Miami Doctor Among So Many Black Lives Touched By Racism

MIAMI, FL — When Dr. Naima Stennett was pulling 14-hour shifts as a first- and second-year resident at Jackson Health, she was treated like any other medical professional, but when she took off her white coat for the day and went home, she was touched by the ugly menace of racism like so many other black lives in America.

"I actually had a white neighbor who called the police on me 12 times and I have records of it," the 30-year-old family medicine specialist shared with Patch on the day George Floyd was eulogized by the Rev. Al Sharpton over a shiny gold casket: "You changed the world George," the minister proclaimed.

But the doctor is not so sure Floyd's death will bring lasting change to America. She still can't bring herself to watch the painful video of the former high school football star laying on a Minneapolis street as he endured 8 minutes and 46 seconds begging for the simple right to take a breath under the weight of a police officer's fleshy knee pressed deep into his neck while three other officers stood by.

"This is not the first, second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth time we have had images of police brutality that has resulted in death," Stennett explained. "I personally — I’m traumatized — and I can no longer watch these videos any more."

Stennett said medical professionals see the racial disparity for black and brown lives every day in America, whether it be the disproportionate effect of the new coronavirus on minorities, or the difference in access to health care and even the education system that produces fellow physicians.

"In medicine, we always talk about protecting one’s airway. I can only imagine what it felt like to have that kind of pressure, and basically have your oxygen being deprived," the doctor said of Floyd. "I can’t even begin to imagine. But I personally cannot watch the video."

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Having grown up in Jamaica, she moved to America when she was 16 and completed her undergraduate studies by age 20. Then, it was off to medical school.

"My focus during school was finishing school as well as playing volleyball," she said. "I didn't really get the whole social aspect of this country until later on."

At 27, she moved from North Carolina to Miami for the chance to perform her residency at Florida's largest public health system and one of the largest in the country. She is also specializing in sports medicine.

More than 100 of her colleagues — doctors, nurses and other health care workers from Jackson —took part in an event called White Coats for Black Lives outside Holtz Children's Hospital on Thursday.

Some of the peaceful protesters carried signs and took a knee to honor Floyd's memory while some like Stennett reflected on their own struggles with racism. The event was organized by the Committee of Interns and Residents.

"I think it's important that we stand together as physicians, because at the end of the day, we are the ones taking care of those who are protesting who indeed get injured," the doctor said. "We're the ones who are taking care of those who are affected by violence from the police. We're the ones who take care of our community, and Jackson is a hub for minorities — not only minorities, but those who are disproportionately impoverished."

Now, three weeks away from graduation, Stennett still can't shake her experience with her white neighbor even though she and he both have since moved from the upscale condominium building that sits along the Miami River about a mile away from the Jackson Health complex.

"I really think I suffer from PTSD," the doctor said of the numerous confrontations. "He said that I would party in my condo. Now, I'm a medical physician. I work 13 hours a day. There's no way — I'm not that cool — that I would be partying all day."

She reported the harassment to the condo association but they did nothing. She even received complaints from the building while she was working at the hospital.

"I would get emails while I'm in the emergency room working that can you please tone it down," she confided. "I would shoot them an email: This is my schedule. This is where I am physically located. I'm not at home, therefore it could not be coming from my apartment."

Finally, she turned to the court for help, but the response was disappointing. She would have to be facing physical harm to obtain a restraining order against her neighbor. She received a letter at one point from an attorney representing the building warning her that she would be asked to leave the building if she failed to comply with the rules.

"Every month the police would show up at my door," the doctor said. "Every time, I see a police car driving, and I see blue lights, my heart skips a beat."