“The US medical system is still haunted by slavery” — Vox, 2017, 8:48 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfYRzxeMdGs

Contributed by Mary Scafidi, Cabrini University

This video is another exploration of the disparities Black people face in the American medical system. It chronicles the intersecting histories of race and medicine with a focus on the quality of care people of color receive. Indeed, medical racism may have resulted in higher rates of iatrophobia (fear of healers) in communities of color. We learn how medical science was largely used to support and justify slavery, as well as the often-forced experimentation on Black bodies. Anesthesia was rarely used due to the prevailing belief that people of color did not experience pain or anxiety. Unfortunately, as we learn in the video, this perverse belief lingers on today. The video also describes the eugenics movement and how women of color often had sterilization forced upon them using public funding. Moreover, people of color still face institutional racism when it comes to the medical field and the treatment that they get. How else might racism negatively impact the health of people of color? Should ethics be seen as historically contingent, as the video implies?

From the video’s description: Black women's history matters in medicine. Read ProPublica's feature piece on how the US is the most dangerous industrialized country in which to give birth, and racial disparities in maternal mortality make it even worse for women of color: https://www.propublica.org/article/no... And they're seeking your help in understanding the problem. If you nearly died during pregnancy or know someone who died due to childbirth-related causes, check out this page for more information: http://propub.li/2Ae5RMi.