Final Post

            At the beginning of the semester, we read two theoretical texts on the racialization of minorities and how it impacted discourse in medicine historically. This semester we have explored these theories through reading secondary resources about certain events that relate to race, medical research, and federal legislation regarding race that influenced the abilities of medical researchers to exploit black bodies. Beginning in the times of legal slavery, throughout the Jim Crow era, the Civil Rights era, the War on Drugs, and present day, minorities have been continuously excluded and objectified in medicine. Physicians used black bodies as a means of researching human anatomy, leading to mistrust in medical professionals and being noncompliant due that mistrust. Now, people of color are viewed as incapable of understanding healthcare, and are often seen as their controlling images, rather than a patient.

            This class has helped me develop an understanding of how racialization of minority groups directly impacts their access to healthcare. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study happened in a time where segregation was enforced by the government and laws that overlooked white violence on black bodies. Society’s embracement of the idea that black people were inferior in morality legitimized physician research that knowingly kept men from getting treatment for syphilis, in the name of “the greater good”. Legislation kept segregated from society through housing exclusions, mass incarceration, and hindrances in an ability to complete civic duties, which ultimately led to continued impoverishment and lack of educational opportunities. Therefore, resources among minority communities were minimal and as advancements in medicine were made, people of color lacked the ability to reap the benefits, though in several cases, breakthroughs were made at the mercy of their bodies. The main takeaway from this class is that racialization is a broad problem that is still in need of much progress. Legislation made exploitation legal, and mistrust in the government and the medical professionals, who have historically used minority bodies and justified their imbedded racist discourse, created barriers for communication between patients and their doctors. It also has made healthcare less accessible with growing health disparities among people of color.