Structural Racism and Supporting Black Lives – The Role of Health Professionals
Lecture by: Rachel R. Hardeman, PhD, MPH & Eduardo Medina, MD, MPH
Addressing violence against black communities must start with anti-racist practices in medical education and clinical practice. Structural racism— a confluence of institutions, culture, history, ideology, and codified practices that generate and perpetuate inequity among racial and ethnic groups — is the common denominator of the violence that is cutting lives short in the United States. Health care professionals have an individual and a collective responsibility to understand the historical roots of contemporary health inequities and to contribute to health equity in concrete ways.
The objectives of this presentation are to:
1. Learn about, understand and accept the U.S. racist roots and its role in health inequity.
2. Understand how racism has shaped our narrative about health disparities.
3. Define, recognize, and acknowledge racism in its distinct forms: structural, interpersonal and internalized.
4. Center at the margins-Shift our viewpoint from the dominant narrative to that of marginalized group or groups.
5. Understand how the health care system can perpetuate and combat structural racism.