Segregation and racism within the medical profession have, and continue to, profoundly impact the African American community. Yet, the complex history of race in the medical profession is rarely acknowledged and often misunderstood. The AMA Institute for Ethics invited a panel of experts to review and analyze the historical roots of the black-white divide in American medicine. The following is a summary of the panel's findings, along with other resources.

The Anti-racism in Medicine Collection within the AAMC's MedEdPORTAL provides educators with practice-based, peer-reviewed resources to teach anti-racist knowledge and clinical skills, elevates the educational scholarship of anti-racist curricula, and aims to convene a community of collaborators dedicated to the elimination of racism within medical education.

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Collection within the AAMC's MedEdPORTAL features peer-reviewed educational resources for educators to advance institutional efforts in creating a diverse and inclusive culture that drives equitable clinical, educational, research, and service excellence.

These modules, developed by Harvard Medical School, are intended to train medical educators and clinicians in patient care for sexual and gender minorities and offer more effective teaching strategies.

This concentration provides the basic skills for separating the morally beneficial from the morally troubling practices of medicine. Additionally, it enables future physicians to better serve and advocate for their most vulnerable patients. Incorporating rigorous academic inquiry and experiential learning, this concentration covers a range of topics—from clinical ethics to health equity in various communities. By completing this concentration, students join a cohort of like-minded peers and mentors, with rich opportunities for discussion and inquiry through the concentration’s journal club.

Primary and secondary resources curated by the Medical Heritage Library is to introduce viewers to the roots of anti-Black racism in medicine that have perpetuated health disparities whereby Black individuals disproportionally suffer from a variety of medical concerns and a lack of adequate healthcare resources.

Mind the Gap was developed to showcase clinical signs of diseases on black and brown skin. The authors' stated goal is "to see the impact of this educational platform result in earlier and more accurate diagnosis, increased patient satisfaction and greater confidence amongst healthcare professionals when treating people of colour."

What are the roots of racism in health and medicine? The Medical Heritage Library has begun the work of surfacing historical texts in its collection that show racism, health disparities, experimentation, and the other ways that medicine and race intertwine over time. Please be aware that some of these texts can be offensive in today’s context, using language, depicting images, and promoting ideas that are extremely problematic.

16-week syllabus of readings assembled by Antoine S. Johnson, Elise A. Mitchell, and Ayah Nuriddin. As the developers of the syllabus explain: "The ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is revealing longstanding American health and healthcare disparities yet to be addressed. While some have described COVID as a 'great equalizer,' policing, public health, medical care, and public funds are revealing otherwise. COVID-19’s impact on Black people in general and poor and working-class Black people in particular, has elucidated this country’s long disparate treatment of Black people and centuries-long neglect of Black health concerns. We hope this syllabus offers insight into those historical legacies, while simultaneously paving way for equitable health for all underrepresented populations."