Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance of Health Care Unions

Humans of Partnership: Kristin Gates

Portrait of a female African American doctor, wearing a white coat

My primary role is patient-­facing. After George Floyd’s murder, I felt a greater responsibility for communicating with our staff. Our diversity and inclusion team did a 3-part series with Black employees about our experiences with discrimination. We did another one on privilege and allyship. I spoke about privilege. I thought, ‘Let's throw a monkey wrench into this discussion. Let’s take a different angle when we talk about privilege — let’s go beyond the concept of race.’ The greatest privilege is to be well-loved, to love and to add love in spaces where love has been absent.

Kristin Gates, MD, Adult and Family Medicine (Northern California)