Touro Nevada Campus Community Comes Together for “Walk for Justice”
The Touro University Nevada community peacefully marched through Downtown Henderson during the “Walk for Justice” on June 19.
The Walk for Justice was held on Juneteenth, the anniversary commemorating the emancipation of the last remaining slaves of the Confederacy. Touro University Nevada CEO & Senior Provost Shelley Berkley, and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, delivered opening remarks.
Wearing Juneteenth t-shirts, more than 100 members of the Touro Nevada community made the half-mile walk to City Hall to show their commitment to social justice. Participants held up signs throughout the walk, including “Black Lives Matter” and “Med Students for Black Lives.”
Once the group reached City Hall, Henderson Mayor Debra March, Police Chief Thedrick Andres, and second-year medical student Paulina Awuah thanked the participants for joining in the Walk for Justice.
“Everyone doesn’t have to do everything, but we can all do something to address these issues,” Awuah said.
Paul Gentle II, a 2019 graduate of the Masters of Science in Medical Health Sciences Program (MHS) and in incoming first-year student in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, said the Walk for Justice was a great experience and an important event for Touro to hold.
“Being an African-American man, Juneteenth holds a lot of significance to me,” he said. “I’m happy to see that across the world, people are realizing just how much social injustices are affecting our communities. I really appreciate that Touro and the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) put this event together.”
Tava McGinty-Jimenez, Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Office of Admissions, discussed the importance of the campus community coming together on Juneteenth.
“In true Touro fashion, we brought several groups of people together; different races, ethnicities, and religious backgrounds, to celebrate a day that isn’t just Black history, but American history,” she said. “Today, we took the time to engage with each other and get educated from our community leaders while still keeping ourselves safe and healthy during COVID-19. It was an amazing experience.”
