A Pox Upon Healthcare

Throughout the history of the United States, racial disharmony has led to inequality in many aspects of the American society. The healthcare system of the United States did not avoid this phenomenon. Indeed, until the late 1960\\\'s the United States Healthcare system was largely a divided one, with institutions to care for white patients being the majority while a few hospitals or segregated wards for black people existed. The impact of racial stereotypes that plagued many other areas of American society also fueled the segregated healthcare system. Stereotypes such as \"lazy\", \"sexually immoral\", \"unintelligent and \"unworthy\" were common assumptions white Americans held in regard to black Americans that kept them from including black Americans in being offered healthcare services at many institutions. Did these stereotypes just disappear after the Civil Rights Act of 1964? The author thinks not and delineates the nature of stereotypes and their impact on society and individuals, the history of stereotypes of African Americans in the U.S. healthcare system and the subtle presence of these stereotypes in the U.S. healthcare system today.