[PT2021] Our Thoughts as We Stand Together

Tue Jun 2 20:38:12 EDT 2020

Good Evening Friends,

We will start by acknowledging that this is a lengthy email. However, we
believe that it is important for us to express ourselves fully and openly.
So, we thank you in advance for taking the time to read it in its entirety.

This has been an extremely tough week for us. Your black classmates/friends
are in pain. We are grieving and mourning. We are exhausted and drained
regarding the cycle of events that continue to take place in our country.

As you know first hand, it takes a lot of energy, motivation and resilience
to adjust our learning amongst a pandemic, while fearing for the well-being
of both ourselves and loved ones. That’s just the impact of Covid-19.
Everyone in this class has accepted that challenge together. This week, we
have an additional burden of processing and responding to a painful,
traumatic reminder of our reality of existing as a black person in America.
To be clear, this is not a new reality for us. We just have a heightened
sense of fear for ourselves and our loved ones. A normal “self-care” task
of going for a run, or driving to get groceries requires extra preparation
to somehow decrease the threat of our skin color. When we hear of Ahmaud
Arberry, Breonna Taylor, Keith Lamont Scott, George Floyd and the countless
other black lives that have been taken without justice, we weep for our
brothers, our fathers, our friends. This could have been any of them. This
could have been any of us.

So today, please hear us as we have taken the time to construct a carefully
thought out and carefully worded request to each of you:

   -

   Exercise Empathy. In the same way that we must all choose to provide
   empathy to our patients with chronic progressive diseases like MS that we
   have never experienced ourselves...we ask that you would share that empathy
   with us right now. We know that you can relate to the struggle of studying
   to a pandemic. We know that there are others who can relate to our struggle
   of being minorities in America, in our program, and in the Physical Therapy
   field. We know that you just can’t relate to the struggles of existing as
   black everyday. We hope that you will support us anyway.
   -

   Inquire and Listen FIRST. Ask us how we are doing, ask us what support
   we may need (as individuals), ask us how you can better educate yourselves
   and your communities. Ask us what action you can take.
   -

   Show up for productive conversations. We are appreciative that Dr.
   Eubanks has offered to hold spaces for the discussions that are necessary
   for all of us to move forward. Let’s take advantage of those opportunities
   for productive conversations. Please, show up to those spaces with
   questions and listening ears.

Now, we have decided to come together to express our collective pain and
needs to each of you. However, let us further illustrate for you that there
are differences among us, even at this time. The following are individual
statements constructed to expand your understanding of how each of us are
feeling right now:

   -

   Obed: During these trying times we are all facing great challenges. For
   those of us born with a darker complexion, into the black community, we
   have faced additional challenges for centuries. These patterns of behaviors
   inflicted against us in our own communities is heartbreaking. It hurts to
   see how my brothers and sisters are treated with such diminished value.
   This is supposed to be the greatest country in the world, and yet 14% of
   its citizens are forced to walk the streets with hesitation and fear. I
   understand that this is not new information to anyone, and this has been an
   ongoing theme for many decades. The more often these painful circumstances
   occur and the closer they get to your black students, the greater the toll
   it takes on us mentally and physically. While pursuing my undergraduate
   degree in Charlotte, there was an unjust killing of a black man by a law
   enforcement officer just 100 yards from my home and about 300 yards from my
   school. During my first year at Campbell one of my best friends got killed
   by a white drunk driver, and justice has yet to be served. And now we face
   another very real and unjust killing of a man that looks like my brother,
   my father, and myself. Yet, we see the justice system give a “fair trial”
   to mass murderers, serial killers, and rapists. I do understand and greatly
   appreciate that there are great law enforcements and citizens in our
   country that choose to be educated and risk their lives to serve and
   protect. Day after day, news after news, statistic after statistic, it just
   seems like there are too many bad apples in the system that are not held
   accountable for their repeated behaviors and choice to act on their
   personal hatred towards people that look like me. The feeling of being
   disregarded when you have been crying and weeping for your community and
   for your voice to be heard is hurtful. I understand that my fight as a
   doctorate student is a little different than others in my community, but
   the pain, trauma, paranoia, and feeling of helplessness is very much the
   same.
   -

   D’jsha: “Instead of being colorblind, we need to become ethnicity aware
   in order to address the beauty and brokenness in our ethnic stories and the
   stories of others. But this is a road with treacherous ditches and
   potential roadblocks and conversations full of tension, confusion,
   accusation, pain and shame. Some of us represent the oppressed or the
   oppressor, ethnic enemies, or strangers (excerpt from Beyond Colorblind). ”
   This quote reminds me that navigating this territory is difficult not only
   for me but for you as well. However, I want to start the conversation to
   change the narrative that is so loudly presenting itself in my reality. As
   a black woman, I am grieving and mourning during this time. Seeing innocent
   black men and women consistently losing their life to police brutality has
   taken a toll on me. Everyday I am reminded of the truth that my life could
   be the next hashtag or the life of someone I love. Many of you are aware of
   the pain I’ve experienced since my sister’s death during my time in this
   program. That reality is only one thing on a list of other attacks I
   experience regularly.  Being black in America is hard and if you’re not
   careful it will weigh you down and tear you apart. I desperately try to
   cope effectively so that I don’t spiral out of control by the hatred hurled
   my way. All I ask is that you consider your black classmates and realize
   that we can’t control the things that directly affect us. We work
   incredibly hard to respond appropriately but it’s hard and honestly it
   seems pointless at times. We need to know that you see us and that you care
   for us because the world from our perspective is lonely and threatening.
   -

   Jalecia: We all have our own individualized responses to mourning and
   grieving. I am aware that my grieving process looks and feels different
   than that of every individual. With that being said, I am also aware that
   this time of grieving and mourning is difficult for both you and me. With
   every new occurrence of injustice in my black community, the anger,
   frustration, hurt, and fear resurfaces with a magnification of intensity.
   We are not only constantly fighting for change, but we are also fighting
   for healing of a wound that seems impossible to remedy. While I was raised
   not to walk in fear, it is inevitable for me not to fear for my life and
   the lives of those that I love—my father, uncles, cousins, and my host of
   family and friends that look like me.  What we are experiencing right now
   is not exclusive to the current state of our nation. The subject of our
   conversations, the content displayed by the media, and the message being
   conveyed by my kind has been an issue that extends well beyond my
   existence. Despite the physical, emotional, and mental toll that being a
   black woman takes on me, I still desire to successfully learn, be engaged,
   and to be completely present. However, I am exhausted and my ability to
   focus is relentlessly disturbed. I also want to feel safe during my
   “normal” life activities. Not only is this my reality, but I am the
   daughter, granddaughter, niece, cousin, and friend of those who have
   experienced, firsthand, the trauma that we all currently speak of. While my
   colleagues and I are making a fervent effort to process, respond, and live
   we ask that you hear your black students and consider taking a moment to
   think about our individual experiences and needs during this time.
   -

   Monique: On Tuesday, May 26th, I witnessed a traumatic death of a man
   that looks like my father. That night, and until this day, my sleep
   schedule and my appetite became whatever my grieving heart dictated. I was
   already more afraid knowing that he often walks in our predominantly white
   neighborhood every day. My ability to focus became severely diminished. I
   want to go for a walk in rural NC, but fear diminishes the mental health
   benefits of a normal “self-care” task. I want to feel safe going to the
   grocery store. I am taking every precaution to stay free of Covid-19, but
   there is nothing I can do to socially distance from my blackness. That
   takes a mental, emotional and physical toll on me. On Tuesday, May 26th, I
   also wrote an open letter
   <https://theexamplegen.com/2020/05/27/an-open-letter/> on my blog that
   has been sparking constructive conversations between my mother and her
   colleagues. Although my blog is clearly faith-driven, I have provided a
   link here, so that you have an opportunity to further understand my
   perspective, despite your personal beliefs.

We would like to leave you with the following resources and book
recommendations to assist in a better understanding of the current climate
of our country, and the way that your peers, professors and patients are
affected.

   -

   Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They’re Okay — Chances Are They’re
   Not
   <https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/05/9841376/black-trauma-george-floyd-dear-white-people>
   -

   White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
   -

   Black Man in a White Coat by Damon Tweedy
   -

   Beyond Colorblind by Sarah Shin
   -

   Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King Jr.
   -

   No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu
   -

   Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
   -

   Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? By Beverly
   Daniel Tatum
   -

   Radical Reconciliation by Allan Aubrey Boesak and Curtiss Paul DeYoung
   -

   Advocating for Justice: An Evangelical Vision for Transforming Systems
   and Structures by Stephen Offutt
   -

   Roadmap to Reconciliation by Brenda Salter McNeil

Thank you for reading, as we know this was a lengthy email. Still, it is
only a summary of what we are processing right now.

With very heavy hearts.

Sincerely,

Monique Jones, Jalecia Faison, D’jsha Daniels, Obed Mulenda

Campbell University Doctor of Physical Therapy, Class of 2021
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