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A review by sahibooknerd
Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine by Uché Blackstock
4.0
I just happened upon this memoir a few days before its release and decided why not give it a try. The memoir part of the book was interesting, getting to know Dr. Blackstock’s personal background and family history, the legacy of her mother which inspires her and the kinds of challenges she faced as a Black woman physician, both while in university and when working. I also liked how she correlates her personal experiences with racism to the history of medicine itself in this country; the dark relationships between medical breakthroughs and unethical experimentation on enslaved people and later other Black folks; and how this internalized racism in the teaching of medicine results in physicians with bias, negative outcomes for Black patients, and mistrust between the communities.
This is a well written and easy to read book, especially if one wants to learn about the basics of the topic of racism and medicine. I can’t say I got to know a lot of stuff I didn’t already know, but as a beginners book on the theme, this will work in a very accessible manner. And I really appreciate the advocacy work the author is doing through her organization, Advancing Health Equity - it’s much needed in a country that outspends all developed countries in healthcare but with much lesser positive outcomes.
This is a well written and easy to read book, especially if one wants to learn about the basics of the topic of racism and medicine. I can’t say I got to know a lot of stuff I didn’t already know, but as a beginners book on the theme, this will work in a very accessible manner. And I really appreciate the advocacy work the author is doing through her organization, Advancing Health Equity - it’s much needed in a country that outspends all developed countries in healthcare but with much lesser positive outcomes.