Medical students stage die-in to highlight Black mental health crisis in wake of police shootings
Approximately 100 UC Davis medical students participated.
University of California Davis School of Medicine students held a “die in” protest to bring attention to mental health issues that people face after police shootings, reports the Sacramento Bee.
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Stevante recently sought mental health treatment according to The New York Daily News, and met with Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg who told him it’s “nothing to be ashamed of” and “we’ll help you. Everybody wants to help you.”
The UC Davis students believe not enough has been done in the aftermath of shootings – especially in Black communities – to help people come to grips with the turmoil following such traumatic situations.
“We’re basically just standing with our community,” said Asadullah Awan, a medical student.
Awan is one of the organizers of the event and one of about 100 medical students who participated. The die-in was a part of a larger national movement. The school’s chapter of White Coats 4 Black Lives, led the die-in. It was created after the police shooting of Michael Brown and the death of Eric Garner, who died while in a police choke-hold.
The mission of White Coats 4 Black Lives is to bring attention to the public health crisis in Black communities and highlight how harmful these shootings are to mental health. They also want to bring attention to fostering efforts of equality in the medical field.
In honor of Clark, students held a cellphone in hand along with Black Lives Matter signs. Police initially said Clark had a gun in hand when they shot at him 20 times. But it was a cellphone.
“We’re demanding police accountability. We’re demanding our health care institutions do more trauma-informed care within our communities,” Awan said.
Approximately 40 medical schools around the country participated in the die-in.
