WEBVTT 00:00.533 --> 00:02.466 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% (bright uplifting music) 00:02.466 --> 00:05.466 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70% - I grew up in Clarksdale, Mississippi, 00:05.466 --> 00:10.166 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70% which is a small town in the Mississippi Delta. 00:10.166 --> 00:12.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Healthcare was very segregated. 00:12.266 --> 00:14.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% - And I grew up in an inner city neighborhood. 00:16.066 --> 00:19.266 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% Then the neighborhood was your village, 00:19.266 --> 00:22.733 align:left position:12.5% line:5% size:77.5% and in that village there were people you could model after. 00:22.733 --> 00:25.733 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% I was very lucky my dad was a dentist. 00:25.733 --> 00:27.833 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% Something my father told me, he would say 00:27.833 --> 00:31.333 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% never say never, never say should have or could have. 00:31.333 --> 00:33.366 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% If you want to pursue something, do it. 00:33.366 --> 00:35.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% - I wanted to become a physician 00:35.133 --> 00:39.466 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% because of two serious life events 00:39.466 --> 00:41.200 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5% I had as a child. 00:41.200 --> 00:44.433 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% We had one Black physician who took care of me 00:44.433 --> 00:46.166 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5% during both of my episodes. 00:46.166 --> 00:49.533 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% Following that, I decided I'd like to become a physician 00:49.533 --> 00:52.033 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% and be able to hopefully save lives. 00:54.366 --> 00:59.333 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% So I started medical school in 1971. 01:00.066 --> 01:01.966 align:left position:25% line:89% size:65% There were 19 women. 01:01.966 --> 01:04.533 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% There were four African-American students, 01:04.533 --> 01:07.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% and one Native American student. 01:07.333 --> 01:10.066 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% - When I was younger and people would walk in the room, 01:10.066 --> 01:13.500 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% and they would go wow, you're my doctor? 01:13.500 --> 01:15.033 align:left position:22.5% line:89% size:67.5% It'd be that shock. 01:15.033 --> 01:18.366 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% - There were four percent African-American students 01:18.366 --> 01:20.866 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5% in my medical school class. 01:20.866 --> 01:23.733 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% There are approximately four percent African-American 01:23.733 --> 01:26.466 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5% students in the incoming class 01:26.466 --> 01:28.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% at the University of Minnesota. 01:28.933 --> 01:31.833 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% - There are actually more African-American men, 01:31.833 --> 01:35.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% specifically, in medical school during the 70s 01:35.300 --> 01:38.433 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% than the late 80s and even going into the 2000s. 01:38.433 --> 01:41.633 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% So you actually saw a decline in the number 01:41.633 --> 01:43.733 align:left position:17.5% line:5% size:72.5% of Black medical students. 01:43.733 --> 01:47.266 align:left position:12.5% line:5% size:77.5% - Progress has been very slow. 01:47.266 --> 01:52.266 align:left position:12.5% line:5% size:77.5% We were rounding one day on a Native American patient 01:53.700 --> 01:56.600 align:left position:12.5% line:5% size:77.5% who had just been diagnosed with a severe kidney disease. 01:56.600 --> 01:59.233 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% And one of the senior physicians said 01:59.233 --> 02:03.466 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% I think this is a lost cause because I don't expect 02:03.466 --> 02:06.633 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% this patient to take the medication that we prescribe. 02:06.633 --> 02:10.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And I spoke up and said the senior attending 02:10.933 --> 02:13.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% had just prejudged this patient. 02:13.066 --> 02:18.000 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% We all deserve care, and a chance to be successful 02:18.000 --> 02:20.066 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5% with our course of treatment. 02:20.066 --> 02:21.500 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% - The greatest medicine in the world, 02:21.500 --> 02:22.866 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% the greatest research in the world, 02:22.866 --> 02:25.266 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% doesn't always deliver the best care. 02:27.566 --> 02:29.633 align:left position:27.5% line:83% size:62.5% And that's what we need to do better. 02:29.633 --> 02:34.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% - I would believe that the needle was changing 02:34.333 --> 02:38.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% when I can actually see more People of Color 02:38.533 --> 02:41.766 align:left position:12.5% line:89% size:77.5% in all aspects of healthcare. 02:41.766 --> 02:43.466 align:left position:25% line:83% size:65% - Right now, I think in this space, 02:43.466 --> 02:46.166 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% we're so busy talking, we're not looking 02:46.166 --> 02:47.866 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% for those actual items. 02:47.866 --> 02:51.433 align:left position:12.5% line:83% size:77.5% And maybe because of my aging, I'm getting impatient. 02:51.433 --> 02:53.333 align:left position:15% line:89% size:75% There's a bigger picture. 02:53.333 --> 02:57.300 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% And the bigger picture is how we influence society. 02:57.300 --> 03:00.000 align:left position:20% line:11% size:70% How we change policy. 03:00.000 --> 03:02.866 align:left position:15% line:83% size:75% And that is something that's just as important. 03:02.866 --> 03:04.466 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% - So there's a lot of work to be done, 03:04.466 --> 03:08.800 align:left position:17.5% line:83% size:72.5% and we need more People of Color entering the field, 03:08.800 --> 03:11.600 align:left position:22.5% line:83% size:67.5% because that's how we bring about change.