Between the Lines: The Origin of Auscultations

On the morning of May 26, 2020, I bounded down the stairs like I did every other day, wiping the sleep from the corner of my eyes. On with the kitchen lights and out with the dog. Breakfast, which consisted of a mug of hot water, laden with green tea; two frozen waffles, heated in the toaster oven; and a banana, sliced into even pieces. After I slathered chocolate hazelnut spread over my waffles and carefully arranged my bananas on its surface, I settled onto the couch with my food and clicked the television on to the morning news.

BREAKING NEWS

George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, had passed away the night before after sustaining fatal injuries in police custody.

As I watched the grainy video clip play across my television screen, horror erected the hairs at the nape of my neck and sent shivers down my spine. This man had pleaded for his life while three police officers wrestled him to the ground, wretched his arms behind his back, and pressed their knees into his neck. He pleaded for his life while a crowd of bystanders begged for his freedom, cell phone cameras raised high in the air. He pleaded for his life for nine whole minutes before he exhaled his last breath. He was Black, like me, and another victim to this country’s long history of systemic racism and violence.

George Floyd’s death sent ripples through our nation, quickly splintering our country into three groups: 1) those who stood with the protestors and shouted for change; 2) those who wanted to engage but needed to learn more first; and 3) those who vehemently disapproved of the shifting tides. I straddled the line between the first and second groups. Like any self-respecting millennial, I took to the internet. Anger and frustration fueled me as I documented my experiences as a first-generation Black woman on my Facebook page. To my surprise, friends and colleagues alike used my social media posts as jumping off points to share their own stories, spurring passionate conversations about adversity and social justice in the comments.

As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one using storytelling as a vehicle for change. All across the nation, well-intentioned individuals were asking their minority friends to share their unique experiences as people of color. And each request ended with a similar plea: Teach me how to be a better advocate for you. Unbeknown to them, they were putting the impedance on their friends to do “the work” for them by asking them to relive past traumas, dig through misinformation, and make themselves vulnerable to potential criticism and retaliation.

I quickly learned that what I had been doing — documenting my experiences and encouraging meaningful dialogue among my peers — had become yet another hurdle for others to jump over while wading through their own emotional baggage. While I had volunteered my stories, they had not. There is value in trading experiences, but not when they are not freely given.

Several likeminded classmates and I came together to safely bring these conversations to the UT Health San Antonio community. Each co-founder was as hungry for change as I was. Our connection to various marginalized identities tethered us together. George Floyd, and the resultant fracturing of our country, guided our mission. Our shared interest in storytelling supplied our “how.”

We called ourselves Auscultations.

At its root, auscultation simply means “to listen.” Listening is the heart of our organization. Auscultations provides a stage for willing participants from various disadvantaged backgrounds to share their stories. Audience members are able to learn from their experiences as well by anonymously submitting questions online, which are then screened and asked by our moderators. Through this process, we have created a safe space where students are both teachers and learners, orators and auricles. From struggling with mental health at the height of the COVID pandemic and paying the “minority tax” as a homosexual Hispanic male, to reconciling the hopes of the American dream with the reality of racism and persevering despite subpar pre-medical grades and MCAT scores — our community continues to grow as we enter our third year of biannual storytelling events and written featurettes.

Why storytelling? Author and activist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie summarizes it well in her 2009 TEDTalk, “The Danger of a Single Story.” Adichie argues that every person, every culture, every place, consists of many overlapping stories. Together, these stories fit together like pieces in a puzzle, revealing something unique and beautiful. Apart, they depict an incomplete image that often contributes to misunderstandings, anger, and prejudice. In short, stories are powerful. Auscultations was born from tragedy, yes, but we believe there is something to be learned from our stories.