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(upbeat music)

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- [Tseganesh] Looking at 
me, you see how I appear

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when I enter any space.

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A youngish Black 
woman with a big smile

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and a strong handshake.

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What you don't see 
is the manifestation

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of my inner white man.

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Yes, you heard me.

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I have an inner white man.

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Joe became a part of 
my life the first time

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I put on a white coat 
in medical school.

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I had him knock first 
before we entered

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the exam room, and 
had him sit next to me

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as I took a patient history.

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I channel him often 
when I have to explain

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no, I'm not the nurse.

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Or yes, I have done 
this procedure before,

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and no, of course I 
don't mind if you talk

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to another doctor about this.

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Medicine is the space 
designed to make me feel

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alone, uninvited, and 
constantly second guessing.

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Joe is expert at protecting 
me from the questions

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about my right to be here.

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Joe can pull up a seat 
at any of the tables

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and be made to feel 
welcome, even wanted.

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Listen, Joe is not 
an internalization 
of systemic sexism

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and racism that tells me 
my worth is only based

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on a scale of whiteness, 
nor is he a demonization

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of the white male narrative.

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I know every story is different.

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But my Joe, he serves 
a dual purpose.

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He reminds me of the 
systems that I live,

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and I work in, and 
he is a powerful tool

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that I can use to thrive 
in those environments.

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For example, Joe and I looked 
in the mirror this morning.

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We made sure that this dress 
didn't show too much cleavage

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and that it didn't hug 
my hips too tightly,

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because I want to be 
judged on the content

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of my words, and not 
the shape of my body.

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Joe also reminds me to 
push back my shoulders

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and stand assured that 
my words are important,

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and my voice is worth hearing.

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My inner white man, my 
Joe, is my shorthand.

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Joe is also my systole.

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Systole is the powerful 
part of the cardiac cycle.

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Systole is this 
life-giving force

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that drives oxygen 
out of the heart

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and pushes it 
throughout the body.

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Systole is loud.

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And it often drowns out that 
brief silence of diastole.

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When I am in spaces of diastole,

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I notice that my body relaxes.

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I breathe more fully and deeply,

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and I feel myself expand 
to my fullest expression.

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My heart is full, so full,

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that I can no longer 
accommodate Joe.

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I have expanded 
beyond the spaces

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that require his presence.

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Spaces of diastole are sacred.

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And I have come to understand 
that they are formed

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through intention and labor, 
and are not happy coincidences.

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My spaces of diastole 
include my clinic.

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I walk in, I am greeted by 
nurses and fellow physicians

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that reflect my 
lived experiences.

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My patients are a tapestry 
of new and old Americans,

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woven together in a neighborhood

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that is full of 
history and promise.

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I work in a space 
where my voice, my 
story, they are enough.

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I work in diastole.

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Advocacy is systole, a 
powerful forward movement

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that seeks to make change 
on behalf of others.

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In advocacy, just as in life, 
systole requires diastole.

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If we want the energy, 
the perseverance,

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and power to seek change,

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we need spaces of diastole,

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where we can relax 
and be filled,

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where we can heal, where 
we can thrive and perform

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at our highest levels.

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We need to become 
advocates for diastole.