Exploring Race, Racism, and Structural Racism in Medicine.

Race and racism are rooted in the man-made belief that the color of a person's skin determines a person's hierarchal rank in humanity. Early scientific theories of polygenics and misleading scientific studies were used to promote the concept of the inferiority of people of color and to support and maintain the institution of slavery. These discriminatory practices have filtered into society as structural racism, including the field of medicine. Structural racism has led to health disparities in black and brown communities. Dismantling structural racism requires us all to become change agents at societal and institutional levels.