About
“The empowerment of Black women constitutes the empowerment of our entire community.”
— Kimberle Crenshaw
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
— Angela Davis
The American Medical Women’s Association is in the process of developing its Antiracism Committee. We welcome everyone’s participation. This resource page is a starting place and is not an exhaustive resource. Additional resources will be added over time. We welcome everyone’s input. If you wish to include a resource or have concerns about any resources already included, please contact us.
Our Commitment
Racism is one of the most urgent public health crises that we face, and we commit to addressing it through the following actions:
- Review and where necessary, update our organizational policies to ensure that they are anti-racist.
- Incorporate a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lens, with a focus on anti-racism, into each of our committees and initiatives with the goal of preventing and undoing racism.
- Advocate for policies and actions that eliminate racism within our healthcare system.
- Advocate for the inclusion, in medical schools and residency programs, of a curriculum on social determinants of health, impact of racism on health, and racism in medicine.
- Deconstruct the notion of race as a biological determinant in health, science, and medicine
- Expand opportunities for Black women to become physicians and realize their career aspirations.
- Advocate for law enforcement accountability and transparency in reporting and banning of deadly force as a restraint method (e.g. neck restraints).
- Advocate for accountability at the institutional, state, and national level.
- Advocate for government recognition of racism as a public health crisis at both the state and federal levels and for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health to commit to studying the health effects of racism.
- Provide training to physicians and students on racism, bias, and active allyship.
- Build a curriculum for physicians and students who do not identify as BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color) to learn and participate in antiracism work.
Read full version HERE.
Online Resources
- AAMC Racism and Health Reading List
- From words to actions to change: How medicine, academia can respond to racial injustice
- Exploring Unconscious Bias in Academic Medicine
- getpocket.com/explore/item/why-do-so-many-researchers-still-treat-race-as-a-scientific-concept?utm_source=fbsynd&utm_medium=social
- Thoughts from your Black colleague • The Berkeley Blog
- Implicit Bias Resources
- Read, Watch, Listen, and Learn: A curated collection on combating racism and advancing equality | Yale Alumni
- Mapping Police Violence
- Deaths: final data for 2017
- Anti-racism resources for white people
- Video: Ruha Benjamin on “The New Jim Code? Race, Carceral Technoscience, and Liberatory Imagination”
- Subject Guides: Race and racism in medicine: Books, videos, podcasts and websites
- www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/racism-is-a-public-health-crisis/
- Anti-racism in Medicine Collection
- Your Black Friends Are Busy
- Anti-Racism Toolkit
- Academics for Black Survival and Wellness: Home
- Welcome to Racial Equity Tools • Racial Equity Tools
- CHS 296, Section 2: We Gon’ Be Alright: Addressing Racism and Anti-black Violence as a Public Health Crisis
- Anti-Racism Training | Diversity_Resilience
- 12 Books For Adults About Anti-Racism And Activism
- This List Of Books, Films And Podcasts About Racism Is A Start, Not A Panacea Ibram Kendi: The Anti-Racist Reading List
- Institute for Healing & Justice in Medicine
- Talking About Race
- Kimberlé Crenshaw: The urgency of intersectionality | TED Talk
- The Unequal Opportunity Race
- Interrupting Bias in Academic Settings
- Do Black Lives Matter in Medicine?
- Is there a racial ‘care gap’ in medical treatment?
Articles
Position Statements and Academic Articles:
- Reconsidering the Use of Race Correction in Clinical Algorithms
- Police brutality must stop
- What Role Should Race Play in Medicine?
- Bailey, Z. D., Krieger, N., Agénor, M., Graves, J., Linos, N., & Bassett, M. T. (2017). Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions. The Lancet, 389(10077), 1453-1463
- The Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health
- Racism and Health in the United States: A Policy Statement From the American College of Physicians | Annals of Internal Medicine
- Bailey, Z. D., Krieger, N., Agénor, M., Graves, J., Linos, N., & Bassett, M. T. (2017). Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions. The Lancet, 389(10077), 1453-1463.
- Nieblas-Bedolla, E., Christophers, B., Nkinsi, N. T., Schumann, P. D., & Stein, E. (2020).Changing How Race Is Portrayed in Medical Education: Recommendations From Medical Students Academic Medicine: Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Accessed 29 May 2020.
- Eneanya, N. D., Yang, W., & Reese, P. P. (2019).Reconsidering the consequences of using race to estimate kidney function JAMA, 322(2), 113-114. Accessed 29 May 2020.
- Hardeman R, Burgess D, Murphy K, Satin DJ, et al. Developing a medical school curriculum on racism: Multidisciplinary, Multiracial conversations informed by Public Health Critical Race Praxis (PHCRP).ethndis.org/edonline/index.php/ethndis/article/view/930/1251 2018; Ethnicity & Dis; 28 (Supp 1):271-278
- Hagopian A, West KM, Ornelas IJ, Hart AN, Hagedorn J, Spigner C. Adopting an Anti-racism public health curriculum competency: The University of Washington Experience. 2018. Public Health Reports; 133(4):507-513.
- Jones, CP. (2000). Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale. Am J Public
- Ford CL & Jeffers Kia Skrine. Ch. 16 – Critical Race Theory’s Anti-racism approaches: Moving from the Ivory Tower to the Front lines of public health. In: Racism: Science & Tools for the Public Health Professional. Eds: Chandra L. Ford, Derek M. Griffith, Marino A. Bruce, Keon L. Gilbert. 2019. APHA.
- Fleming, Paul. The Importance of Teaching History of Inequities in Public Health Programs. 2020; Pedagogy in Health Promotion. Online first. doi.org/10.1177/2373379920915228
- DallaPiazza M, PadillaRegister M, Dwarakanath M, Obamedo E, Hill J, Soto-Greene ML. Exploring racism and health: an intensive interactive session for medical students. MedEdPORTAL. 2018;14:10783.
- onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0009.12411
- Williams DR, Lawrence JA and Davis BA. Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research. Annu Rev Public Health 2019, 40:105-25.
- Cogburn C. Culture, Race, and Health: Implications for Racial Inequities and Population Health. The Milbank Quarterly [0887-378X], 2019 vol:97 iss:3 pg:736 -761
Articles in the Media:
- The Death of George Floyd, in Context May 28, 2020
- Opinion | George Floyd’s Death Shows the State Fails Black People May 29, 2020
- This is how loved ones want us to remember George Floyd June 3, 2020
- The 1619 Project-New York Times
- ‘It Is Time for Reparations’ June 30, 2020
- Perspective | You shouldn’t need a Harvard degree to survive birdwatching while black May 28, 2020
- George Floyd Could Have Been My Brother Rita Omokha for Elle
- In Order to Understand the Brutality of American Capitalism, You Have to Start on the Plantation New York Times Magazine August 14, 2019
- “The Case for Reparations,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates for The Atlantic www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6eeOh_3X6gIVaz6tBh2FQAiVEAAYASAAEgINpfD_BwE
- “How to Make This Moment the Turning Point for Real Change,” by Barack Obama in Medium medium.com/@BarackObama/how-to-make-this-moment-the-turning-point-for-real-change-9fa209806067
- Black Male Writers for Our Time
- I Was the Mayor of Minneapolis and I Know Our Cops Have a Problem
- Op-Ed: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Don’t understand the protests? What you’re seeing is people pushed to the edge [LATimes.com] May 31, 2020
- The Disturbing History of the Suburbs | Adam Ruins Everything
- Stolen Breaths | NEJM
- what i know to be true: – Ariel Hart, MPH @hartwerq
- George Floyd’s Autopsy and the Structural Gaslighting of America
Books
We suggest that you consider purchasing those books you wish to own from BIPOC-owned booksellers in your community or online.
- Superior: The Return of Race Science by Angela Saini
- Uprooting Racism by Paul Kivel
- Just Medicine by Dana Bowen Matthew
- Seeing Patients by Augustus A. White
- Fatal Invention by Dorothy Roberts
- Black Man in a White Coat by Damon Tweedy
- The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
- A Spectacular Secret: Lynching in American Life and Literature by Jacqueline Goldsby
- We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- The Strange Career of Jim Crow by C. Vann Woodward
- So You Want to Talk About Race? by Ijeoma Oluo
- The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality by Thomas M. Shapiro
- Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
- How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
- My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
- White Rage by Carol Anderson
- When Affirmative Action Was White by Ira Katznelson
- What Truth Sounds Like by Michael Eric Dyson
- An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
- Dying of Whiteness by John Metzl
- Mindful of Race by Ruth King
- Medical Apartheid by Harriet Washington
- Medical Bondage by Deirdre Cooper Owens
- Biased by Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt
- Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children In A Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey
- Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
- Brutal Imagination by Cornelius Eady
- Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens The Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era by Jerry Mitchell
- They Were Her Property by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers
- I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum
- Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
- Dear Martin by Nic Stone
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
- The Color of LawT by Richard Rothstein
- The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward
- Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
- Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper
- Anything by Angie Thomas
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Brutal Imagination by Cornelius Eady
- The Colors Of Us by Karen Katz
- Skin Again by bell hooks
- Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
- Monster by Walter Dean Myers
- This Promise of Change by Jo Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy
- This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa
- 100 Best Books by Black Female Authors, 1850 – Present | ZORA
- Anti-Racism Books for Kids
- Twelve Books to Help Children Understand Race, Anti-Racism and Protest
Films/Documentaries/Videos/Series
- The Hate U Give, a film based on the YA novel offering an intimate portrait of race in America
- Just Mercy, a film based on civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson’s work on death row in Alabama
- How W. Kamau Bell tackles white supremacy in CNN’s “United Shades” New season begins July 19, 2020 discussing white supremacy
- Watch America Inside Out with Katie Couric Season 1 Episode 1 Re-Righting History Online
- Let It Fall, a Netflix documentary looking at racial tensions in Los Angeles and the 1992 riots over LAPD officers’ brutal assault on Rodney King
- When They See Us, a Netflix documentary series from Ava DuVernay about the Central Park Five
- 13th, a Netflix documentary exposing racial inequality within the criminal justice system
- Selma, a film that chronicles the marches of the Civil Rights Movement
- Whose Streets? | Magnolia Pictures, a documentary about the uprising in Ferguson
- Dear White People, a Netflix series about being black at a predominantly white college
- The Kalief Browder Story, a Netflix documentary series
- Do The Right Thing, a film by Spike Lee
- The Uncomfortable Truth, a documentary film by Loki Mulholland, Amazon Prime
- The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, a documentary film by Keith Beauchamp, Amazon Prime
- Becoming, a Netflix documentary following Michelle Obama on her book tour
- Hidden Figures, a film about the brilliant African American women of NASA
- Remember the Titans, a film telling the story of a newly-integrated football team
- A Class Divided
- How can we win?
- Medical Bondage: Race, Gender and the Origins of American Gynecology, by Deirdre Cooper
- 26 Mini-Films for Exploring Race, Bias and Identity With Students
- UNNATURAL CAUSES | CALIFORNIA NEWSREEL
- Dorothy Roberts: The problem with race-based medicine | TED Talk
- Dr. Camara Jones’ TEDX: Allegories on Race and Racism (external URL)
- I Am Not Your Negro, a film envisioning James Baldwin’s unfinished book, by Director Raoul Peck available on Amazon
- Mobile in Black and White Race in the 21st Century, a documentary from mobileinblackandwhite.org on Amazon
- How doctors’ racial biases can harm black patients (VIDEO)
- Medical Apartheid Part 1
- Medical Apartheid Part 2
- Medical Apartheid Part 3
Podcasts
- Race/Racism in Medicine–curated podcast episodes
- Code Switch Code Switch NPR
- UNNATURAL CAUSES | Explore Health Equity | CALIFORNIA NEWSREEL
- Dear White Women: The Podcast
- White Lies
- ‘1619,’ a Podcast From The New York Times
- Silence is Not an Option – Podcast on CNN Audio
- Yo, Is This Racist?
- Pod Save the People on Apple Podcasts
- Seeing White
- MIXED COMPANY’s stream on SoundCloud – Hear the world’s sounds
- Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay on Apple Podcasts
- A Race Forward Podcast | EP8 Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
- United States of Anxiety
- The Nod on Apple Podcasts
- Still Processing
- Come Through with Rebecca Carroll
- The Stoop
- The Curbsiders episode #222 Addressing Anti-Black Racism in Medicine Utibe Essien MD, MPH
- The OSA Insider episode 61: Race and Medicine-An Introduction
Events
Events
Upcoming Events
Please check back!
Past Events
- Discussing Ijeoma Oluo’s Book So You Want To Talk About Race?: June 25, 2020 5:30 PM EST
- Discussing Racial Bias & Disparities in Pain Management: July 16, 2020 5:30 PM EST
- Discussing Racial Disparities in Maternal & Infant Health: August 29, 2020 5:30 PM EST
- Discussing Harriet A. Washington’s Book Medical Apartheid- Part 1: September 19, 2020 5:30 PM EST
- Discussing Harriet A. Washington’s Book Medical Apartheid- Part 2: October 24, 2020 5:30 PM EST
- Discussing Harriet A. Washington’s Book Medical Apartheid- Part 3: December 12, 2020 5:30 PM EST
- Racism in Medicine Panel Discussion: January 23, 2023 5:30 PM EST