Health Care in America — Still Too Separate, Not Yet Equal

Abstract

In the 50 years since the civil-rights movement began we have seen growth in the racial and ethnic diversity of the American people, as well as encouraging evidence that members of racial and ethnic minorities, including black Americans, have increasingly moved into positions of economic opportunity and prestige. For example, blacks, who make up approximately 12 percent of the population, accounted for only 4.3 percent of college graduates in 1959¹ — a proportion that nearly doubled, to 7.9 percent, by 2002.² We have also seen growth in the proportion of blacks who work as professionals, including as physicians. In 1983, . . .