Suzanne Barakat, MD, is no stranger to grief. Yet rather than succumbing to the heartbreak, she has moved forward with resiliency and courage, building bridges and fostering inclusivity and healing.
In 2015, when she was an intern at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, she received devastating news: Her brother, his wife and her sister had been murdered by an Islamophobic neighbor in Chapel Hill, NC. In 2017, she also lost an aunt and a cousin to assassination in Turkey. In recent months, she looked on in horror as the powerful earthquakes in Syria and Turkey have killed or displaced many of her family and friends and damaged communities. Barakat spoke out about the devastation at a recent UCSF town hall.
Through it all, Barakat has channeled her energies into action – raising awareness around the dangers of hate and how we, as a society, can heal our divisions.
Barakat, now an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and executive director of UCSF’s Health & Human Rights Initiative, answers some questions about her life as a leader in advocating for unity.
You were recently invited to the White House for a roundtable discussion on hate and Islamophobia. Can you tell us about that experience?
The roundtable discussion followed a reception at the White House to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. The listening session was part of President Biden’s interagency task force to counter bias and discrimination in the U.S. I was invited, along with 16 others, to a roundtable discussion on hate and Islamophobia. It was led by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, who has been leading a lot of antisemitism work for the administration. This was an opportunity to call for parity and build awareness around another form of racism and microaggressions – Islamophobia.
What was the outcome of this meeting?
We had great allies in the room who wanted the administration to understand three things: Islamophobia is pervasive, it is institutionalized within government, and it impacts every American. If you are Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Arab Christian or Muslim-appearing, you are impacted by this bias. We pointed out that Islamophobia, while similar to antisemitism, is different in significant ways. Islamophobia is a socially – and politically – acceptable form of bigotry that doesn’t extend to all faith traditions. For example, it would not be acceptable for a presidential candidate to make a campaign promise to implement a Jewish ban. Yet, recent calls for a Muslim ban by the same presidential candidate could potentially get him re-elected based on its success in the past.
So, we asked that there be a national strategy on Islamophobia, that President Joe Biden speak loudly from the pulpit of his presidency condemning Islamophobia, and that continued dialogue occur on this topic. Our asks were well received, with a public readout from the meeting.
This is not your first visit to the White House. You also were recognized at the United We Stand Summit as one of 16 “Uniters,” who are working to prevent acts of hate-fueled violence and promote healing. How are these efforts related?
There is overlap in that both efforts were fulfilling the president’s campaign promise to address hate-fueled crimes and violence. The summit filled a broader need of addressing various kinds of hate and bias – not just Islamophobia. It was tragic to know that nearly everyone in the room had been touched by immense, senseless trauma of hate. At the same time, it was beautiful to see our collective diversity and resiliency.
Even more important is that the summit sparked a federal bipartisan initiative among the Uniters – sponsored by the Bush, Obama, Carter and Ford presidential centers. We are now working together and within our respective groups to shape priorities that will help us prevent, respond to and recover from, hate-fueled violence, and to foster unity.
What fuels your drive to fight hate and foster inclusivity?
After the murders of my brother, Deah, his wife, Yusor, and her sister, Razan, I was moved to act and begin the work of changing the narrative to see Muslim Americans as the contributing members of society they are. Did you know that while Muslims comprise one percent of the general population, they make up five percent of doctors in the U.S.?
It’s been challenging to do this work because there is a huge invisible personal cost. To help people understand the horrendous impact that hate can bring, I have to consider how much of the trauma to relive and share. It’s always hard, but inevitably, the more I share and the more vulnerable I am, the more impactful it is to the listener.
I lean on a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr., which keeps me focused on the endgame. He said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
What do you recommend that individuals do to combat hate?
Everyone plays a role. The first one is to be aware of your own implicit biases and privileges. Most people truly believe they’re not racist. But that’s not really the way to think about it. We all carry implicit biases, and relative privilege, and that’s the first step: awareness.
The next is to determine what work to put in to become anti-racist, and to stand up for other people when you witness microaggressions or wrongdoing. How do we address these moments? Ask yourself how you can learn and take those learnings to become better allies – and to respect each other’s differences.
This is not your first visit to the White House. You also were recognized at the United We Stand Summit as one of 16 “Uniters,” who are working to prevent acts of hate-fueled violence and promote healing. How are these efforts related?
There is overlap in that both efforts were fulfilling the president’s campaign promise to address hate-fueled crimes and violence. The summit filled a broader need of addressing various kinds of hate and bias – not just Islamophobia. It was tragic to know that nearly everyone in the room had been touched by immense, senseless trauma of hate. At the same time, it was beautiful to see our collective diversity and resiliency.
Even more important is that the summit sparked a federal bipartisan initiative among the Uniters – sponsored by the Bush, Obama, Carter and Ford presidential centers. We are now working together and within our respective groups to shape priorities that will help us prevent, respond to and recover from, hate-fueled violence, and to foster unity.
What fuels your drive to fight hate and foster inclusivity?
After the murders of my brother, Deah, his wife, Yusor, and her sister, Razan, I was moved to act and begin the work of changing the narrative to see Muslim Americans as the contributing members of society they are. Did you know that while Muslims comprise one percent of the general population, they make up five percent of doctors in the U.S.?
It’s been challenging to do this work because there is a huge invisible personal cost. To help people understand the horrendous impact that hate can bring, I have to consider how much of the trauma to relive and share. It’s always hard, but inevitably, the more I share and the more vulnerable I am, the more impactful it is to the listener.
I lean on a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr., which keeps me focused on the endgame. He said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
What do you recommend that individuals do to combat hate?
Everyone plays a role. The first one is to be aware of your own implicit biases and privileges. Most people truly believe they’re not racist. But that’s not really the way to think about it. We all carry implicit biases, and relative privilege, and that’s the first step: awareness.
The next is to determine what work to put in to become anti-racist, and to stand up for other people when you witness microaggressions or wrongdoing. How do we address these moments? Ask yourself how you can learn and take those learnings to become better allies – and to respect each other’s differences.