Institutional Change and Accountability

Introduction Despite the demonstrated benefits of preventive medicine, only 45% of American adults typically get a flu shot during flu season. Vaccine hesitancy is particularly common among Black and white lower socioeconomic status men, who don’t trust doctors and are skeptical of the benefits relative to the perceived risk. For Black Americans, this mistrust is…

Introduction When Carter G. Woodson, the Black historian refered to as the Father of Black History, launched Negro History Week in 1926, he understood that the celebration of African American history and scholarship could not just be a one-week act. Instead, he insisted that the goal should be “studying the Negro throughout the school year,…

Introduction School discipline policies and practices disproportionately affect Black students, who are more likely to be suspended or expelled compared to their white peers. Studies have shown that these disciplinary disparities are linked to levels of racial bias, and reflect disproportionate use of such practices on Black students. Black students are then differentially processed for…

Introduction Macias and Stephens use an intersectional lens to examine the role of race and gender in the treatment, pay, and leadership in education. Intersectionality, a term initially coined by professor Kimberlé Crenshaw, allows for analysis of the compounding, overlapping power structures that disenfranchise women of color. The authors found that women of color, particularly…

Living at the intersection of multiple systems of oppression makes Black women disproportionately vulnerable to workplace bullying in higher education. Introduction The article examines the impact of workplace bullying’ on the self-determination and career advancement of marginalized populations in education. Workplace bullying refers to persistent patterns of harmful, targeted mistreatment by individuals from the dominant…

Introduction African-Americans have historically been subjected to experimental medical research while simultaneously denied access to various healthcare services. Since the enactment of legislation requiring that experimental medical research maintain a racially diverse population, researchers have found it difficult to meet those statutory requirements. Many researchers believe that the reluctance of African-Americans to enroll in experimental…

Introduction In the midst of widescale evidence of natural-hair discrimination in the workplace and in schools, some states, in 2019, began to outlaw this form of discrimination. There is the story of the Black student who was told to cut his hair or he would not be allowed to graduate, and another of a Black woman who had her…

Introduction Until recently, workplace diversity was primarily perceived as a tool for enhancing corporate profitability. It was understood that private corporations that excelled in enhancing diversity based on race, ethnicity, and gender generally had more significant financial outcomes, particularly in terms of net income growth and return on economic equity. Yet, recent research has explored…

Introduction The 1990’s was a watershed moment in American education reform. Prior to the start of the decade, in 1983, the newly formed National Commission on Excellence in Education produced a scathing 52-page report titled ​A Nation at Risk t​hat charged American education with mediocrity and lack of international competitiveness. If ​A Nation at Risk w​as a report card,…

Introduction Medical professionals recognize that physicians must learn both the science of medicine and the art of patient communication. Currently, much of the medical field is focused on the concept of “cultural competency” and “cultural humility.” These concepts have pushed medical education to move beyond “colorblindness” and recognize that social factors, such as race, ethnicity,…