Black doctor goes viral after pleading with people to respect him in both his hoodies and his scrubs
A black doctor is going viral on Tik Tok for calling out racist stereotypes about clothing. He showed himself in his hospital scrubs and a hoodie, pleading with people to respect him in both — and now, other doctors are following suit.
Dr. Emeka Okorocha, a 27-year-old from London, said he's highlighting the disproportionate effects clothing choices have on people of color, especially during the coronavirus pandemic and widespread protests against police brutality.
In a now-viral TikTok video, Okorocha shows himself smiling in his blue medical scrubs before switching to a clip of him looking more serious in a black Nike hoodie.
"If you celebrate me in my scrubs, don't hate me in my hoodie," he wrote. "No to racism. No to discrimination."
Okorocha set the video to Childish Gambino's, "This is America," which discusses gun violence and racism.
@doctor.emeka ##blacklivesmatter ##notoracism ##fyp ##viral ##foryoupage ##important ##message ##video
♬ Childish Gambino - This Is America / Post Malone - Congratulations - carneyval_
The video comes as medical workers are routinely praised for fighting on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, and as protests against racial inequality following the death of George Floyd have erupted nationwide.
Okorocha said people shouldn't pick and choose when to support black people. "Don't love [us] just when its trendy or convenient. Love us when it's hard, when you may be criticized when you may be scared or embarrassed" he wrote on Instagram. "That's when we really feel you stand with us."
"I don't want to be clapped for and celebrated when I have my scrubs and PPE on only to see myself and others who look just like me racially profiled for wearing a simple hoody," he added.
Hoodies have been one of the symbols of the movement since Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman in 2012, after he was described as looking "suspicious" in a "dark hoodie." Martin was 17 years old.
Other doctors have since joined in on the trend. Some have added their own twist on the second half, writing, "Don't hate me in my hoodie," "Don't fear me in my hoodie," "Don't profile me in my hoodie" and "Don't shoot me in my hoodie."