7

Congressional and Concluding Remarks

In 2019, An American Crisis: The Growing Absence of Black Men in Medicine: Proceedings of a Joint Workshop was released at a meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus (NASEM, 2018a). Since then, the caucus has remained interested in the issue of Black representation in medicine. Two members, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30) and Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13), addressed the workshop participants. Final remarks by the workshop chair, Dr. Cato Laurencin, and co-chairs, Dr. Charles Bridges, and Dr. Lynne Holden, concluded the workshop.

REPRESENTATIVE EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

As introduced by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine staff member Reginald Hayes, Rep. Johnson is the first African American and first woman to chair the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The nation’s prosperity depends on science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM), but, she said, “We cannot talk about opportunities without talking about barriers…. As an African American woman who was a nurse before I was in public service, I experienced these barriers, too.” Even without legal barriers, the legacy of racism lives on and continues to restrict access to STEMM studies and careers, from K–12 through senior positions.

Rep. Johnson expressed dismay about the lack of progress in recent decades, which she noted COVID-19 has further laid bare. The lack of

diversity has amplified health disparities and also has reduced ideas and solutions for pressing challenges. She expressed hope that the country is at the beginning of real change. Young people, she observed, are not willing to accept the status quo. People in leadership positions must support them.

The House committee she chairs advanced a number of bills to address diversity and inclusion in STEMM, including the House STEM¹ Opportunities Act (H.R. 2528) that authorized and seeks to fund a range of evidence-based programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. She has also supported research to collect better data on barriers and impacts of interventions. Along with the current ranking member of the committee, Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-4), the committee has called for increased support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other minority-serving institutions based on a National Academies report (NASEM, 2019). As the committee works on legislation to reauthorize the National Science Foundation, she asked her staff to go beyond the “usual suspects” to include people focused on diversity, equality, and inclusion who do not typically weigh in on these legislative discussions. “As policy makers in developing new policy directions, we must seek diverse opinions and perspectives,” she said.

Recent legislative discussions have included amendments requesting the National Academies to study systemic racism that excludes African American students and researchers. “To solve this problem, we must dispel the illusion that STEMM is entirely merit based and free of the racism that plagues the rest of society,” she said. She acknowledged that some people questioned if the National Academies is the right place to center this study, since it is part of the system that must be investigated. But, she said, the central role that the National Academies plays in the U.S. scientific enterprise is a good reason for it to take on the task. In addition, she said, the National Academies’ imprimatur may mean that others will sit up and listen, as was the case with the National Academies report on sexual harassment (NASEM, 2018b).

Dr. Laurencin thanked Rep. Johnson on behalf of the Roundtable for her courage, leadership, passion, and vision to bring these issues to the fore, and especially for prompting the National Academies to conduct a study on systemic racism. “We on the Roundtable share your interest, passion, and scholarship on these issues,” he said. He noted he and other Black members of the National Academies can help the institutions take a look at the impact of racism and move forward as a learned body.

___________________

¹ Here STEM refers to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

REPRESENTATIVE BARBARA LEE

Introduced by Kimberly Bryant, M.S., Black Girls CODE, Rep. Lee shared the concern about the decline of Black men and women in the medical professions and discussed congressional attempts to ensure that participation is more representative of the nation’s population.

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, she asked the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to review and submit an action plan about the underrepresentation of Black men in schools and medicine. The plan included developing a community of leaders, addressing psychological factors, learning about who participates in NIH-funded programs, and gathering the evidence to strengthen the medical education pipeline. This year’s House appropriations process directed NIH to fund an effort to decrease underrepresentation of Black men in medical school and biomedical research professions and to establish a scholarship program to combat the persistent lack of Black physicians. “The growing absence is especially troubling because it has adverse consequence for health-care access and outcomes for Black Americans and Americans in general. COVID-19 highlighted that these disparities must be addressed,” Rep. Lee stated. She acknowledged the role of the Roundtable in raising the issue more publicly, which she called crucial for current and future generations.

FINAL REMARKS FROM THE WORKSHOP CO-CHAIRS

Planning committee co-chair Dr. Bridges thanked the panelists and underscored the value of the range of experiences shared from members of Congress, students, educators, and professionals. He welcomed both the theoretical experience and the real-world experience brought to the workshop and expressed hope that participants would leave with a “to-do list” to further the mission discussed throughout the workshop. Planning committee co-chair Dr. Holden welcomed the focus not only on obstacles but also on interventions. She thanked Reps. Johnson and Lee for participating and for their dedication and bravery in pushing the issue to larger platforms. “I am the fifth African American female professor of emergency medicine—of all physicians, I am the fifth,” she said. “This is a statement to the need we have, not only in medicine but in science and engineering. We have more than 24 speakers to talk to us about where we can improve and make a dent in this struggle.”

REFERENCES