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Dr. Mary T. Bassett, NYC Commissioner of Health By Shaniqua Roberts, Healthy Start Brooklyn We all know about #BlackLivesMatter, but did you ever think about how racism affects the health of Black people overall? The NYC Health Commissioner, Dr.
Dr. Mary T. Bassett, NYC Commissioner of Health
Dr. Mary T. Bassett, NYC Commissioner of Health

By Shaniqua Roberts, Healthy Start Brooklyn

We all know about #BlackLivesMatter, but did you ever think about how racism affects the health of Black people overall?

The NYC Health Commissioner, Dr. Mary Bassett, gave a lecture to a group of medical students. They had already held "white coat die-ins" after hearing that the officer involved in the death of Eric Garner would not be charged. After Dr. Bassett's lecture, the students asked what more they could do. She responded to the question in The New England Journal of Medicine.

In her piece, Dr. Bassett urged the medical and public health communities to engage in conversations and take action on issues of racism and health. She noted that although "tackling racism is daunting," it is important to "not sit on the sidelines." Everyone can do something.

Read her piece here.




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