TThe United States has been wrestling through two tough conversations with itself about two pandemics, and health care workers, particularly those of colour, are living in the middle of both. BlackLivesMatter CoronavirusPandemic coronavirus Covid19
Seattle - Before the pepper spray, before the pandemonium and the torched police cars that would light up media reports the next morning, Hazzaunah Underwood was in central Seattle, peacefully protesting - and exhausted.
But she felt compelled to join the protest downtown, then other marches in days to come - despite the pandemic and its stay-home orders, and despite her own exhaustion. "I felt the risk was bigger not to go," said Tupamara "Tupi" Maestas, an OB/GYN nurse from South Seattle. "By not going, I was risking the lives of the people I care about, people of colour who are harassed and afraid to call the police, even for assistance. Both my parents came with me. We felt the benefit outweighed the risks for having our voices heard."
But Underwood says that, despite these demands, the protests have provided an unexpected surge of energy - and hope. "It took irrefutable proof," Nhi Tan, a nephrologist at the University of Washington, said at the June 6 medical workers' march. "The perfect video, the perfect camera angle, the perfect light for America to see what's going on."
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