AMA to apologize for racism

[MountainLaurel]

The country's largest medical association is set to issue a formal apology today for its historical antipathy toward African American doctors, expressing regret for a litany of transgressions, including barring black physicians from its ranks for decades and remaining silent during battles on landmark legislation to end racial discrimination.

The apology marks one of the rare times a major national organization has expressed contrition for its role in the segregation and discrimination that black people have experienced in the United States.

In a commentary in the July 16 Journal of the American Medical Association, Ronald M. Davis, the organization's immediate past president, noted that many of the organization's questionable actions reflected the "social mores and racial discrimination" that existed for much of the country's history. But, he wrote, that should not excuse them.

"The medical profession, which is based on a boundless respect for human life, had an obligation to lead society away from disrespect of so many lives," Davis wrote. "The AMA failed to do so and has apologized for that failure."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/09/AR2008070902351.html?hpid=topnews

[flashl]

1. So, on the record, there is an apology as medical apartheid continues. nt

[my2sense]

2. Wow that's good news

You can't move forward until you honestly deal with transgressions of the past.