UMass Memorial staff, CEO hold Black Lives Matter rally

Photo | Grant Welker A Black Lives Matter protest was held Friday by staff outside the UMass Memorial Medical Center and UMass Medical School in Worcester

Photo | Grant Welker Dr. Meme Tran, left, the organizer of a Black Lives Matter rally, and Dr. Eric Dickson, the president and CEO of the UMass Memorial Health Care system

Photo | Grant Welker A Black Lives Matter protest was held June 5 by staff outside the UMass Memorial Medical Center and UMass Medical School in Worcester

Photo | Grant Welker A Black Lives Matter protest was held Friday by staff outside the UMass Memorial Medical Center and UMass Medical School in Worcester

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By Grant Welker

A few hundred UMass Memorial Medical Center staff, including the hospital system's CEO, stood for 10 minutes outside the Worcester hospital Friday in support of racial equality at a time when Black Lives Matter protests are being held around the world in response to the police killing of Minneapolis black man George Floyd.

The protest took place with everyone spaced apart in an illustration bridging two crises: racial unrest and an ongoing coronavirus pandemic that's still forcing people to stand physically apart. Despite emotion shown by many participants afterward, there were no hugs and no handshakes.

Most wore white lab coats and nearly all wore masks. Some held signs reading "Black Lives Matter" and "White Coats for Black Lives." A few kneeled during a moment of silence spanning 10 minutes, slightly longer than the eight minutes and 46 seconds that a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on the neck of Floyd, whose death on May 25 has kicked off protests about racial inequality worldwide.

Dr. Meme Tran, the daughter of a Vietnamese refugee who grew up in Worcester, organized the protest in an effort that started only on Wednesday. A friend posted to Facebook about similar rallies in health care taking place Friday, and she quickly reached out to administrators, police and others to get a gathering together.

“I was like, 'Oh my gosh, we have to do this. There’s no way we can’t,'" she said in an interview. “It was an amazing turnout.”

Tran, using a bullhorn, advocated for donations to Black Lives Matter organizations, running for office to help end racism, or to vote for candidates to campaign on platforms to end racism.

"In the past few months," she said, "we have organized and mobilized an aggressive response against a huge public health crisis: COVID-19. Let's use the lessons we learned to organize and mobilize our campaign against the public health crisis of racism."

Tran, who works in emergency medicine, lauded the hospital system and medical school for fighting against racism, particularly to UMass Memorial Health Care President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson, who she said has been outspoken about reinforcing UMass Memorial will work to ensure equity among workers and patients.

Tran was joined by UMass Medical School Chancellor Dr. Michael Collins, Dr. Terence Flotte, the dean of the School of Medicine, and Clanford Pierce, the UMass Medical School police chief and director of public safety. Each approached Tran afterward to offer support. Dr. Michael Gustafson, the president of UMass Memorial Medical Center, also attended.

“You are so cool. Great job," Dickson said.

"It’s a disease, and we have to fight it the same way," Dickson said of racism. "We haven’t cured COVID, and we haven’t cured this.”

“Anything you need, Meme," Pierce said, stopping by a minute later.