Mayo physician's powerful anti-racism video featured by 'Good Morning America'

A Rochester doctor’s message of ending racism against Asian-Americans is being met with an outpouring of support from across the country.

Dr. Christina Chen, a geriatrician at Mayo Clinic, recently teamed up with California’s Dr. Audrey Cruz to recruit over a dozen Asian-American physicians from across the country to share their experiences with discrimination and hateful comments during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since the pandemic took hold of American life in March, many Asian-Americans have been confronted with racially-motivated threats and attacks brought on by misinformation and bigotry.

“These past few months, not only has the world been up-ended by a vicious pandemic, but horrendous acts of violence, hate and discrimination has also emerged from this chaos against Asians,” Dr. Chen wrote in her Instagram caption. “People have been assaulted, spit on, beaten, harassed and insulted in public. Children and families have been stabbed. This is getting worse by the day. This is NOT OKAY.” 

View this post on Instagram

These past few months, not only has the world been up-ended by a vicious pandemic, but horrendous acts of violence, hate and discrimination has also emerged from this chaos against Asians. People have been assaulted, spit on, beaten, harassed and insulted in public. Children and families have been stabbed. This is getting worse by the day. This is NOT OKAY. You know what’s the real virus in all this? Hateful words Hostile and spiteful actions Being quick to judge, blame and criticize others for something that is out of our control. It may not kill you right away, but it destroys goodness and humanity. It infects us by ruining relationships and faith in mankind. It destroys trust, love and connectedness- everything that we need right now to rebuild this world. A world that is in crisis has no room for hate. 17% of the healthcare community are Asian American, many working directly on the frontlines and risking their lives for others. This should not be happening to anyone. Any race. This video was put together along with 15 of my fellow Asian colleagues in medicine to remind us that we remain in this together. No matter what acts of discrimination we all go through, we remain committed to helping the community, uniting with each other and rising above the hate/fear. We hope you will all stand with us.

A post shared by Christy C. MD (@grey.edelweiss) on Apr 10, 2020 at 9:52am PDT

In the month since the video’s release, it has been seen roughly 30,000 times on Instagram between two separate uploads on Dr. Chen’s and Dr. Cruz’s pages. Recently, the two doctors were featured by Good Morning America, where they shed light on the purpose behind the video.

"We're hoping that this can spark fundamental changes that will occur behind the mentality of racial discrimination," Dr. Chen told GMA. "It's really important that we listen to others, and learn from others."

As the video continues to make the rounds online, both doctors behind its creation say they’ll continue to treat any patient that needs their help.

“A world that is in crisis has no room for hate,” Dr. Chen continued on Instagram. “17 percent of the healthcare community are Asian American, many working directly on the frontlines and risking their lives for others. This should not be happening to anyone. Any race.”

Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.