Lingering Racism Calls for Reflection and Action
Authors: Ali M. Thomas, June M. Thomas, Richard W. Thomas
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

Letters21 August 2007Lingering Racism Calls for Reflection and ActionAli M. Thomas, MD, June M. Thomas, PhD, and Richard W. Thomas, PhDAli M. Thomas, MDFrom Legacy Health System, Portland, OR 97205, and Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.Search for more papers by this author, June M. Thomas, PhDFrom Legacy Health System, Portland, OR 97205, and Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.Search for more papers by this author, and Richard W. Thomas, PhDFrom Legacy Health System, Portland, OR 97205, and Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-147-4-200708210-00020 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Congratulations to Nunez-Smith and colleagues, whose work (1), along with qualitative surveys of residents (2), heralds a fresh paradigm in disparities research—a summons for greater individual, as well as collective, action.We concur with the view (3) that data confirming the pervasiveness of subtle racism are consistent with U.S history and culture. In 1944, Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal, in his commissioned study on America's “Negro problem” (4), called it “the moral dilemma of the American—the conflict between his moral valuations on various levels of consciousness” and the persistence of social inequity. Strikingly, as recent as 2002, white ...References1. Nunez-Smith M, Curry LA, Bigby J, Berg D, Krumholz HM, Bradley EH. Impact of race on the professional lives of physicians of African descent. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:45-51. [PMID: 17200221] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Liebschutz JM, Darko GO, Finley EP, Cawse JM, Bharel M, Orlander JD. In the minority: black physicians in residency and their experiences. J Natl Med Assoc. 2006;98:1441-8. [PMID: 17019911] MedlineGoogle Scholar3. Betancourt JR, Reid AE. Black physicians' experience with race: should we be surprised? [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:68-9. [PMID: 17200226] LinkGoogle Scholar4. Myrdal G. An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy. New York: Harper & Row; 1944:xliii. Google Scholar5. Dovidio JF, Kawakami K, Gaertner SL. Implicit and explicit prejudice and interracial interaction. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2002;82:62-8. [PMID: 11811635] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. King ML. Letter from a Birmingham Jail. 16 April 1963.. In: Clayborne C, eds. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. New York: Warner Books; 1998:195. Google Scholar7. Thomas RW. Understanding Interracial Unity: A Study of U.S. Race Relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 1996. Google Scholar8. Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce. Missing Persons: Minorities in the Health Professions. Menlo Park, CA: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; 2004. Google Scholar9. Thomas R. Life for Us is What We Make It: Building Black Community in Detroit, 1915-1945. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ Pr; 1992. Google Scholar10. Herbert AW. The minority administrator: problems, prospects, and challenges. Public Admin Rev. 1974;34:556-63. CrossrefGoogle Scholar11. Murray S, Terry LD, Washington CA, Keller LF. The role demands and dilemmas of minority public administrators: the Herbert thesis revisited. Public Admin Rev. 1994;54:409-17. CrossrefGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Ali M. Thomas, MD; June M. Thomas, PhD; Richard W. Thomas, PhDAffiliations: From Legacy Health System, Portland, OR 97205, and Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoImpact of Race on the Professional Lives of Physicians of African Descent Marcella Nunez-Smith , Leslie A. Curry , JudyAnn Bigby , David Berg , Harlan M. Krumholz , and Elizabeth H. Bradley Black Physicians' Experience with Race: Should We Be Surprised? Joseph R. Betancourt and Andrea E. Reid Metrics 21 August 2007Volume 147, Issue 4Page: 282-283KeywordsAction potentialsConflicts of interestConsciousnessEmotionsFatigueHealth careMotivationPrevention, policy, and public health ePublished: 21 August 2007 Issue Published: 21 August 2007 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2007 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...