The History of African Americans in Medicine 2.0

As we enter black history month we’ll be revisiting the series of podcasts addressing the history of AA in ophthalmology first published last year. We begin with the history of slavery and Jim Crow segregation in this country as they form the contextual foundation for the current state of medicine with its disparities in healthcare outcomes and lack of diversity, which extend into the field of ophthalmology. Included in this episode is additional, unpublished audio from my conversation with Dr. Lenworth Johnson in which he explains the origins of our current healthcare system which is in part rooted in discriminatory practices in medicine. While there has been some improvement over the years, much work still remains to be done.