In the 1820s, physician Thomas Hamilton used his slaves to try to determine how deep black skin went, believing it was thicker than white skin and therefore black skin provided higher pain tolerance.

Thomas Jefferson, claimed that Black people had less kidney output, more heat tolerance, and poorer lung function than White individuals.

In the years that followed, physicians and scientists embraced these unproven theories. Over time, the medical literature echoed some of those ideas, which have been used in ways that cause harm.

A 2016 survey of 222 white medical students and residents published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that half of them endorsed at least one myth about physiological differences between black people and white people, including that black people’s nerve endings are less sensitive than white people’s.

Medical societies have since been working to remove race from several algorithms and many hospitals have implemented the changes on their own. As early as 2017, individual health systems began shifting away from the use of race in kidney function estimates based on evidence they contributed to delayed referral to nephrologists and kidney transplants among Black patients.

In honor of Black History Month, we celebrate the contributions of African Americans and recognize the rich cultural heritage, triumphs and adversities that are an indelible part of our country’s history.

Sources:

  • https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2814170
  • https://issuu.com/jpeterson2022/docs/11279_cmss_report_v4?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ
  • https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/racial-differences-doctors.html
  • https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.13378
  • https://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/jefferson/jefferson.html