Unveil Sensitive and Disregarded Truth behind American Medicine

美国针对黑人的卫生保健不足和不平等已经导致了黑人较高的死亡率，这已成为比较尖锐的社会现象。从医生的私人角度，系统地阐述种族差异的普遍现象，美国的白人医生实际持有，但又很少承认这一现象的起源和它的后果，然后指出对医疗种族的歧视和疏忽已经造成并将继续造成黑人的悲剧和社会混乱。

Unveil Sensitive and Disregarded Truth behind American Medicine 

  --A Reflection on Black and Blue: The Origins and Consequences of Medical Racism

This book focuses on acute social phenomena of inadequate and unequal health care black people have received which leads to the higher mortality rate and shorter lifespan in the comparison of the white group and the rooted cause is medical racism in American medicine. From physicians’ private sphere, it systematically explains the common phenomena of racial disparity that American white physicians actually hold but scarcely admit as well as the origins and consequences of it and then points out that evasion and negligence of medical racism has already caused and will continue to cause tragedies for black people and social chaos. 

Starting with the exploration of physicians in American society, who are regarded as a combination of expertise and benevolence and enjoy reputation and certain degree of autonomy while may possess similar bias of their fellow citizens, the book sets physicians in a core position and illustrates that the racial prejudices have influenced the diagnosis and treatment of black patients. The intense relationship between white doctors and black patients underline the ubiquitous existence of racial discrimination. The author includes amount of evidence and figures to indicate the defects in previous medical literature which has ignored the history of medical racism or disproportionately stressed how complicated origin and future of medical racism is. In the following chapter, the book concentrates on racial interpretations of organ systems of black people and assumes that it shapes or even deepens ideas about differences between the white and the black aiming at increasing the estrangement and misunderstanding. Besides, the author enumerates on the correlations among black image, racism and colonialism. In the last chapter, it introduces the disciplines and development plans of American medical school. Stereotype and prejudice some white patients hold in their work can be partially attributed to education they have accepted in schools. In general, this book provides readers with a comprehensive review and reflection on the medical racism in American medicine.

For African American studies and black social institutions, arguments and evidence play a vital role in my eyes. Evidence, including statistic data, figures, and facts can show explicitly the current condition of a certain field or topic from a relatively object angle and help relevant people such as experts or decision-makers to scientifically find and analyze problems, predict the development prospect, figure out solutions  and make some favorable decisions accordingly. Arguments are also an indispensable resource for researchers. Consensus can hardly be reached at the very beginning. Arguments from various sides represent concerns and interests of relevant parties, which will inevitably contradict with each other. Meanwhile, only when different opinions are encouraged, can people see the identical issue from a diverse perspective and think of some solutions that has taken most of factors into consideration and the final solution or explanation of certain problem will satisfy the majority. 

  Generally speaking, I agree with the author on most of arguments and explanations he gives in Black and Blue. However, I disagree with him on the question “why have American physicians chosen not to regard black health crisis as a public health emergency?” One of the reasons the author mentioned was that “it can serve the emotional interests of both whites and blacks”. Personally, it is not a consideration on black people’s stance. As is known, the economic liberalism and marketization dominates American health care system in which cost control is a priority. According to a status, the proportion of colored people without health insurance is 19.7% , much higher than their white counterparts. The denial of the urgency of the plight of black people lies in their comparatively lower social status and poor economic ability as a whole. Black people, in spite of racial development achievements they have achieved, are still the dominator in American society and the discourse power they are bestowed on is limited. The public expenditure can hardly cover so many people’s health insurance and objections from white taxpayers will doom this proposal to death. Thus black group is excluded from this issue again. No one speak for them, and they are represented by people with wealth and power. 

  
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