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I arrived in the US from Kingston, Jamaica
in the summer of '68.
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My family of six crammed into a small,
two-bedroom apartment
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in a three-story walkup in Brooklyn.
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The block had several children --
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some spoke Spanish,
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some spoke English.
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Initially, I wasn't allowed
to play with them
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because my parents said,
"Them too rambunctious" --
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(Laughter)
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so I could only watch them from my window.
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Rollerskating was one of their
favorite activities.
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They loved hitching a ride
at the back of the city bus,
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letting go of the rear bumper
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as the bus arrived
at the bottom of the block
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right in front of my building.
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One day there was a new girl with them.
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I heard the usual squeals of laughter
interspersed with, "Mira, mira!
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Mira, mira!"
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Spanish for, "Look, look!"
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The group grabbed onto the back
of the bus at the top of the block,
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and as they rolled down laughing
and screaming, "Mira, mira, mira"
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the bus abruptly stopped.
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The experienced riders adjusted
and quickly let go,
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but the new girl lurched back
and fell onto the pavement.
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She didn't move.
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The adults outside ran to help her.
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The bus driver came out to see
what had happened
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and call for an ambulance.
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There was blood coming from her head.
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She didn't open her eyes.
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We waited for the ambulance,
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and waited,
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and never once said, "Where is
the ambulance?
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Where is the ambulance?"
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The police finally arrived.
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An older black American said,
"Ain't no ambulance coming."
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He said it again loudly to the cop:
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"You know ain't no ambulance coming.
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They never send no ambulance here."
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The cop looked at my neighbors
who were getting frustrated,
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lifted the girl into the patrol car
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and left.
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I was 10 years old at the time.
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I knew this wasn't right.
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I knew that there was something
more we could do.
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Something I could do was become a doctor.
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I became an internest
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and committed my career to caring
for those we often call the underserved,
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the vulnerable,
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like those neighbors I had
when I first immigrated to America.
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During my early training years
in Harlem in the 80's,
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I saw a shocking increase
in young men with HIV.
closed TED
