Medical students and physicians lined the sidewalk in the heart of Chattanooga's medical corridor for nine minutes of silence on Friday in a show of solidarity against racial injustice in the spirit of national protests over the killing of George Floyd.
The demonstration was spearheaded by students from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, which is based in Memphis but also has a Chattanooga campus affiliated with Erlanger Health System.
Organizers said nearly all 40 of the Chattanooga-based medical students, as well as many residents, some faculty members and hospital employees, participated in the event.
Several drivers honked their horns as they drove down Third Street between campus and Erlanger and saw people in white coats lying face down on the pavement with hands behind their backs - the position Floyd, an unarmed black man, was in when he said he couldn't breathe and then died under the weight of a white Minneapolis police officer who had his knee on Floyd's neck. His death was caught on video, a horrifying scene that lasted just under nine minutes and sparked the nationwide protest movement.
At the Chattanooga demonstration, one woman in a passing vehicle rolled down her window to tell the participants thank you, saying seeing them brought tears to her eyes.
Fourth-year medical student Daniel Peters, who heard the driver's words as he lay face down on the pavement, called the moment "emotionally rocking" and shed a few tears himself following the demonstration.
"Today was about showing solidarity and acknowledging that pain and suffering in the community," Peters said. "As a medical student, you begin to see how police brutality is a public health issue, how social determinants of health affect our future patients and disproportionately affect people of color."
Third-year medical student Devon Wade said physicians have a duty to their patients no matter their race, gender, socioeconomic status or ability to pay for health care.
"As a white man, it is impossible to have proper perspective. I hurt for our black community in mourning," Wade said. "Today was a show of solidarity and support that I hope will carry nationwide. As America's future physicians, we cannot overlook injustice. We took an oath to 'do no harm.' For Mr. George Floyd, silence is violent."
The demonstration marked the intersection of the two news events that have gripped America in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd protests. Health care workers have been recognized as heroes throughout the battle against the coronavirus.
Contact Elizabeth Fite at efite@timesfreepress.com.
