Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec 12;7(1):831-834.
doi: 10.1089/heq.2023.0226. eCollection 2023.

Past Is Prologue: Dismantling Colonial Legacies to Advance Black Health Equity in the United States

Sirry M Alang  1 , Chelsey R Carter  2 , Oni Blackstock  3
Affiliations

Past Is Prologue: Dismantling Colonial Legacies to Advance Black Health Equity in the United States

Sirry M Alang et al. Health Equity. .

Abstract

Colonialism underlies the commodification of health care in the United States and continues to harm well-being among Black Americans. We present four recommendations for addressing its health consequences: (1) Investments in epigenetic research to improve our understanding of how systemic oppression becomes biology. (2) Centering Black experiences and knowledge traditions in education, practice, and policy. (3) Support for Black scholars, trainees, and practitioners when they critic disciplinary tenets and practices. (4) Expansion of preventive care. Our health care system is a for-profit industry that exploits workers and harms the most marginalized, much like colonialism. Advancing health equity requires dismantling colonial legacies.

Keywords: anti-racism in medicine; colonialism and health; decolonizing medicine; health equity for Black Americans.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

References

    1. Kim J. Not Everyone Mourns the Queen. For Many, She Can't Be Separated from Colonial Rule. NPR; 2022. Available from: https://www.opb.org/article/2022/09/12/not-everyone-mourns-the-queen-for... [Last accessed: September 22, 2023].
    1. Czyzewski K. Colonialism as a broader social determinant of health. Int Indig Policy J 2011;2(1):5; doi: 10.18584/iipj.2011.2.1.5 - DOI
    1. McLemore MR, Choo EK. The right decisions need the right voices. Lancet 2019;394(10204):1133; doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)32167-1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Visintainer T. Teaching health justice and reimagining narratives of place through community-driven science practices. J Res Sci Teach 2023; In Press; doi: 10.1002/tea.21857 - DOI
    1. Smallwood SE. Reflections on settler colonialism, the hemispheric Americas, and chattel slavery. William Mary Q 2019;76(3):407–416.

LinkOut - more resources