The murder of George Floyd and the jury’s guilty verdict require the Massachusetts Medical Society, and we believe, all Americans to pause and reflect on our country’s history of racism. This is a somber moment of heartache for all who have suffered or died at the hands of racism, yet a moment of hope for a world of change, accountability, and most importantly equity. But the hard work has just begun.
Tragically, America’s history of systemic racism includes discrimination in health care. As physicians, we must find this unacceptable. And as a Medical Society, we must do something about it. We must strive to eliminate racism. The Medical Society stands with all physicians, patients, and communities of color that have been most affected by racist policies. We abhor the hundreds of years of mistreatment and injustice of so many and recognize we will never know their – your – suffering. But please do know, we commit to hear you, to see you, and to support you.
In our Antiracism Action Plan, the MMS states that racism is a public health crisis that is damaging to the physical, mental, financial, emotional, and spiritual health of individuals and communities. Acknowledging this is an essential first step in creating the structural and systemic change necessary for achieving equity. The next step is action, and this often means having uncomfortable conversations to address racism head-on. It means we must examine our own conscious and unconscious biases. It is not enough to be nonracist; we must strive to be antiracist.
The MMS has been hard at work examining who we are as an organization and how we can improve the Society for our members, all physicians, and our patients, but there is so much more to do. The hard work lies ahead; we invite all our members to engage in it with us.
-David A. Rosman, MD, MBA, President, Massachusetts Medical Society
