Medical health professionals gathered in front of the Allen County Courthouse Saturday to protest in support of Black Lives Matter.
Kristy Richardson is a nurse practitioner in Fort Wayne and organized the protest, called White Coats for Black Lives.
She says she’s never been unaware of the problems black people face, but that seeing the video of George Floyd’s death and the protests organized by other healthcare professionals around the county inspired her to show support.
Richardson says it’s also important to discuss racial disparities in healthcare, such as the pain people of color experience not being taken as seriously and how black women are more likely to die during childbirth.
“I’m not sure that that is a reflection of how the attitudes of the healthcare providers are, but of the system as a whole with inadequate access to healthcare.”
The demonstration began at 3 p.m. on Saturday, with many people joining at the corner of Clinton and Berry in their white coats or scrubs.
At 3:45, the protestors all took a knee and observed 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence, the length of the video that recorded George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
