A brief history of racism in healthcare

Jul 23, 2020

The COVDI-19 pandemic has highlighted racial inequality. Image: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

Harry Kretchmer

Senior Writer, Formative Content

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Jazmine Raygoza's dresser in her room holds the incentive spirometer used to prepare for her Lap-Band surgery in Denver June 18, 2011 along with CD's, hair clips, makeup, hairspray and her cellphone. After trying multiple diets and exercise, Jazmine, 17, decided on the Lap-Band treatment with the encouragement of her mother, who recently had a gastric bypass herself. About 17 percent of American kids and teens are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Picture taken June 18, 2011. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES - Tags: HEALTH SOCIETY) - GM1E76M1DUC01

Spirometers measure lung capacity. In the past their readings were used to justify discrimination based on ‘racial difference’. Image: REUTERS/Rick Wilking

In America, black and Latino communities have suffered from higher coronavirus death rates than white groups. Image: NY Times

The 'Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male' used 600 Black men. Image: CDC

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