BY LASHYRA “LASH” NOLEN
In this op-ed, LaShyra ‘Lash’ Nolen explores the persistence of medical racism and importance of anti-racism in medicine.
One morning in December I woke up to a dozen messages from excited family and friends. I unlocked my phone expecting a video of the latest TikTok dance craze, but instead an illustration of a fetus appeared. It didn’t take me long to realize what made this image so special — the fetus and its mother were Black.
Created by Nigerian medical student and illustrator Chidiebere Ibe, the image illustrated a dark-toned pregnant woman with a chocolate fetus sitting in her womb. The viral anatomical image took the internet by storm. While the picture seemed trivial to some, it sparked a great sense of pride and sadness in me and many others. In my three years as a medical student, it was the first time I saw a medical illustration that expressed life through melanated skin. I was reminded once again that whiteness is the standard in medicine.
From the anatomical models we see to calculators we use to diagnose medical illness, white supremacy remains pervasive throughout medical education and medicine. For example, Black people are less likely to receive early diagnosis of Lyme disease because many medical students aren’t taught to recognize the characteristic “bullseye rash” on dark skin. This can lead to delayed treatment and medical complications from late detection of the disease — which affects Black people disproportionately.