Photo courtesy of Esther Lauren
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JUNE 5-11, 2020 5
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Esther Lauren, a registered
nurse and Queens resident,
went from caring for COVID-19
patients to offering care for individuals
who may be in need during
the Black Lives Matter protests
happening in Queens and
elsewhere in New York City.
Initially, Lauren wanted to
support the movement by donating
and spreading awareness,
as she’s been working non-stop
for months assisting COVID-19
patients. The protests — demanding
justice and accountability
from police as well as an
end to the systemic racism that
has let police brutality persist —
were sparked after Minneapolis
Black man, George Floyd, was
killed by white Police Officer
Derek Chauvin, who pressed
his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost
nine minutes after he was
already arrested and on the
ground.
But as Lauren continued
watching the news and social
media posts, she changed her
mind.
“It doesn’t make sense, when
you’re someone who is always
working with your hands, to
just sit at home,” Lauren said.
“My best skill set are my hands
and nursing people back to
health. That’s literally what I do
for a living. So I said, ‘you know
what, I’m going to get involved,
and just help in that aspect, use
the resources that I have and
the knowledge that I have to do
that.'”
The 25-year-old carries medical
supplies with her to take
care of wounds, as she says it’s
important to minimize bleeding
in the first 30 minutes of an open
wound, and help with hydration
(water bottles, granola bars and
Vitamin C packets).
Lauren said that while it’s
important to wear masks and
gloves, having healthy meals
and taking vitamins before protesting
should also be a priority,
being that we’re still in a pandemic.
“You want to prevent yourself
from ending up in the hospital,”
she said, noting that the
warmer weather may cause
some people to lose balance or
pass out if they’re not properly
hydrated.
While some people worry
the protests will spread the
virus, Lauren’s experience as
an essential worker — which
involves taking crowded public
transportation and not working
from home like many others
have during New York state’s
stay-at-home order — puts her
in a different position.
“I’ve done my part in terms
of staying away from my friends,
I have stayed away from large
groups up until now,” she said,
adding that she mostly fears for
her mother, who’s also a nurse.
“It’s not that you’re not afraid,
but you just can’t live like that
because, at the end of the day,
I still have to get up and go to
work and do what I need to do.”
Data reveals that Black people,
who are most of the people
organizing and protesting, are
not only contracting COVID-19
at higher rates than the rest of
the population, but are also dying
from the disease at higher
rates than the rest of the population,
in New York and the whole
nation.
Knowing this, they’re still
risking their lives not only because
of what happened to Floyd,
but because of the police brutality
that took the lives of Louisville’s
Breonna Taylor and David
McAtee, Georgia’s Ahmaud
Arbery, and countless other
Black people in recent years.
In New York, Lauren sees
this moment as a “collection of
frustrations.”
“There was already a disparity
going on with the actual virus,”
Lauren said. “New Yorkers
have been inside for two months.
A lot of people are not collecting
unemployment, they’ve applied
and they’re not able to actually
physically get it. And they’re
losing loved ones. They don’t
know when they’re going back
to work. And now they have to
deal with police brutality.”
Lauren’s first time participating
and aiding in the current
Black Lives Matter protests was
at the Jamaica demonstration
and later the Brooklyn marches
that led to the Manhattan Bridge
on Sunday, May 31.
Lauren feels compelled to
help so that protesters can avoid
going to hospitals or medical
centers if it comes down to it.
Queens nurse offering aid to
Black Lives Matter protesters
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