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Black and Blue
The Origins and Consequences of Medical Racism
JOHN HOBERMAN
BERKELEY LOS ANGELES LONDON
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University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2012 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hoberman, John M. (John Milton), 1944-
Black and blue : the origins and consequences of medical racism /
John Hoberman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-520-24890-8 (hardback)
ISBN 978-0-520-27401-3 (pbk)
1. Discrimination in medical care—United States. 2. Minorities— Medical care—United States. 3. African Americans—Medical care—United States. 4. Health services accessibility—United States. I. Title.
RA563.M56H63 2012
362.1089'96073—dc23
2011045598
Manufactured in the United States of America
21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Rolland Enviro100, a 100% post-consumer fiber paper that is FSC certified, deinked, processed chlorine-free, and manufactured with renewable biogas energy. It is acid-free and EcoLogo certified.
This book is dedicated to the African American doctors of the past century who, despite the cruelties and indignities of racist exclusion from American medicine, have persisted in their humanitarian mission to serve patients of all races.
Contents
1. THE NATURE OF MEDICAL RACISM: THE ORIGINS AND CONSEQUENCES OF MEDICAL RACISM
Judging Physician Conduct: Privacy and the “Halo Effect”
Physicians Share the Racial Attitudes of Their Fellow Citizens
2. BLACK PATIENTS AND WHITE DOCTORS
The African American Health Calamity: The Silence
Medical Vulnerability and Racial Defamation
How Do (White) Physicians Think about Race? Evidence of Medical Racism
Resistance to the Critique of Racial Bias in Medicine
Medical Liberalism and the Medical Literature
The Physician's Private Sphere
From Racial Folklore to Racial Medicine
3. MEDICAL CONSEQUENCES OF RACIALIZING THE HUMAN ORGANISM
Racial Interpretations of Human Types and Traits
Introduction
Racial Interpretations of Black Infants and Children
Racial Interpretations of the Black Elderly
Racial Interpretations of the Black Athlete
Racial Interpretations of Black Musical Aptitude
Racial Interpretations of Losing Consciousness
Racial Interpretations of the Nervous System
Racial Interpretations of Pain Sensitivity
