-McKenzie has got to go!
-It has been terrifying living in this world
as a black mother of a black son and a black daughter.
-When George Floyd called for his mother,
that struck a fire for us
because that primal connection between a child and mother
is one that supercedes all connections.
-As a physician right now, receiving praise,
especially during this COVID pandemic,
it feels like living a double life.
-We felt that our hands were tied.
We could not leave our offices
and leave our hospitals to go participate in a protest.
So we felt like we had to do something.
-Hands up! -Don't shoot!
♪♪
-We are McStuffin Mommies.
-We are a collective of nearly 1,200 women physicians of color.
-1,200 women physicians of color who are also mothers.
-Daily we leave our homes and tend to minds, bodies,
and souls to heal them and make them better regardless of color.
-With a smile, we perform physicals on tow-headed boys
who look like Dylann Roof, then come home and wince in fear
when our sweet little boys smile
with that small gap in the front like Ahmaud Arbery.
-Cheerfully, we set broken bones of men
with a sprinkling of gray hair like Derek Chauvin,
then anxiously hold our breaths
when our husbands stand tall in dapper black suits
and leave our homes like George Floyd.
-We hold the hands and deliver the babies
of precious young women like Amy Cooper,
then admonish our sons to never leave the house alone
and always have a witness
when speaking to strange women who do not look like us,
their sisters, or their grandmothers.
-Anxiously, we teach our curly-haired boys
that if those women raise an alarm
to keep their hands up, eyes down,
voices low when speaking to those they may summon.
-With determined efficiency, we restart the hearts of obese,
red-haired men like Travis McMichael.
-Then feel like our stomach twist in knots
when our daughters complete their applications
for EMT training like Breonna Taylor.
-We remain committed to our oath
to provide the best medical care possible
to every patient that every crosses our paths.
-Regardless of their station in life,
their religious affiliation, their color.
-We do this while we look at our beautiful brown children
with the crushing reality
that this world will never afford them
that same level of equanimity and grace.
-For 8 minutes and 46 seconds, we saw,
but most of all, we heard.
-We heard 114 words.
-Two that pierced our souls.
Two cries for Mama.
-We heard our boys.
We heard our girls.
We heard in that moment that no matter
how many lives we may save,
there are so many others willing to take the lives we made.
-Make a promise to us, America.
-Not gonna say hi?
-We made a promise to care for your children.
-Make a promise to us to do better by our children.
-Allow us to breathe.
♪♪