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Healing through History
Examining the American Medical Association Archives to Understand Racial Disparities in Healthcare
Issues
To facilitate a landmark research project, the American Medical Association (AMA) is opening its archival collections to researchers from the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability (IARA) Project beginning in the summer of 2024. The groundbreaking initiative, called the Truth, Reconciliation, Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Archival Research Project, will examine the historical roots of racial disparities in American healthcare to develop actionable strategies for restorative justice and health equity.
“We are honored to work with the AMA on this crucial initiative,” said Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Founder and Director of the IARA Project. “Understanding the history of America’s oldest and most important medical association in relation to enduring racial disparities in health and well-being today is a critical first step towards achieving health equity for all.”
An Historical Reckoning of Racism in Medicine
Since its beginnings, the U.S. medical profession has perpetuated racial ideologies in medical literature and clinical practice. By defining categories of race, the medical system has both gained legitimacy from racism and lent legitimacy to it 1. Founded in 1847, the AMA emerged as the leading organizing body for American medical practice and national healthcare policies, including advancing scientific knowledge, establishing standards for medical education, developing the first Code of Medical Ethics, and shaping public health.
The TRHT Archival Research Project will conduct in-depth archival analysis and historical research to understand the organizational practices and decision-making processes that have caused racial harm to patients, physicians, and populations.
One key example is the 1910 Flexner Report, commissioned by the AMA, which transformed U.S. medical education. This report directly led to the closure of five of the seven Black medical schools at the time, leaving only Howard Medical School and Meharry Medical College. Supported by the U.S. Congress and major philanthropies like the Carnegie Foundation, the Flexner Report has had severe repercussions on the number of Black physicians, with underrepresentation continuing in the medical field even today.
A Pivotal Moment for American Medicine
Made possible through an historic partnership between the AMA, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the AMA Foundation, the collaboration between the IARA Project and the AMA marks a pivotal moment in the journey toward health equity. Insights from the AMA archival collection will inform recommendations across the healthcare field to shift policies and practices that address barriers to health and lead to measurable improvements in healthcare access and delivery.
“Advancing health equity through the AMA’s efforts requires a dedicated, coordinated, and honest approach,” explains AMA Board Chair Michael Suk, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., M.B.A. “It recognizes the effects of the AMA’s past actions and targets systemic inequities in the healthcare system and other institutions. This initiative aligns with the AMA’s Health Equity Strategic Plan, which calls for fostering pathways for truth, racial healing, reconciliation, and transformation.”
Collaborative Approach to Independent Research
Over the next two years, the AMA will open its Chicago-based archives to researchers from the IARA Project, led by Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Research Associates Ángel Rodríguez and Caroline Kao. The project will include extensive archival research, analysis of historical data, a comprehensive landscape scan, and consideration of the ongoing impact of the AMA’s past policies and practices.
Research findings will inform learning series, health equity briefs, publications, and more, which will be available publicly beginning in 2026. The findings will provide a historical baseline and offer learnings that the AMA and other U.S. healthcare institutions may use to consider policy recommendations and programs. These efforts will help address systemic barriers and advance health equity.
Contact
For more information about the TRHT Archival Research Project, please contact Alison Pasquariello at alison_pasquariello@hks.harvard.edu.
Stay Updated
For updates and insights as this important work progresses, subscribe to the IARA Project’s newsletter.
About the IARA Project
The Institutional Antiracism and Accountability (IARA) Project promotes antiracism as a core value and institutional norm through rigorous research and real-time policy analysis. The IARA Project researches what works — and doesn’t work — to create antiracist change. Founded and led by Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad, the IARA Project is based at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.
The IARA project investigates new and existing strategies for antiracist transformation in the healthcare sector. This research focuses on the organizational practices and institutional policy changes that directly address the racial gap in health outcomes. Learn more about the IARA Project’s work in healthcare, including a 2023 report on institutional strategies for health equity online: iara.hks.harvard.edu/work/antiracist-organizational-change-in-american-healthcare-institutions/
About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in healthcare. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises, and driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in healthcare.
For more information, visit the American Medical Association
Citations
- Willoughby, Christopher. Masters of Health: Racial Science and Slavery in U.S. Medical Schools. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2022. Pg. 3
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