CHEF Recognizes Black History Month

February is Black History Month. The Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH) has selected “Black Health and Wellness” as the theme for Black History Month 2022. In his presidential address ASALH President Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney noted that in the ninety-five year history of Black History Month celebrations, this year’s theme could not be more appropriate due to the worldwide pandemic. Dulaney said, “African Americans have suffered disproportionately from COVID-19 more than any other group of Americans.” This year’s theme is also meant to address “the history of healthcare in the African American community” and is also a “historical examination of the financial and economic health and wellness of Africans Americans.”

For Black History Month, the Diversity & Inclusion Committee is offering some resources for CHEF members to learn more about the history of healthcare and related sectors in the US as they pertain to Black and/or African Americans. We have provided resources that you can read, watch, or listen to. We hope these educational resources serve as discussion points and foundations for action. 

Watch

• Black Men in White Coats documentary illuminates the decline of Black men applying to medical school and the impact on patient care and communities. Click Here to Order
• 13^th (Netflix app) – The energetically paced movie links the mass incarceration of Black men back to the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865.

Listen

• 1619 Podcast – Episode 4 titled, “How the Bad Blood Started”, discusses how Black Americans were denied access to doctors and hospitals for decades. From the shadows of this exclusion, they pushed to create the nation’s first federal health care programs.
• You’re Wrong About Podcast – Tuskegee Syphilis Study Part 1 (“The Lie”) and Part 2 (“The Truth”), provides additional information on the longest “non-therapeutic” experiment in medical history.

Read

• The American Medical Association’s Equity Strategic Plan 2021-2023 captures historical structural violence by the organization against the Black and/or African American community (as well as other communities), and targets the systemic inequities in our health care system and other social institutions. It also charts a path toward a more promising and equitable future for all. Click Here to download the plan.
• How to be an Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi addresses the concept of antiracism, and reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America.