“It sucks to be Black!” exclaimed a non-minority epidemiologist colleague to our class of graduate students. Why would someone think that is ever appropriate to say about anyone, but especially in a professional setting? We are tired of the off-color comments. We are tired of seeing statements from organizations about being against racism. We are tired of vilification of peaceful protesters, and tired of having to be the police for diversity. But, more than anything, we are tired of the tolerance of wrong things. Everyone is dealing with the stress of the pandemic: health scares, more people at home, physical separation, layoffs, furloughs, decreased compensation, etc. Unfortunately, the stress for people of color is even greater. The Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1900s got rid of overt segregation, but the racial protests over the past 50 years indicate that racism is not just past history. In our recent experience, minority medical staff have been referred to as a “posse” and b...
