In 2015, the Association of American Medical Colleges published a startling statistic: Fewer Black men matriculated at medical school in 2014 (515) than in 1978 (542). These 515 Black men represented just 2.5% of all medical school matriculants in 2014.
Although more recent enrollment numbers indicate marginal improvement, Americans who identify as Black, Hispanic, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or from other Pacific Islander groups remain grossly underrepresented in medicine relative to their proportion in the U.S. population. To negate decades of exclusion for individuals from underrepresented racial groups, particularly Black Americans, one strategy public postsecondary schools have used to diversify their student bodies is affirmative action — considering race and ethnicity as one of many factors in admissions.
But several states, including California, Florida and Michigan, have banned the practice. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority is also poised this year to abandon years of precedent and strike down affirmative action. Our recent research shows that ending the use of affirmative action in medical schools would be catastrophic for the diversity of our physician workforce.
