Hundreds of people came to the Idaho State Capitol in Boise Saturday to decry racial injustice in the health care system.
Speakers stressed that systemic racism fuels worse health outcomes for non-Whites. Nationally, Black Americans have died after contracting COVID-19 at twice the ratethat would be expected, given their share of the population.
Respiratory therapist Gabrielle Davis said White healthcare workers need to listen to their non-White colleagues.
“The first thing to remember is that race is not a health disparity - racism is a health disparity,” she said. “Right now in the age of COVID we know COVID it disproportionately impacts black and brown people more than any other group of people.”
The peaceful rally was led by Idaho medical professionals. Many wore white lab coats or scrubs. Speakers also highlighted police killings of Black Americans.
Addressing the crowd from the Capitol Steps, medical student and Boise native Devin Gaskins, read from his essay, Pre-Existing Condition, in which he wrote about his fears of being unjustly targeted by police.
“It is unclear at this time what event led to my death as there are many mistakes I could have made to cause it,” he said. “I may have been asking a police officer for help. I may have been in my broken down car.”
At the end of the rally, the crowd kneeled in silence for eight minutes fourty-six seconds, representing how long a Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd’s neck, killing him.
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