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“This year, police have already shot and killed over 450 people, despite the lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic. The victims are disproportionately African American or Black.”

Physicians joined under the banner of “White Coats for Black Lives” rallied by Copley Square in Back Bay on Sunday. Organized by the Association of Pakistani Physicians of New England (APPNE) and the Indian Medical Association of New England (IMANE) and supported by the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA) and others, the action was “in solidarity with the movement for justice, peace and racial equality growing across the USA and internationally.” APPNE said the following in a statement about the peaceful demonstration:

Police shootings claim an average of 1000 lives a year in the USA annually. Some killings involve no weapons at all, like the knee that choked Floyd, or the elbow that suffocated Eric Garner. This year, police have already shot and killed over 450 people, despite the lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The victims are disproportionately African American or Black. Floyd’s death was “one event in a continuous system of oppression,” to quote the Rev. Graylan Hagler. “We know some names now, but there are thousands of those we do not know.”  The perpetrators are rarely, if ever, punished.

The legal doctrine of qualified immunity in United States federal law freezes the constitution, shielding police officers and other government officials from being sued by victims and families.  We stand with allies around the country and around the world to end systemic racism. #BlackLivesMatter

This article was produced in collaboration with the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.

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