Black History Month and Medicine: Why This Matters

February is Black History Month.

This month, I am dedicating the blog to medical facts, history, and evidence that specifically pertain to Black patients. Not as a political statement, and not as performative allyship, but because this information matters clinically.

If we are serious about practicing good medicine, we cannot ignore where medicine came from, how it was built, and who it has served well and poorly.

This series will focus on peer-reviewed medical data, historical facts, and practical clinical implications. Some posts will be educational. Some will be uncomfortable. All will be grounded in evidence.

Medicine Has a History, and It Is Not Neutral

Modern American medicine did not develop in a vacuum.

It was shaped during a time when Black Americans were enslaved, segregated, excluded from medical education, and frequently used as experimental subjects without consent. That history is not incidental, it influenced how systems were built, how trust was broken, and how disparities persist today.

This does not mean medicine is inherently malicious. It does mean medicine is human, and humans carry bias, incentives, and blind spots.

Ignoring that history does not make care more objective. It makes it less honest.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

There have been important medical advancements driven by research involving Black patients. There have also been ethical failures that would be indefensible today.

Some examples that will be discussed this month include:

• Non-consensual experimentation during slavery and the Jim Crow era

• The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, which withheld treatment long after penicillin was known to be effective

• The use of Henrietta Lacks’ cells without her knowledge, creating one of the most important research tools in modern medicine

• Race-based medical algorithms that delayed diagnosis and treatment, including kidney disease and pulmonary function testing

These are not ancient events. Many occurred within the lifetime of patients still alive today. Many biases remain embedded in modern medicine, some visible and others harder to recognize. I write this in the hope that these biases are exposed and we will continue moving toward more honest and better care.

Understanding this context helps explain why medical mistrust is not irrational, why adherence may differ, and why outcomes diverge even when access appears similar.

Why This Matters Clinically, Not Just Historically

Black Americans experience:

• Earlier onset and more severe hypertension

• Higher rates of heart failure and chronic kidney disease

• Disproportionate maternal morbidity and mortality

• Delayed pain treatment and diagnostic evaluation

• Higher stroke risk at younger ages

These differences are often oversimplified as “genetic” or “behavioral.” The evidence shows a far more complex picture involving biology, environment, stress physiology, access, bias, and systems design.

Good medicine requires that we understand all of those factors, not just the convenient ones.

What This Series Will and Will Not Do

This series will:

• Use peer-reviewed research and major clinical guidelines

• Explain mechanisms, not stereotypes

• Focus on practical implications for patients and clinicians

• Acknowledge uncertainty where it exists

This series will not:

• Blame patients for systemic failures

• Reduce complex outcomes to race alone

• Use guilt or outrage as substitutes for evidence

The goal is clarity, not condemnation.

Why I Am Writing This

I believe medicine works best when it is honest, transparent, and grounded in reality.

We cannot improve outcomes if we refuse to examine uncomfortable data. We cannot build trust by pretending trust was never broken. And we cannot practice precision medicine if we confuse race with biology or ignore how systems shape health.

This month is about learning, correcting, and doing better, using facts instead of assumptions.

What’s Next

Later this week, we will cover:

• The myth that Tuskegee was an isolated incident

• Why medical mistrust has measurable effects on outcomes

• How history still shows up in exam rooms today

If you are a patient, my hope is that this helps you better understand your health and your care.

If you are a clinician, my hope is that this sharpens how you think, listen, and practice.

Both matter.

Eric Benjamin, PA-C
Preventive & Metabolic Health
Eat well. Move often. Age boldly.