NINE MINUTES OF SILENCE

On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest. The video footage shows arresting officers kneeling on his neck, effectively cutting off his airways. His death has sparked the current Black Lives Matter movement, setting into motion protests and calls for equality.

On June 9th UNC Surgery held a memorial, nine minutes of silence in honor of George Floyd. The event was organized by Ivy Haskins, MD, a former minimally invasive GI fellow. The department felt that it was vital that we join in the display of solidarity seen on health care campuses across the country. Doctors, nurses, residents, fellows, and staff bowed their heads in silence, at UNC.” taking a moment from the chaos around them to join together. They knelt outside the front of UNC-Chapel Hill hospital, a line of health care workers, all masked due to COVID-19, all gathered together to show their support. The silence spoke, we hear you, and we kneel beside one another in this fight against racism.