The horrific murder of George Floyd, the most recent in a long line of Black people that have been victims of police brutality, brought to the forefront the pain and reality of racism that communities of color face every day.
As Minnesota’s family physicians, we stand with our communities and wish to be a part of the work dismantling structural racism and discriminatory institutional practices in our communities and helping to make our state become a more equitable place where all people can thrive. We know that the systemic racism in our health care system and our own implicit bias does not serve our patients of color. As many have so eloquently stated, Minnesota is currently battling two public health emergencies—COVID-19 and systemic racism—one old and one new. We must face both of them simultaneously and with the same commitment to our patients’ health and well-being.
The MAFP will continue to work hard to be an organization that supports our physicians and their patients by providing opportunities for education on the structural causes of Minnesota’s health disparities and potential systemic solutions, mitigation of implicit bias, the role of structural racism and the inappropriateness of the use of race in medicine. We will continue to seek ways to support the family medicine pipeline to become more diverse to care for all our communities more adequately. We will work to ensure our leadership and organization reflect the diverse voices and perspectives of our communities.
We are committed to continuing this work and providing useful resources, advocacy and education on these important issues.
AAFP Statement
“The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is deeply concerned about the prevalence of discriminatory and racist acts that are resulting in the unwarranted deaths and marginalization of BIPOC. The AAFP considers racism a public health crisis.”
Read the AAFP’s full statement denouncing racism.
Resources from the MAFP
- The Use of Race in Medicine
- Race in Medicine Resources (compiled following LIVE Race in Medicine CME)
- COVID-19: Magnifier of Inequities
- Adolescent Health and Health Equity
- MAFP Resident & Medical Student Statement (on the defacement of the George Floyd Memorial by a medical student)
- MN Physician Groups Joint Statement on Structural Racism in Health Care
Resources from the AAFP
- AAFP Virtual Town Hall: The Public Health Crisis of Racism (featuring the MAFP’s own Renée Crichlow, MD, FAAFP, and Maria Huntley, CAE, MAM)
- AAFP Virtual Town Hall: Racism in Health Care
- Black Physician’s COVID Death Underscores Health Disparities
- AAFP Center for Diversity and Health Equity
- AAFP Statement on Institution Racism in Health Care
Additional Recommended Reading
- The Impact of Racism on the Health and Well-Being of the Nation
- Race, Racism and Health
- Police Brutality and Black Health
- Structural Racism and Supporting Black Lives
- Our North Memorial Clinic Was Damaged. We’re Not Mad (at Protestors)
- Reimagining Graduate Medical Education
- Annals of Family Medicine, January/February 2021 edition
