“Just because you are Black doesn’t mean that your patients are going to trust you as a doctor.”
Those were the words of one of my mentors. The words were a little bit shocking to hear at first. One of my inspirations to go into medicine was to be a familiar face to patients who aren’t used to seeing health professionals that look like us.
I’ve been a Black patient in a White doctor’s office and the disconnect and awkwardness is just horrible.
There isn’t any other word to describe it.
- I’ve been told that I should have been “smart enough” to diagnose a simple skin problem.
- I’ve had my medical history overlooked.
- I’ve been patronized, talked over, and just plain ignored by physicians and their teams.
But, although studies have shown that Black doctors interacting with Black patients leads to better care, the healthcare system as a whole has a long and quite frankly, disgusting, history with the Black community. So, it’s not only about a Black doctor getting teamed up with a Black patient.
Which, just in a little aside, is unlikely, because Black doctors only make up only 5% of all active physicians.
It’s also about understanding why the communities that we grew up in were constantly giving the side eye to the medical field as a whole.
The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment
In the 1930s, untreated syphilis was known as “bad blood.”
The study started out with 600 Black men – 399 of the men had syphilis and 201 men did not have the disease. The first red flag? The study was conducted without consent from any of the men. They were simply told by researchers that they had “bad blood.” At the time, this could have meant anemia, syphilis, and fatigue.
A pretty vague explanation given to a vulnerable population.
To make matters worse, even though penicillin was eventually identified as a treatment of choice for syphilis, these men were not informed. This study was scheduled for six months but went on for 40 years.
Participants were also not informed that they could quit the study.
It wasn’t until May 16, 1997 (decades later y’all! *eye roll*) that President Bill Clinton offered an official apology on behalf of the United States of America.
My grandmother was born in the 1930s but an apology for this atrocity didn’t occur until I was three. years. old.
The “Father of Gynecology” Dr. J Marion Sims
So, the same man that the medical world deems the “father of gynecology” is the same man who also operated on enslaved women without anesthesia. We only know the names of three of the enslaved Black women who were subjected to this torture – Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy. Anarcha had 30 surgeries performed on her. Although doctors and the medical field have been slow to denounce his actions, his statue was recently removed from Central Park in 2018.
It’s also important to mention that this belief (whether someone says it out loud or it is a bias floating through their head) still follows Black patients today.
We are still given less pain medication than our White counterparts.
In 2016, a study found that 40% of first and second year medical students believed that “Black people’s skin is thicker than White people’s.”
Then, those medical students go on to be your future physicians.
What could possibly go wrong?
The Center for Disease Control Says Haitians are the Source of AIDS
So, this example comes with a personal anecdote.
Also, side note, this story may be about Haitians but in my humble opinion, it’s a lesson that healthcare institutions have the ability to obliterate whole Black communities and economies in a matter of minutes.
But, back to the story.
My mom has a hearty laugh whenever the Red Cross calls and asks for her to donate blood.
Oh now, they want my blood? In the 1980s, they wouldn’t even touch us.
In 1982, the Center for Disease Control named four risk factors for contracting what was once a mysterious disease. They were known as the 4H’s. Yes, one of those “H’s” were Haitians. Haitians (and Haiti as an entire country) was instantly stigmatized.
Our tourism economy (the bread and butter of Haiti’s economy as a whole) dropped by 80% within one year.
Based on stories from my parents (who immigrated to the United States during this time), it was not uncommon to hear the college students were denying their Haitian heritage to avoid being outcasts on campus.
My mother had a few things to say about the issue. She held nothing back.
It was hard to get a job as Haitian, rent an apartment, and many other things our White counterparts did not have to think a second thought about. There were definitely a lot of Haitian students claiming that they were from Montreal instead of Haiti.
But, we are still fighting this stigma to this day. Just last month, Netflix received a major backlash after Haitian celebrities, Jessie Woo, Michael Brun, Karen Civil and many others, were alerted that a documentary on Netflix was still claiming that HIV/AIDS originated in Haiti.
Again, y’all.
This was 2020. June 2020. Last month.
All because the Center for Disease Control (falsely) said it was so.
So, if you are examining why you might have your own biases about going to the doctor…just know that this mistrust is not just in your head. It’s generational and there are tons of examples not listed to affirm your fear.
This shit runs deep.
But, that shouldn’t stop you from speaking up, advocating for yourself, and keeping track of the ways that you can make yourself healthier.
We’ve got this.
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