Graduation

 

This past weekend our family drove the three hours to the impressive main campus of Mercer University in Macon for our granddaughter’s graduation from medical school. Mercer Medical School was originally founded to train physicians in family medicine, with the intent to return to practice in their rural communities. It has since morphed to prepare new physicians to practice all primary care specialties, but retains those rural roots, and that was much in evidence at commencement.

As the awarding of diplomas was about to begin the president of the university, as master of ceremonies, politely requested the audience to refrain from applause or cheering until the end of the procession of candidates, so that each name could be clearly heard. Fine, no problem, and our nine in attendance so complied. But not everyone. The Black families, or clans, splendidly dressed for the occasion in indescribable fashion, could not hold back. So as each family member crossed the stage and received his or her diploma, their crowd whooped it up in pride and defiance. They were not alone. Some of the obviously rural families, not quite so dazzlingly attired, made common cause.

It would be smug of us to look down on this breach of protocol, maybe even normal, but there is a flip side to be considered. In four generations of our blended family, we can now count three physicians, two lawyers, plus one in training, as well as a host of advanced degrees. And many of these professional degrees were earned at elite temples of learning such as Harvard, MIT, Duke, Emory, and Johns Hopkins.  For the perpetrators, that young doctor may well be the first in a family to attend college, let alone medical school. And, if they are returning to their roots, they are not expecting to make a boatload of money.  They are there to serve patients with little to no means, or Medicaid. So let them celebrate.

That said we are immensely proud of our own. The doctor doesn’t care about how much she makes as long as she can cover her nut. The lawyer-to-be will be the first to stand in line to provide pro-bono legal advocacy for a distressed family, and the journalist will be unafraid to root out corruption, and speak truth - and fact - to power.