brutalized while they are being compliant and operating within their rights (available upon request). A lot of people are focused on the number of people generally who die by the hands of police but not the overall interactions or rate at which certain groups of people are killed. Black people are three times more likely to be killed in interactions with the police. We all know about the “Karen” meme that is going around where a white woman will call the police on someone for doing something innocuous. I am not going to lie to you all: that frightens me because it is possible that I, or someone in my family, can be killed for doing absolutely nothing. Furthermore, this should not be a competition to see whose race has more deaths. There are people whose human rights are being violated. Stand in solidarity with us to make sure we decrease numbers of those killed across the board. I am completely aware that there are instances where police are truly in danger and they must use lethal force to protect themselves, but there is no justification for anyone who is not a lethal threat, Black or not, to be killed and their murderer not given proper punishment. A few examples of this that you may look up are Breonna Taylor and Elijah McClain. Somebody could perceive me as a threat and now I am a suspect for just existing in a space they feel I do not belong.
It is idiotic to say every single police officer is racist or bad. However, the police as a whole has had a poor record of holding each other accountable for wrongdoings. For example, I recently came across a story about 3 police officers in Wilmington, North Carolina who were recently fired for making racist comments while on the job. One of them, referencing Black people, said he wanted to “Wipe them off the (expletive) map.” This is an example of police properly getting rid of people who are not truly there to protect everyone. However, these are people who once held the power to enforce the law and kill people with their own discretion. They are not the first, nor the last, officers who feel similarly. I am seeking accountability and reform within the police departments because who do you call when those who are sworn to protect you are the ones putting you in danger?
In response to the exhaustive amount of cases we have seen regarding police brutality against Black people, we have seen more and more protests emerging. After the murder of George Floyd, there was an overwhelming number of protests that were accompanied by riots and looting. Do not acknowledge rioting and looting without also acknowledging the peaceful protests – they are not one and the same. I have seen many people bring up Martin Luther King Jr. as an example of how to “properly” protest. People who have properly studied Dr. King know that he said, “A riot is the language of the unheard.” It seems very disgusting that some people have been angrier about the rioting than they have ever been about police brutality and other blatant racism that has persisted in this country well before the recent riots. Police have been shown attacking medical personnel, destroying protestor resources, inciting violence, and only enforcing strict curfews on Black Lives Matter protestors, shooting tear gas and rubber bullets into peaceful crowds indiscriminately, and tampering with evidence of their crimes: illegal use of excessive force, turning off body cameras, and planting bricks in urban areas to incite riots. Black people have been fighting for equality for over 400 years and we are tired!
Black people only make up 13.4% of the population, so in order to enact change, we need more than just us on our side. We are in desperate need of allies and I call upon all of you to be that for us. I could sit here and explain how America has systemically held Black people back for all these centuries, but I am not a Black history professor so I will not do the research for you. I will, however, point you in the right direction. For the readers out there, starting with The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander would be a good starting point, and for those who like to watch information via video, Netflix has many movies and shows that explain Black history and/or the current plight of Black people without sugar-coating it. There is a YouTube video that I urge you to watch called Driving While Black pt.3 by Swoozie. He details his personal experience and includes more of the ideas that many other Black people share in regard to police reform that I did not get to touch on. There are also several articles that list out other useful books, articles, and films to engage with to help build your understanding of Black history and the importance of this movement.
I hope this helps everyone gain clarity about some of the things that have been going on. I am sorry it took me this long to speak on all of this. It is because of all of you that I feel comfortable enough to address these issues as bluntly as I am. I did this to keep a Black person’s voice in the discussion as I take a step back to focus on school. I did not want another four years to pass before I made my stance known. I am very passionate about protecting my people and demanding justice. It is not my intent to make anyone fearful about speaking out at all. I wholeheartedly encourage tough discussions, but I will not allow the information to be presented from a racist standpoint. I also encourage those who do not understand something about Black issues to come directly to me. When ill-informed and racist ideas are spread, it hurts everything that Black people have fought for. Allow me to be the bridge that connects you to educated discussions. This was not meant to offend or call out anyone; it was solely to educate everyone at once. As I take my step back as a regular tech around here, I hope I have made you all proud and I hope to continue to do so. You all have been there through all my hardships and I can only hope that you follow me for this one, as it is extremely near and dear to my heart. Stay informed, stay healthy, and stay safe.
An anchor in urban health care
The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is built on more than 100 years of tradition and innovation in the heart of Detroit. We have grown deep roots in our city, harnessing its powerhouse hospital systems and community service organizations as vibrant, real-world training grounds for students, with an ongoing focus on social justice in health care. And our research at all levels – from undergraduates to veteran faculty members – translates into creative solutions for healthier communities.
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