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Using History to Understand His Story

7/6/2020

16 Comments

 
Your Favorite PT: Using History to Understand His Story 
 
It’s okay to NOT be okay. 
In all honesty, recent events have been heavy. As a clinician, I’ve struggled with maintaining my composure as the world around me seemingly crumbled. There are feelings of anger and hurt from a multitude of situations that were blatantly unjust. A healthcare worker like myself sleeping at home and brutally murdered? An innocent man with a knee to his neck killed over $20? Watching helplessly, I witnessed a horrific 9-minute video that left me numb.  As uncomfortable as it makes me by saying it, I am all too familiar with these type of wrongdoings against people that look like me. However, this time was different. The entire world was watching. 
 
I drew a line in the sand.
After hearing responses to the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd from my peers and different media platforms, I realized I needed to know where the people in my life stood.  In my eyes, you either viewed these killings as being right or wrong. Any attempt at justifying these deaths, in my eyes, was unacceptable. After finding myself in hour long discussions and debates about racial injustices, I was forced to face a reality I had often rationalized in my own way. I was faced with numbers and statistics that outlined a culture of systemic racism that was much bigger than the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. I somehow ended up giving testimonies of a lifetime while explaining my personal experiences that were very unsettling to hear out loud. 
 
Silence ensures that history repeats itself
I knew what I experienced was not right. Those in my community have always spoken up about these issues. Our protests of being ill-treated were continuously met with rebuttals as many of our white counterparts failed to acknowledge relevant parts of black history that were not taught by the education system. I was met with statements like “slavery has been long gone”. “Schools are no longer segregated” and “my parents came here from another country with nothing but the clothes on their back and they became successful, why can’t you?” There are plenty of remarkable stories of families coming to the U.S. to fulfill what they considered the ‘’American Dream.’’ This dream was rudely interrupted for African Americans in so many ways. Even something as grandiose as the US economy, was built off the enslavement of Africans. We had to persuade the country that a proudly boasted confederate flag is a reminder of how the South's slaveowners valued their wealth over my ancestors’ freedom. 
 
After a little Windex, the window is a little clearer now
It wasn’t clear why I never questioned the other side of the story when learning about this country’s history and how it pertained to me as an individual. In retrospect, I am more “woke” to the discrepancies of what was taught in grade school. I ask now, what happened to the people who were outwardly against de-segregating schools?  What happened to the bankers who refused offer home loans to blacks? What happened to the whites that felt an African American could not drink from the same water fountain as them? What about the nearly 5000 people lynched between 1882-1968 as a way to oppress black people after they were freed from slavery? People that were on the wrong side of history didn’t magically disappear just because we had anti-discrimination laws passed 55 years ago. If you were born then, you haven’t even reached retirement yet.  I ask my peers. What side of line were your parents on? If you don’t know, find out.
 
We’re here. Now what?
I am angry. I am hurt. I am disgusted. However, I am so proud of the support I have received and seen abroad. I have had friends reach out to me to openly express their stance on racial injustice and to let me know they are here for me. I have had my work organization as a whole take a stand and construct actionable steps to tackle a concern of systemic racism. I have had coworkers organize and create department wide conversations that not only aim at identifying problems but, brainstorm how we can do our part to address this matter. For the first time in my life, I feel my struggles as a person of color are being recognized as a topic that is important to both individuals inside and outside of my community.  Countless people are refusing to let this be a fad or allow the amount of news coverage guide their efforts. 
 
His Story
I became a healthcare practitioner to help my family in times of need, such as assisting my mother after surgery or advocating for my uncle after he sustained a stroke. Over the years, there have been efforts to address racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. Did you know that black people between the ages of 45 and 54 die of strokes at a rate that's three times greater than their white counterparts? Did you know black women and white women get breast cancer at about the same rate, but black women die from breast cancer at a rate 40% higher than white women? My call to action for you is to educate yourself and advocate for those in need who are at risk of falling victim to systemic racism. 
 
16 Comments
Sarah Glick
7/7/2020 09:05:08 am

Thank you for your powerful post, Chris. As our buddy Ben said... "the Black Lives Matter movement is not a fashion accessory". Appreciate your words and for sharing your feelings and experiences.

Reply
Chris Thurston
7/7/2020 09:59:52 am

Thank you for reading Sarah. That quote resonated with me. I’m grateful for all that you are doing. What you’ve accomplished thus far has been amazing. Keep it coming.

Reply
Emily Schultz
7/7/2020 05:53:21 pm

Your call to action is powerful. I hope many
More hear this important message

Reply
Chris Thurston
7/7/2020 06:24:47 pm

Thank you Emily. So do I.

None of us have been perfect up to this point, but we all can make the decision to be on the right side of history by educating ourselves and taking action.

Reply
Annemay Lelis
7/7/2020 05:55:20 pm

Wonderful post Chris. We hear you, we stand by you, and let’s continue to educate ourselves and others.

Reply
Chris Thurston
7/7/2020 06:32:02 pm

Thank you Annemay. Knowing I’m not in this fight alone means the world to me!

You are appreciated.

Reply
Andrea Wood
7/7/2020 07:17:13 pm

Thank you for being so open and sharing your feelings. Just spending two weeks next to you in the clinic made me want to learn from you. Your warmness and kindness really shows just spending five minutes around you. I am excited to keep reading your content! Great message!

Reply
Chris Thurston
7/7/2020 08:14:10 pm

Andrea, thank you for your kind words! We can definitely learn from each other. You have such a unique perspective that could take these discussions to another level. I’m looking forward to your input!

Reply
Maxine, a grateful PT client
7/7/2020 08:22:19 pm

Thankyou so much Chris. This is a powerful message. The world needs your voice. Thankyou so much for sharing your very profound and important wisdom.

Reply
Chris Thurston
7/7/2020 08:47:17 pm

Maxine. Thank you! I’m so glad to hear my words are not just relevant to the physical therapy community. We will continue to strive to get better and hopefully learn from our mistakes along the way.

Reply
Richard Martinez
7/10/2020 06:42:31 pm

Hi Chris,

Thank you for sharing this post. It is inspiring and enlightening to hear your voice on this issue. As you mentioned, it is greatly important to understand the historical events that was not taught in grade school and use that knowledge to stand against the systemic racism ingrained in our culture. I stand with you.

-Rich

Reply
Chris Thurston
7/10/2020 07:21:30 pm

Thank you Richard! It is truly humbling to know how much support I have from those around me. I really appreciate it.

We’ve taken steps in the right direction by creating an awareness of the fallacies related to the prevalence of systemic racism. It’s now on us to do our part and hold ourselves accountable.

Reply
Jannifer Lee
7/19/2020 09:10:43 pm

Hello Chris...A heartfelt post. I appreciate the passion as
a person and clinician. Continue to sound the alarm. I'm standing with you.

Reply
Chris Thurston
7/19/2020 09:56:00 pm

Thank you!! It’s greatly appreciated. The support I’ve received from this post has been very encouraging. It’s great to see us all pull together to do what’s right and well overdo.

Reply
Jaconica Barnes
7/20/2020 11:12:35 am

Thank you for a great message. These are words that needed to be spoken to those that have an ear, let us hear.

Reply
Chris Thurston
7/20/2020 12:23:44 pm

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to use my voice and my actions to keep the message alive.

Reply



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