Racial Awareness, If You Will

A week after the 2016 election, I rushed to Yale Law School after class to hear one of America’s most prominent health policy experts, Dr. X, give a talk on the transformation of health care. I knew, given the political climate, he would speak on the future of the Affordable Care Act. It was an intimate setting; attendees could sit on two sofas facing one another right in front of the podium or one of several chairs around the room. All of the chairs were filled first, perhaps because most attendees were intimidated by the sofas’ proximity to this oh-so-important speaker. I had no choice but to sit on one of the sofas by the time I made it inside. As I settled in and Dr. X began his talk, I realized that I was noticeably the only Black person in the room.

After Dr. X’s discussion of sophisticated health care delivery systems, it was time for questions. Sitting right in front of him, I raised my hand … then watched him continuously pick others in the audience. The moderator, one of the law school deans, was sitting across from me, and he encouraged me to keep my hand up as he watched despair settle on my face. Finally, near the end of the Q&A session, Dr. X pointed at me. As I stated that I had two questions-just like the woman who had spoken a few turns ahead of me-he interrupted, limiting me to just one, so I managed to combine them.