Historical Legacies of Slavery: Narratives of Disease Explanations in the Minds of White and Black Physicians.

The legacies of slavery and the history of racism in the United States have potent effects on practice and care in medicine today. This article charts out the complex relationship of Black and White doctors had with viewing their patients’ health concerns through the lens of the history of slavery. These ideas continued despite slavery ending after the Civil War. White doctors turned to narratives justifying the protective aspects of slavery and how Black Health suffered without its shielding affects. Some White medical students began to break from the stronger aspects of racism but still embraced aspects of the Eugenics movements. Black physicians felt that they needed to grapple with the legacies of slavery in explaining the health challenges of Black Communities. As a contrast to the historical messaging from White doctors, Black physicians published articles in The Crisis in order to communicate directly with their community and explained how community medical projects could be transformative to health outcomes. Many of the historical lessons are valuable in explain complex racial medical challenges today.