ACP addresses systemic racism, commits to being an antiracist organization

ACP has released a new policy statement examining racism and discrimination in U.S. society and their role as a social determinant of health, offering recommendations to address and mitigate these issues, including racism and discrimination by law enforcement, and committing to building and expanding on existing policies on racial and ethnic disparities in health care and on hate crimes as a public health issue. In addition, the policy paper stated that ACP is committed to being an antiracist organization.

The policy paper was written by ACP's Health and Public Policy Committee, which addresses issues that affect the health care of the U.S. public and the practice of internal medicine and its subspecialties. The authors reviewed available studies, reports, and surveys related to racism, discrimination, and law enforcement violence published between 1990 and 2020, as well as relevant news articles, policy documents, websites, and other sources. Recommendations were based on reviewed literature and input from ACP's Board of Regents; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee; and Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee. The policy paper and related recommendations were reviewed and approved by the Board of Regents on June 16. The full policy statement and recommendations were published June 19 by Annals of Internal Medicine and are freely available online.

In its recommendations, ACP condemned injustices and harms due to pervasive overt and covert systemic racism and said it condemns and opposes racist policies and actions that perpetuate injustices and inequities in medicine and throughout all aspects of U.S. society. ACP reaffirmed that hate crimes are a public health issue and that all persons must have equitable access to high-quality health care and must not be discriminated against on the basis of where they live or work; their race and ethnicity; their sex or sexual orientation; their gender or gender identity; their age; their religion, culture, and beliefs; their national origin, immigration status, and language proficiency; their health literacy level and ability to access health information; their socioeconomic status; whether they are incarcerated; and whether they have intellectual or physical disability.

ACP affirmed that physical and verbal violence and discrimination, particularly based on race or ethnicity and other perceived characteristics of personal identity, are social determinants of health and, thus, public health issues. ACP affirmed that discrimination, racism, and violence in the context of law enforcement and law enforcement policies and practices that target black individuals and other persons of color harm the physical heath, mental health, and well-being of individuals and the public. Institutional and systemic law enforcement practices that enable, allow, and protect racism, discrimination, and violence undermine law enforcement officers who are dedicated to equal treatment under the law, ensuring public safety, and saving lives and undermine public confidence in justice and law enforcement, ACP said. ACP acknowledged that solutions to racism and discrimination in law enforcement are complex but supported several policies, including adoption of law enforcement practices that ensure equal treatment under the law of all persons, as a starting point.

ACP condemned violations of the fundamental constitutional and human right of persons to peaceably protest against racism and violence and called on public authorities and law enforcement to protect this right and never subject peaceful protesters to enforcement actions that can harm their health. ACP committed to studying, listening, and developing evidence-based solutions to racism and discrimination and acting to implement them in its engagements with its membership, its staff, other organizations, policymakers, and society.

“The pervasive systemic racism in law enforcement and throughout U.S. society identified in this policy paper document and establish the adverse individual and community health consequences of racism, discrimination, and violence,” the paper concluded. “As an organization representing physicians on the front line treating patients impacted by law enforcement violence—and racism, discrimination, and violence more broadly—ACP supports these policies to address the sources of these social determinants of health and protect the health of the public.”